In this module you will learn how to interpret the evidence gathered to determine which part of a learning continuum students are ready to learn next. This module explores how to use the evidence gathered to give specific, timely and constructive feedback and make decisions about what to teach next.
The power in using formative assessment rubrics is to inform your teaching so it is targeted at students’ learning needs.
Teacher-participant in the VCAA’s formative assessment rubrics workshops
Activities
1. Watch the video 'Interpret and use evidence'
This video explains how to interpret and use the evidence gathered in relation to the actions and quality criteria in the formative assessment rubric. It highlights how to reflect on the student’s current level of learning (Vygotsky’s Zone of Actual Development) and determine what they are ready to learn next (Vygotsky’s Zone of Proximal Development). How to give feedback to students and the benefits of giving feedback are also explored.
The video duration is 9 minutes 5 seconds.
Module 6 – Interpret and use evidence video transcript
Module 6 – Interpret and use evidence PowerPoint
2. Read Part 3 of the Guide to Formative Assessment Rubrics
Part 3 of
The Guide to Formative Assessment Rubrics explains the importance of interpreting and using evidence. After the evidence is collected, it must be interpreted so that you can establish what students have achieved and what they are ready to learn. This allows you to identify the next steps for teaching that target student readiness.
3. Identify each student's Zone of Proximal Development on the learning continuum
Look at the knowledge and/or skills you have assessed the student as currently being able to do for each action on your marked-up rubric. The shading on the quality criteria on the formative assessment rubric shows each student's Zone of Actual Development. To locate each student’s Zone of Proximal Development on the learning continuum, you need to look at the pattern of these skills within the rubric and make an on-balance decision as to which phase of the learning continuum they are ready to learn next with scaffolding from you.
You may have students with irregular patterns of learning and this may make it a little harder to be confident about what they are ready to learn next. A student may need additional opportunities to consolidate their learning before progressing. You will need to apply your professional judgment in this situation. A student may not take long to consolidate their learning and be ready to progress.
4. Decide how to use the information
One of the most important aspects of formative assessment is using the evidence gathered to give specific, timely and constructive feedback to students. Using the quality criteria in the formative assessment rubric you can give positive feedback to the student, explaining what they can currently do, say, make or write. This feedback can be very detailed because the formative assessment rubric is written with a fine level of granularity. You can also explain to the student what they are ready to learn next.
Knowing what each student in the class can currently say, make, write and do enables you to consider how you might group students with similar points of readiness and then design the next teaching learning activities to target their point of need.
Student learning made more sense after doing the analysis, which gave direction for future learning.
Teacher-participant in the VCAA’s formative assessment rubrics workshops
5. Evaluate your work
Would you give your students a formative assessment rubric? What would influence this decision? Do you think a formative assessment rubric would support you to give timely, specific and constructive feedback to your students?
How do you currently develop targeted teaching and learning activities for the students in your class? Do you develop learning intentions for the whole class or for groups within the class or individual students? How could you use the information gathered to support students’ learning to progress?
Practice considerations
- Using a formative assessment rubric and learning continuum makes it easier to interpret the evidence and make decisions about what to do next.
- If a student’s pattern of progression is irregular, more assessment evidence may need to be collected.
- If many students have an irregular pattern of progression, it is likely that the learning continuum or rubric is problematic and requires revision.
- You may want to change the quality criteria descriptions into ‘I can …’ statements to support you to give constructive feedback to students by highlighting what they can already do and what they are ready to learn next.
- Teachers involved in developing and implementing a formative assessment rubric and task made the following comments about using the evidence gathered:
- ‘The data collected was very targeted and could be easily applied to my planning and teaching.’
- ‘[The rubric] did allow me to identify specific gaps within student understanding, and provided me with data that I could then use to implement appropriate intervention.’
- ‘It helped to inform future teaching practice, and also provided good evidence about the students’ Zone of Proximal Development.’
- ‘It confirmed what I knew but also gave me an insight into my students’ thinking and also what they need to learn next. This made it easier to plan and differentiate my teaching.’
- ‘The rubric encouraged me to provide more differentiation.’
Additional resources
Refer to ‘Further reading’ on page 25 of
The Guide to Formative Assessment Rubrics.
Move on to Module 7
An important part of developing and implementing a formative assessment rubric and task is reviewing these materials and making refinements to enable more accurate information to be gathered and used. Module 7 addresses the process for reviewing a formative assessment rubric.
These materials were prepared in 2019. Please note that this area of research is evolving fast, therefore these materials should be supported with additional evidence bases that more accurately reflect best practice after 2024. It is recommended that these materials be used with consideration of updated research after this date.