25 Quick Formative Assessments for a Differentiated Classroom: Easy, Low-Prep Assessments That Help You Pinpoint Students' Needs and Reach All Learners [Paperback]

Judith Dodge (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 1, 2009

This collection of quick, flexible, informal assessments helps teachers take a snapshot of student learning--at any time during a lesson or unit of study, in any curriculum area. Students' responses give teachers a clear picture of what students know and what they need help with, what material to reteach or extend, and how to pace instruction. Designed to engage a range of learning styles and skills, the assessments come with an easy step-by-step plan, grade-level modifications, tiering tips, and student samples. Also includes 17 ready-to-print assessment forms on a CD. For use with Grades 3-8.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Judith Dodge effectively blends her years of experience and the latest research on differentiated instruction to provide teachers with innovative tools that generate immediate impact on classroom teaching and learning. In this book she helps teachers to: translate research into action, inform their instruction through on-going and frequent assessments, access multiple pathways for learning, foster "intrinsic" motivation, use "instructional intelligence" and flexible groupings, harness the power of visual tools, scaffold instruction for struggling learners, and provide challenging options for advanced learners.

Product Details

• Paperback: 96 pages
• Publisher: Scholastic Teaching Resources (Teaching; 1 Pap/Cdr edition (March 1, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0545087422
• ISBN-13: 978-0545087421
• Product Dimensions: 10.6 x 8.2 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #7,878 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

25 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent, June 5, 2010

By 

autumnphoenix2 - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: 25 Quick Formative Assessments for a Differentiated Classroom: Easy, Low-Prep Assessments That Help You Pinpoint Students' Needs and Reach All Learners (Paperback)

This book is simply marvelous. If you are interested in assessing your students in a variety of ways- whether or not you consider your classroom "differentiated"- this book is for you. Why this book is such a great resource:

1) The assessments are easy to understand and implement. If you don't have the time to modify them to your needs, you can copy the corresponding pages directly out of the book or off the CD to hand out to your students.

2) The assessments can easily be adapted to any content area and any grade level. The book says it's for 3-8, but many can be used as-is or with slight modifications for high school.

3)The information is split into four sections, which each section focusing on a specific type of learner- audio, visual, etc. You could either rotate through the types of assessments to help students find their strengths and build their weaknesses, or you could use them to provide students with options when it comes to homework ideas.

4) If you use tiering in your classroom, many of the assessments provide tips for modifying them with more support (for struggling learners) or making them more challenging (for more advanced learners).

5) Many of the assessments also have easy and practical tips for tying technology into them.

This book is so user-friendly, to the point, helpful, and best of all, inexpensive. I would highly, highly recommend it!

19 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Not so sure these are formative, August 24, 2010

By 

Joanne Kornoelje (Montclair, NJ United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: 25 Quick Formative Assessments for a Differentiated Classroom: Easy, Low-Prep Assessments That Help You Pinpoint Students' Needs and Reach All Learners (Paperback)

Formative assessments should be quick, on-the-spot, non-graded assessments of whether the kids are "getting it". Most of the assessments in this book are useful, but (in my mind) much more likely to be used as summative (or end-of-unit) assessments. Perhaps these assignments are put together as the unit progresses - but they do not seem to be for the purpose of checking comprehension. Rather, the intention often is to display (posters, etc) what the students have learned. Yes, this could be a check of comprehension, but the formality of the product makes it seem more than that. Also, you need a big paper budget if you have 125 students daily! Each assessment for each student (or student group) seems to require a full sheet (if you follow the author's templates). And, if a group is doing the assessment, how can the teacher be certain that each student is on track?

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Valuable resource for students and teachers, December 20, 2009

By 

Judith Bliggenstorfer "Alernative Assessment ... (St. Charles, MO) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: 25 Quick Formative Assessments for a Differentiated Classroom: Easy, Low-Prep Assessments That Help You Pinpoint Students' Needs and Reach All Learners (Paperback)

I am teaching undergraduate students of education in a university. My courses are Assessment and Evaluation and Classroom Teaching and Management. Both of these courses stress the importance of formative FEEDBACK and its positive effect in student learning and in teacher planning. This book has a variety of very clever, quick directions and templates to use with learners from grades 3-8 and suggests what subjects to apply them to. I believe many of the ideas can be adapted to high school, as well. I shared a couple of the ideas with my students and suggested they buy the book someday to help make themselves a most effective teacher. The price here at Amazon is excellent!!JUDY