Check, Reflect, Adjust: Formative Assessment Made Simple

Make student learning visible and actionable, while building routines that support success.

DR. JEN GOWERS
Instructional Specialist

Assessing can sometimes feel like all we’re doing — baselines, screeners, diagnostics (oh my!) — and students can feel fatigued before the learning has even really begun.

It’s a great time to remember that it’s our formative assessment — all the places we stop with students and take stock of how we’re doing en route to the summit — that is so critical for student achievement. When we take stock — and help students take stock — of what they know and can do so far, the reflection, feedback, and course correction can really help students see learning as a process. It’s invaluable for writing, for example, if young people can get feedback early and often to know what their next right move can be. Formative assessment is so beneficial for young people, and it can be simply and cleanly embedded in our daily teaching practice.

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Embedding Formative Assessment in Your Daily Routine

I have the joy of journeying with teachers and leaders as a coach, and this is the process I most recommend to support students in assessment for learning. It asks leaders to set aside team time, teachers to follow a customizable routine in their daily instruction, and for students, it makes how to succeed in your classes super clear.

1. Communicate Clear Objectives and Success Criteria
First, we must clearly communicate the objective, skill, and/or success criteria for the day to students. This way, we know exactly what we’re asking of students, and they know, too. You can place the success criteria on a slide, break down or annotate the objective into component parts to master, or offer a checklist, rubric, or other tool for knowing what students will learn or do that day.

Take a look at these examples: I know a high school teacher who lists (and leaves up!) the success criteria while students work independently, so they can check off mastery mentally or physically. A middle school teacher annotates the objective with her class daily to help students understand and name what it asks. In both classrooms, students make their own notes so the criteria for success are clear and available for reference.
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2. Visually Track Student Progress
During instruction, quickly measure who met, partially met, or did not meet the objective. After a mini-lesson, inquiry, or modeling, ask students to try it themselves, and circle the room with a list of names, marking a plus (+) for mastery, a check (✔️) for partial mastery, and a minus (-) for students who have not yet met the skill. This shows who can work independently and who needs more support.

Consider this K-8 classroom: A K–8 teacher I work with uses this simple +/✔️/- system in every class, adding brief notes to support team discussions about grouping and instructional next steps. You can start simple — more complex systems can come later — but this is already highly effective.
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3. Confer and Support Students Who Haven’t Mastered the Skill
Meet with students who haven’t yet mastered the skill — whether through 1:1 conferences, small groups, or co-taught sessions — and note progress as they try again. Provide opportunities to practice in new ways and track who is mastering the skill and who may need additional support.

Try this approach: My colleague Dr. Cristina Compton offers a method for student conferencing that I use regularly. Try this method, based on Carl Anderson’s work, to help students name their strengths and take the next right step in learning.
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4. Collaborate with Your Team to Share Progress
Meet with colleagues to share progress, celebrate successes, and support each other. Leaders can ensure common team time, and teachers can bring visual notes on who hasn’t mastered objectives to discuss as a problem of practice. Sharing successes allows teachers to learn from one another and refine instructional strategies.

Look at how Nancy Love Mohr describes it: Nothing advances student achievement more than collective teacher efficacy. Team meetings with protocols like What, So What, Now What let teachers analyze practice, generate ideas, and plan next steps together. Protecting this intellectual preparation and data analysis time allows “iron to sharpen iron,” strengthening both teaching and learning.

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And so, we share success criteria, track who has met them, provide feedback to students who need extra support, and come together with our team to generate new ideas and approaches. This process puts formative assessment at the center of everyday instruction in a practical, manageable way. When embedded consistently, students gain clarity on their learning, and teachers gain insights from each other that make instruction stronger for everyone.

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Your Next Step

From Assessment to Action
The Power of PBL helps you turn ongoing assessment into actionable learning. Learn how to design student‑driven projects that make thinking visible, guide feedback and reflection, and create meaningful opportunities for inquiry, collaboration, and skill‑building in any classroom. Learn more →