Each year when you teach summer school you have new students that you need to get know. Quick forms of assessment can help you figure out what the students know or do not know. You will not have these students as long as you do in the school year so finding this information out quickly is important.
Classroom Assessment
Dry Erase Boards
One quick way to quickly assess students is to use dry erase boards. I like to put a math problem on my board and have students work out the problem on their dry erase boards. As students work, I walk around and look at their boards. I let them know if they are correct. If a student is not correct, I point out mistakes. If a student does not understand the problem, I stop and help them. I try to make sure I get around to check on all of my students. Sometimes we do quick problems and I have them hold up the boards so I can check all of their answers quickly.
Pairs check
Having students work in pairs is another way to quickly assess students. You can have both students do the same problem and then check with each other and come up with an answer they agree on. Also, one student can do the problem while the other student checks their work. Another idea is to have one student tell the other student how to do the problem step by step and the student who is doing the problem can let them know if they disagree. As students are working in pairs, I walk around and listen to the conversations between the students. You can learn a lot about what students understand just by listening.
Digital Activities
Plickers
Plickers is a great digital resource for formative assessment. This activity uses multiple choice questions. Students have an assigned Plickers card. Students hold up the card showing the a, b, c, or d answer. The teacher uses an app on a mobile device to scan the cards. The app gives immediate feedback showing the teacher who got it right and who got it wrong.
Games
Playing games like Quizlet Live and Gimkit in groups or individually is a fun way to assess students. It lets you know the most commonly missed problems after each game. You can go over them with the students.
You can play Kahoot! or Blooket games. During the Kahoot! game and some of the Blooket games you can review the question after students answer. You can also see the number/percent of students who miss or get each problem correct.
Conclusion
Assessment is an important part of teaching. As you can see there are many ways to assess. If you use a variety of assessments students will be more willing to participate so you can get accurate data.
