Formative Assessment That TRULY Informs Instruction

Sunday night, NCTE hosted a wonderful Twitter chat on formative assessment, led by Franki Sibberson and Antero Garcia, who were two members of the task force responsible for writing the position statement Formative Assessment That Truly Informs Instruction. You see, testing companies as of late seem to have sullied the term formative assessment and turned it into something much different than its original intent, which is to give teachers immediate feedback in order to adjust their teaching to help students make meaningful progress. That is where NCTE's new position statement comes in. There is a desperate need for schools to really consider how and what they are assessing their students. Therefore, this new position statement should be shared widely. It is a perfect vehicle for discussion, which was proved in spades, and 140 character bursts on Twitter this past weekend.

Here is a slideshow of some of my favorite tweets from the chat:

It is my hope that if you're a teacher, administrator, or educational policy-maker, you will not only take the time to read NCTE's position statement on formative assessment, but also share and discuss it among colleagues. Unlike the Common Core State Standards, this document gave teachers a seat at the table and contains a thorough annotated bibliography. Transparency, fairness, and professionalism in education -- what a concept!