Formative Assessment Strategies for the Classroom

Plan formative assessment backwards from the teaching decision you need to make. When you know what each response will trigger, a question, discussion or exit prompt becomes evidence you can use rather than another activity.

Published studies also focus on what teachers do with assessment. An Australian Journal of Teacher Education lesson-observation study examined formative actions used by two secondary mathematics teachers during student portfolio assessment. An Education Inquiry analysis described changes in classroom practice following professional development in formative assessment.

This guide will help you choose a response format, build a hinge question, interpret response patterns and select a next step. You will also get inclusion checks, a ready-to-use script and a short planning template.

Start with the decision, not the activity

Write the decision before writing the question. Complete this sentence: “After this check, I will decide whether to…” Name a teaching choice you can make while the evidence is still useful.

• Continue to independent practice.
• Clarify one confusing point before continuing.
• Reteach the idea using a different example or representation.
• Support particular learners while others complete an extension.

Next, decide what evidence would justify each choice. Do not rely only on whether learners select the expected answer. Consider the explanation, method or demonstration that would show secure understanding.

For example, suppose learners are comparing equivalent fractions. Your decision could be: “I need to know whether they understand that the numerator and denominator must be multiplied by the same number.” That decision leads to a more focused question than “Do they understand fractions?”

If your decision is simply “see what they know”, make it more precise. Identify what you will continue, change or revisit in response to the evidence.

Choose a response format to plan

Choose the format that reveals the thinking you need to inspect. Plan a response method that lets you gather evidence from the learners you need to hear from. Make the method practical for the time, space and resources available.

Match the response to the learning intention. If you are checking scientific classification, a card sort may reveal more than a paragraph. If sentence construction is the learning intention, the written form is part of the evidence.

You can combine formats when one response gives incomplete information. Ask everyone to select an option, then invite a brief explanation or ask learners to compare reasoning with a partner.

How to build a useful hinge question

Place a hinge question where its answer could change the direction of the lesson. It should focus on one important idea and produce responses that you can interpret without extensive marking.

A useful hinge question usually has these features:

• It checks one learning intention or essential prerequisite.
• It has one clearly defensible answer unless you label it as multiple selection.
• Its incorrect options reflect plausible errors or misconceptions.
• Every learner can respond at the same point.
• You have planned what each response pattern will trigger.

Worked example: Learners are beginning to identify equivalent fractions. Ask: “Which fraction is equivalent to 3/4?”

1. A: 4/5
2. B: 6/8
3. C: 6/4
4. D: 3/8

Use this script: “Work alone first. Choose A, B, C or D. Do not call out the answer. Show your response when I give the signal.” Provide pointing, eye-gaze, keyboard or other established alternatives where needed.

• A: The learner may be adding the same amount rather than applying a multiplicative relationship. Compare 3/4 and 4/5 with fraction bars.
• B: This is the expected answer. Ask the learner to explain what happened to both parts of the fraction.
• C: The learner has changed only the numerator. Use a visual model to show why the value changes.
• D: The learner has changed only the denominator. Revisit how the size of each equal part changes.

If responses do not match these interpretations, ask a neutral follow-up: “What did you change, and why?” A selected option is evidence, but the explanation helps you avoid acting on a wrong assumption.

Turn evidence into one of four next steps

Use the pattern of answers and explanations to select one next step. Do not calculate an average and move on. Look for shared misconceptions, isolated difficulties and weak reasoning behind correct answers.

1. Continue. Move to the next task when the evidence matches the learning intention you planned to check. Include a fresh example so learners apply the idea again.
2. Clarify. Address a specific point of confusion, then gather another response to check the explanation.
3. Reteach. Revisit the learning intention with a different representation, explanation or task when the evidence calls for further teaching.
4. Target support. Plan a prompt, conference or focused task for learners whose responses need further attention.

Make feedback describe the gap and the next action. For the fraction example, you might say: “You changed both numbers by adding one. Use these fraction bars to compare 3/4 and 4/5, then try the question again.”

If answers are scattered, review the question before deciding what the pattern means. Check that the wording is clear, the response method is workable and learners had the information needed to respond.

If nearly everyone selects the expected answer but explanations remain weak, pause. Ask for a new example, a justification or an error analysis before continuing.

Make checks more inclusive

Remove access barriers that are unrelated to the learning intention. Plan the check so learners can show the knowledge or skill you intend to assess. Consider the reading, memory, speech and motor demands created by the task.

• State instructions plainly and explain vocabulary that is not being assessed.
• Offer established response methods, including speech, writing, pointing, manipulatives, a keyboard or augmentative communication.
• Allow adequate processing time before requesting an answer.
• Avoid using colour as the only way to distinguish response choices.
• Use simultaneous or private responses when public mistakes could discourage participation.
• Provide the supports learners normally use, unless that support is the skill being checked.
• Check that digital tools work with available devices and accessibility features.

Keep the intellectual demand intact. If you are assessing a science concept, a labelled diagram may replace a paragraph when extended writing is not the target. If writing is the target, retain that demand while providing access to the prompt.

Do not treat silence as a final judgement of understanding. Offer established response methods and adequate processing time, then use the response as part of the evidence for your next teaching decision.

When an adaptation changes the task, record the adaptation alongside the response. Use that record when you interpret the evidence and plan the next step.

A short planning template

Use this template to plan one check at a meaningful decision point. Copy the prompts into your lesson plan and keep each answer brief.

• Learning intention: What should learners understand or be able to do?
• Decision: What will I decide after seeing the evidence?
• Prompt: What will learners answer, explain, sort or demonstrate?
• Expected evidence: What would secure understanding look like?
• Likely misconception: What response might reveal it?
• Response format: How will every learner respond?
• Access: Which barriers or usual supports must I consider?
• Action: What will I do for each meaningful response pattern?
• Follow-up: How will I check whether that action worked?

Completed example:

• Learning intention: Identify equivalent fractions by scaling the numerator and denominator equally.
• Decision: Begin independent matching or revisit the relationship with fraction bars.
• Prompt: Choose the fraction equivalent to 3/4 and explain the change.
• Expected evidence: Select 6/8 and explain that both parts were multiplied by the same number.
• Likely misconception: Add the same amount, or change only one part of the fraction.
• Response format: Private selection followed by partner explanation and selected whole-group responses.
• Access: Read the prompt aloud, display fraction bars and provide established communication options.
• Action: Continue, clarify one error, reteach visually or provide targeted support according to the response pattern.
• Follow-up: Ask learners to create and justify a different equivalent fraction.

Clarify the purpose of the assessment

Tell learners what the assessment will be used for. The format does not make an assessment formative. Its purpose depends on how you use the evidence.

A quiz can support formative decisions when it changes the next explanation, practice task or support. The same quiz serves a different purpose when it only records attainment after teaching.

Before giving the check, clarify:

• Which learning intention it addresses.
• Who will use the evidence and when.
• Whether it contributes to a recorded grade or formal result.
• Whether individual responses will be shared with families or colleagues.
• What learners will do with any feedback.

You could say: “This check will help me decide whether we start independent practice or revisit equivalent fractions. Answer without help, then explain your thinking. I will use the responses to choose our next task.”

Add an accurate statement about recording or grading under your local policy. Do not call an assessment “low stakes” if its result will affect a formal grade, placement or report.

When communicating with families, distinguish a check used to guide the next lesson from an end-of-unit judgement. Explain what the evidence suggested and what teaching or practice will happen next.

Effective formative assessment follows a short loop: clarify the learning, gather evidence, interpret the response and act. Start with one decision point in one lesson, then prepare the question and possible teaching responses.

If a check produces confusing evidence, examine the prompt, response format and access demands before judging learners’ understanding. A simple question becomes useful when it leads to a specific next step.