CIA Formative Assessment Techniques 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A teacher gives a 'ticket to leave' requiring students to solve one problem before exiting. How should the instructional assistant use these tickets?
- File them alphabetically for the end-of-year portfolio
- Review them with the teacher to plan the next day's instruction (Correct answer)
- Return them unread so students can self-correct
- Use them as the final grade for the day's lesson
Correct answer: Review them with the teacher to plan the next day's instruction
Exit tickets are formative data; analyzing them collaboratively with the teacher ensures the information drives the next instructional cycle.
Question 2: Which scenario BEST illustrates the formative use of a think-pair-share activity?
- Students complete it silently and turn it in for a grade
- The teacher listens to paired conversations to check for misconceptions (Correct answer)
- The teacher assigns it as homework to avoid class time
- Students are paired by ability level to compete against each other
Correct answer: The teacher listens to paired conversations to check for misconceptions
When the teacher or IA listens during the 'pair' phase, they gather real-time evidence of understanding to inform subsequent instruction.
Question 3: What is the KEY difference between a formative quiz and a summative quiz?
- Formative quizzes are always oral; summative quizzes are written
- Formative quizzes are used to guide ongoing instruction; summative quizzes evaluate final learning (Correct answer)
- Summative quizzes are shorter and given more frequently
- Formative quizzes count toward the final grade; summative quizzes do not
Correct answer: Formative quizzes are used to guide ongoing instruction; summative quizzes evaluate final learning
The defining feature of a formative assessment is its purpose: to inform and improve instruction rather than to render a final judgment of learning.
Question 4: During peer feedback, a student tells a classmate 'your paragraph is bad.' An instructional assistant should guide the student to:
- Provide a grade instead
- Give specific, constructive comments tied to the assignment criteria (Correct answer)
- Avoid peer feedback in the future
- Agree with the peer to avoid conflict
Correct answer: Give specific, constructive comments tied to the assignment criteria
Effective peer feedback must be specific and criteria-referenced to be useful; vague evaluative language does not help the recipient improve.
Question 5: A student consistently answers teacher questions correctly but scores poorly on written tasks. A formative approach would be to:
- Assume the student is cheating on verbal responses
- Investigate the gap between oral and written performance to identify the barrier (Correct answer)
- Focus only on the written scores for the final grade
- Remove the student from group discussions
Correct answer: Investigate the gap between oral and written performance to identify the barrier
Noticing discrepancies between performance modes is a formative signal that prompts inquiry into underlying learning barriers such as writing difficulties or anxiety.
Question 6: Which tool is MOST appropriate for tracking individual student progress on specific learning targets over several weeks?
- A single end-of-unit test score
- A progress-monitoring chart updated with formative data points (Correct answer)
- A norm-referenced standardized test
- A single parent conference note
Correct answer: A progress-monitoring chart updated with formative data points
Ongoing progress-monitoring charts allow instructional teams to see trends, plateau points, and growth trajectories for individual students.
Question 7: When an instructional assistant rephrases a question that a student could not answer, the IA is using:
- Summative probing
- Scaffolded questioning as a formative technique (Correct answer)
- Punitive redirection
- Diagnostic pre-testing
Correct answer: Scaffolded questioning as a formative technique
Rephrasing or breaking down questions is a scaffolding strategy that also generates formative information about where the student's understanding breaks down.
CIA Formative Assessment Techniques 3
A teacher gives a 'ticket to leave' requiring students to solve one problem before exiting.
How should the instructional assistant use these tickets?