Games can be great tools to engage reluctant learners and provide ongoing feedback to educators about how their lessons are "sticking." Cassie discusses how to use gamified formative assessments to measure different kinds of skills and looks at the different ways teachers can use games in the classroom--from out-of-the-box board games to…

What are the characteristics of formal formative assessments that are both effective in improving student learning and an efficient use of a teacher's time and efforts? That's the question that the authors explore in this article drawing on a five-year research study. First, formal formative assessment is defined as being planned in advance,…

What if all students had an opportunity to work through content at their own pace? What if all students had to master content before they moved on? The authors take their flipped-classroom model to the next level by flipping their classroom for mastery. In the flipped-mastery model, the teacher begins by organizing content around specific…

In addition to excelling in subjects such as science, math, arts, and social studies, students must also develop skills like resiliency, adaptability, and collaboration in order to truly succeed in the world. But how do schools effectively measure those skills when they so often rely on standardized assessments? This article provides a thorough…

Why is the teacher asking why? so much? Why is the teacher not calling on Mary and John, who have their hands up? And why is the teacher putting all answers on the white board, even the wrong ones? Students may struggle with such questions if they're unfamiliar with questioning techniques that seek to promote student learning, as opposed to…

According to Dylan Wiliam, the traditional classroom practice in which a teacher asks a question, students raise their hands, and the teacher calls on a volunteer does not actually provide much useful information--and it may even impede learning. When teachers ask questions in this way, they're only engaging the most confident students in the…

According to author Dylan Wiliam, because lessons never go exactly as planned, teachers should build plan B into plan A. This involves designing a lesson with a "hinge" somewhere in the middle and using specific kinds of questions--what he calls hinge questions--to quickly assess students' understanding of a concept before moving on.…

Getting students to ask questions can feel like pulling teeth. How can teachers transform that feeling and create classrooms that come alive with questions? The authors, developers of the question formulation technique, suggest two simple changes: First, teachers need to give students both a structure and the opportunity to practice generating…

The term "feedback" is often used to describe all kinds of comments made after the fact, including advice, praise, and evaluation. But none of these are feedback, strictly speaking. Basically, feedback is information about how one is doing in his or her efforts to reach a goal. Whether feedback is just there to be grasped or is provided by another…

Teachers often tend to discuss their English language learners (ELLs) in terms of "level." Writes the author, "But if I were to say to a teacher, 'You have four level 2s in your class,' how does that help us have a common understanding of the students' needs?" One approach that has great potential to increase students' language…

Frequently, when assigned to read, intermediate and middle grade students engage in a mindless encounter with the text. Or, try as they may to focus and gather information, they're mostly confused and not sure how to repair the breakdown in their meaning-making. With the new focus on close reading--and on engaging students with more rigorous…

Varying definitions of formative assessment have blurred the meaning of the term and caused confusion among educators. To determine whether a test is formative or summative, write the authors of this article, we need to ask, "How are the results going to be used? and Who is going to use them? The purpose of summative assessment is to make a…

Schools are frequently inundated with demands to implement new instructional interventions and teaching methods that are not yet backed up by a solid body of research. Fortunately, many of these innovations include elements of more established strategies for which evidence of positive effects does exist. Guskey describes the core elements of one…

Formative coaching, an approach that uses student work as the foundation for mentoring and professional development, can help principals become more effective instructional leaders. In formative coaching, teaches and coaches analyze student work to determine next steps for instruction. This article shows how a principal can use the steps of the…

Instructional decisions based on quality assessments and a balanced assessment system most effectively promote student learning. To inform sound decisions, assessments need to satisfy five key standards of quality: (1) clear purpose; (2) clear learning targets; (3) sound assessment design; (4) effective communication of results; and (5) student…