AP Annual Conference: Formative Assessment in the AP Science Classroom

**Formative Assessment in the AP Science Classroom**

*Ryan Fedewa, Stevenson High School*

*I attended this session to learn different approaches for formative assessments that could be applied to all AP Science courses; not just physics. While Standards Based Grading (SBG) wasn’t explicitly mentioned, some aspects of the presenters formative assessments would align. I would imagine a tool like [BlueHarvest](http://main.blueharvestfeedback.com) would also work well.*

* 5 Formative Assessment characteristics
* the provision of effective feedback to students
* the active involvement of student in their own learning
* the adjustment of teaching to take into account the results of the assessment
* the recognition of the profound influence assessment has on the motivation and self-esteems of students, both of which are critical influences on learning
* the need for students to be able to assess themselves and understand how to improve
* “We’re going to let our students know where they’re at, and let them know how they can improve from there.”
* Example Tools
* [SurveyMonkey.com](SurveyMonkey.com)
* [PollEverywhere.com](PollEverywhere.com)
* [Mastery Manager](http://www.masterymanager.com)
* administered weekly 5-10 question multiple choice quiz as the source of the data
* also included unit exams and final exam (but will exclude final exam next year)
* plan to incorporate practice AP exams and practice ACT exams
* tagged each question with a science skill as well as a science content area
* College Board Science Practices work well as tags

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