FORMATIVE ASSESSMENT: Still a misunderstood concept

Formative Assessment is solely a diagnostic process. It is an informal way of checking the effectiveness of one's own instructional approaches by a teacher during teaching learning processes. Now you must be thinking that if it is solely for teachers then why the teachers are ask to give grade to children (FA grades).

One example - You have planted different types of chrysanthemum in flower pots. Every morning you go to your nursery to give cow dung water to each plant. Your main objective of visiting nursery is to put cow dung water in every pot; however while doing this you will also see some of the plants are becoming healthy and growing satisfactorily (as per your expectation). You may also see some plants are growing average and some are below average. In this case, you will grade these plants for your own purpose to provide necessary supports to each plant like...

§  This plant needs utmost care because this is growing very poorly;

§  This is growing better than that but it has this problem;

§  This needs supports to get healthy shoot;

§  This is growing satisfactorily I just need to give continuous supports to sustain it's health and growth; and so on.

Here we have to understand that the grades of FA is for "how much children are improving" and the grade we give for SA is for "how much children have improved". FA prevails within the entire classroom/ school process and SA prevails only after the process.

Normally most of the rural schools of Sikkim have less enrolment (I am talking about primary level only). However, in case of more than 30 children, the most effective teaching strategy would be collaborative and cooperative teaching. Adopt this methods, you will find it useful. Moreover, I suggest you to report to the higher authority if you have more than 30 children in one class.

Your expectation for the growth of chrysanthemum plants in your nursery is equivalent to curricular expectations for holistic growth of children in the classroom.

Good day!