All teachers give formal assessments to our students throughout the year. For example, I administer the DLM assessment to my upper elementary students each Spring. But there are many informal ways to assess student growth each and every day! These assessments help me to see how my students are progressing on short-term goals, help me plan instruction, and inform ways to adjust to my curriculum. Keep reading for some examples of informal assessments I use in my classroom!
Observations
The most common type of informal assessment is student observation. Anecdotal notes can hep you find patterns in student behavior or academic progress. Using a list can help keep your observations organized! One example is the ‘New Student Data” form, found in the Simple Data Sheets bundle. Using this form helps me make observations about student skills by showing me a list of what to look for.
Task Boxes
Special education teachers utilize task boxes in the classroom every day. They are awesome for helping students build crucial independent work skills! However, task boxes aren’t just for independent work. They can also be utilized as informal assessments! When I am working with students at my table, I will give them a task box that targets the skill we are working on. Performance on the activity gives me insight into mastered (or not) skills. With that info, I am able to provide on-the-spot remediation.
You can find a ton of free task boxes, like this number matching one, in the Simply Special Ed shop!
Quick Quizzes
When I read my students a story or teach about a topic, I like to give them a quick quiz to check their learning. I will ask a quick questions, like “When do you eat breakfast?” with two answer choices – AM or PM. Students can use ASL symbols for A or B to give their answer. Alternatively, students can hold up fingers to indicate option 1 or 2, or give a thumbs up/down to show their answer. Doing a quick quiz like this lets you check learning on-the-spot, and since students are answering nonverbally, it gives everyone a chance to participate!
Games
Games are one of my- and my students’- favorite types of assessments! We love to play games on Blooket, which is a free website that offers gamified quizzes. The games are so fun that my upper elementary students don’t even realize that I am assessing them as they play! I can find or create a quiz about a topic we are working on (such as addition facts). Then, after the game is over I will get a report about how each student performed on the questions. This gives me great insight for planning small-group instruction!
There are SO many more ways to informally assess students throughout the school day! Using an informal assessment is such a great way to help you plan your next moves. Teachers, what types of informal assessments do you utilize in your classroom? Share your ides in the comments!
Informal assessments are crucial when monitoring students’ academic progress, especially those with special needs. I enjoyed reading your blog, which provides a variety of methods of informal assessment to suit diverse learners’ needs. In my experience, observation and games are the most effective for my class setting and student group. Observation provides ample opportunity to obtain data, while games are perfect for increasing student engagement and motivation.
I totally agree! Observation is probably my most used informal assessment, and games are SO motivating for our students!