Formative assessment is any check on student learning that happens during instruction, with the goal of adjusting teaching and learning before the final grade, not of ranking students.
The easiest way to remember it: formative assessment is the checkup, summative assessment is the final exam.
What it looks like in class
- Exit tickets: two questions at the end of a lesson. If most students miss question two, tomorrow starts there.
- Cold calls and quick polls: a random name picker keeps it fair and keeps everyone thinking.
- Timed practice: a five-minute problem set run on a classroom timer, checked together.
- Draft feedback: comments on an essay outline before the final version is due.
- Self-assessment: students rate their own work against a rubric.
Why the low stakes matter
Formative checks only work if students show what they actually know. When a quick quiz counts heavily, students guess, copy or use AI to look right, and the teacher loses the signal. Keeping the weight small, or zero, makes the information honest. Our guide on using AI for feedback covers ways to give faster formative comments without handing over the grading.
How it connects to grades
In traditional grading, formative work might be 10 to 20 percent of a course grade or a separate “practice” category. In standards-based grading, formative evidence often isn’t averaged at all; it helps decide when a student is ready to show mastery. Teachers can build quick criteria for these checks with the rubric maker.