What Is Formative Assessment
Formative assessment is the daily, weekly, or lesson-by-lesson evaluation of reading skills that tells you exactly where a student stands right now. Unlike a final test, it happens during instruction and feeds directly back into teaching decisions. A teacher listening to a child decode a CVC word, a parent noting whether their child recognizes 8 out of 10 sight words, or a specialist checking decoding accuracy on a phonics inventory, these are all formative assessments.
In literacy instruction, formative assessment answers a specific question: Is the student ready to move forward, or do we need to reinforce this skill? If a struggling reader hasn't mastered the Orton-Gillingham sequence for consonant blends before moving to digraphs, formative assessment catches that gap before it widens.
Why It Matters for Struggling Readers
Struggling readers, including those with dyslexia, need frequent feedback on their decoding and comprehension progress. Waiting until a benchmark test or end-of-unit exam wastes valuable instructional time. Research on structured literacy programs shows that students receiving weekly progress monitoring (a type of formative assessment) improve reading fluency by 20 to 40 percentile points faster than those assessed only quarterly.
Formative assessment also prevents the "accumulation trap," where a student falls behind on phonics fundamentals and that gap compounds. It's the primary tool for tracking whether an IEP goal is on pace. If an IEP targets improving phonemic awareness from the 10th to the 25th percentile within 12 weeks, formative checks every two weeks show you immediately if instruction needs adjusting.
Common Formative Assessment Tools in Reading
- Oral Reading Records (ORR): Teacher listens to a child read aloud and marks errors to calculate accuracy rate and reading level placement.
- Phonics Screeners: Quick checks of letter-sound fluency, blending, and decoding of nonsense words (measure accuracy, not just recognition).
- Running Records: Coded notes on what a reader does while reading connected text, revealing strategies like whether they self-correct or skip unknown words.
- Comprehension Checks: Retelling, answering explicit and inferential questions, or explaining vocabulary in context after reading a passage.
- Fluency Probes: Words correct per minute (WCPM) measured every one to two weeks on grade-level passages; 40 WCPM by end of 1st grade is a typical benchmark.
- Sight Word Mastery Lists: Frequent checks on automaticity (instant recognition without sounding out) of Dolch or other core word lists.
Formative vs. Summative Assessment
The key difference: formative assessment guides instruction in real time, while summative assessment measures overall achievement at the end of a period. A formative check on Monday tells you to spend Tuesday reviewing blends. A summative reading test on Friday measures how well the student performed across the whole unit. Both matter, but formative assessments are your steering wheel, and summative assessments are your report card.
Common Questions
- How often should I do formative assessments? For a struggling reader, especially one with an IEP, at least weekly on the skill being targeted. For whole-class progress monitoring in structured literacy, once weekly per skill area (phonics, fluency, comprehension) is standard. Informal daily observation counts too.
- Can I use formative assessment if my child has dyslexia? Absolutely. In fact, dyslexic readers benefit most from frequent, specific feedback. Formative assessments on phoneme isolation, blending, and nonsense word fluency reveal exactly which Orton-Gillingham sequences need extra repetition.
- What should I do with the data? If 80% accuracy or higher, move forward. Below 80%, reteach or adjust the instructional sequence. If a student stalls for two consecutive weeks on the same skill, consider a different teaching approach or additional support from a specialist.
Related Concepts
- Benchmark Assessment sets the standard; formative assessments check progress toward that standard.
- Summative Assessment measures end-of-unit or end-of-year performance; formative assessment informs the path to that outcome.
- Progress Monitoring is the systematic use of formative data (usually graphed weekly) to adjust instruction for students at risk.