what is formative assessment in physical education

PHYSEDAGOGY

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Posted on October 4, 2014 by Sarah Gietschier-Hartman

Formative Assessment in #PhysEd

Have you ever stopped to think about why you use formative assessment in your physical education classes?

Perhaps you use formative assessment, assessment that occurs during the learning process , to provide your students feedback. Maybe you use it to improve or guide your teaching. Formative assessments can also be used to motivate students and increase student engagement.

Here are some of the reasons why I use formative assessment in my classes:

1) Formative assessment provides me with the information I need to determine what my students know and understand. I feel it is my responsibility to assess the cognitive domain. What can my students recall from a lesson? What do they understand? Can they apply the strategies learned in one activity to another? Can they create solutions for challenging problems?

2) Formative assessment allows me to reflect upon my teaching practices. Was the lesson I taught today effective? Did my students learn what I wanted them to learn? Is there anything I need to re-teach, revise, or [drat!] never teach again?

3) Formative assessment gives me the opportunity to teach my students content that is directly linked to Standard 2 from the National PE Standards . Standard 2 states, “The physically literate individual applies knowledge of concepts, principles, strategies and tactics related to movement and performance.” The content that falls under Standard 2 is by far my favorite to teach. I teach middle school students, who are ready to apply tactics and strategies in small-sided games. It’s one thing to  watch my students play a game, but it’s equally important to find out what they know about those tactics and strategies.

4) Formative assessment holds my students accountable for their learning. Since making the switch to standards-based instruction and assessment, and implementing pre-planned formative assessments, student engagement in my classes has dramatically improved. All of my students participate in class. All of my students bring their tennis shoes and dress out. All of my students have a smile on their face. All of my students are able to turn in Post-it notes and index cards with detailed, meaningful responses to my questions. Teachers in other subject areas ask, “Wait, the students in your class sometimes use a pencil and paper?” “Yep,” I respond, “and they learn, too!”

What do I mean by pre-planned formative assessments ? These are the assessments I create prior to class. I usually write questions on a dry-erase board, and my students write their responses on Post-it notes or index cards. The questions always meet the National Standards and Grade-Level Outcomes . I really enjoy sharing my pre-planned formative assessment ideas and student responses on Twitter, and the feedback I have received has been very positive, so I thought it would be helpful to share some of them here:

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I would love to read about the pre-planned formative assessments you use in your classes, as well as the spontaneous, off-the-cuff phrases you say to your students to measure their growth.

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 Category: Assessment and Grading , Blog      Tags: #Assessment , #PhysEd

23 Comments on “ Formative Assessment in #PhysEd ”

Great post Sarah! Your program sounds like a model of top notch teaching practices. I also appreciate you sharing your quick formative assessment samples. Thanks!

Thanks for your kind words, Lynn!

Super post! I just moved up to Middle School. It seems there are numerous excellent elementary internet resources. If you know of other internet resources geared to middle school I’d appreciate hearing about them.

In my opinion, the best middle school resources can be found through Twitter. I also really like http://www.playsport.net/ for TGfU activities. Thanks for checking out my post!

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Great information!!!

I will start as PE Coach for a new charter school K-6 next August 2015. We are in the process of selecting a curriculum for our PE program. Which one would you recomend?

Hi Francisco, In my opinion, physical education programs do not need to purchase a curriculum in order to provide students quality physical education. I believe that the curricula available for purchase in the United States are not curricula, but are supplemental documents that teachers can use when creating lessons and assessments. For example, “I need to teach ___. Maybe my binder from _____ has an awesome game I could use!”

Some school districts create their own curriculum documents. Some are incredibly detailed, others provide basic guidelines for teachers to follow. I currently use the National PE Standards and grade-level outcomes to guide my instruction. Using them allows me to determine exactly what I want my students to know, be able to do, and understand by the end of the school year.

Curricula documents vary. Some states have their own. Some districts have their own. In Canada, there are provincial curricula documents, which are designed to help teachers give their students a similar experience throughout the specific province.

I hope this information helps! Thanks for asking!

SPARK is a great curriculum but OPEN Phys Ed is fantastic and it is free!

Hi Francisco Avila, the PE program that I used for our school district was “SPARK”, it is easy to follow, and it meets the standards that are required, there are many fun games for all the ages, K-6.

Thank you! I really like the idea of using the whiteboard with sticky notes for student responses. Also, isn’t it great that twitter has become such a great resource!?

Hi Sarah, Thanks for sharing these great examples of formative assessment. I was just curious to the weighting (if any) the formative pieces hold for students final grade/level for the unit?

Thanks again, Blake

Hey Blake, thanks for reading this post and asking your question!

Formative assessments occur while the students are still learning, so they are not graded. They help drive the teacher’s instruction, give the students a chance to show or explain what they know (and don’t know), and provide students and teachers an opportunity to reinforce certain ideas or concepts.

It is best practice (in every content area) to never grade formative assessments.

Love these ideas, Sarah. What do you do with the Post-It notes after you’ve read them? Just trying to think of the logistics of collecting all those for each class and keeping track of them. Do you read and then throw out? Thanks for such great ideas!

Hi Diane! Here are some of the things I do with Post-it notes (or index cards): 1) I make sure to use a different color in each class, so when I get home at night I don’t mix them up. 2) I put them in a Ziploc bag to take them home. 3) Sometimes I write feedback on them (it depends on the topic). 4) I make notes for myself about concepts my students are really getting or things I need to re-teach. 5) I take pictures of some of the responses. 6) I recycle all of them (unless I’ve written feedback on them). 3×3 inch Post-it notes are the perfect size for my middle school students!

Thanks Sarah. I’m going to try this during my upcoming badminton unit. I love to hear ideas from other middle school teachers and there aren’t many of us online, at least that I can find!

Have you tried using Evernote with your Post Its? The two go hand in hand: https://blog.evernote.com/blog/2014/02/20/using-evernote-post-it-notes/

I read Evernote’s blog post. I love using Evernote, but don’t think it would work well in this instance. From what I understand, I would have to take a picture of each Post-It note every day. That would take quite a bit of time and I don’t think the result would be extremely useful. I’m not sure how to organize it all. Tag each one with the child’s name so that I could see all the notes by that child at the same time when searching? Hmm, I’ll have to think more about this.

Diane, are you on Twitter? I could help connect you to other MS #PhysEd teachers.

Joey, I have not used Evernote, but think this idea is brilliant. The one device I always have with me is my iPhone, which would make it very easy to capture images of my students’ responses.

Diane, I don’t think a picture of every Post-it note is necessary. We could save specific responses…answers we want to share with the class…answers we want to keep for the future…answers that we wish were just a little bit better.

Sarah – that sounds like a great idea! I’ll try it. Yes, I’m on twitter @MsOlliffe PE. I found you and your blog that way. 🙂 Thanks for the help connecting with other MS.

Sarah, I teach the younger grades. At the present time I only discuss the lesson with them. I do not give a formal assessment. I would love to discuss with you different ways for me to implement formal assessment with this 5-8 age group. How would you go about implementing formal assessments with the kindergarten classes with a 30 minute period? How would you set up the paper, markers etc. thanks.

Hi Sophia! I shared your question with Collin Brooks ( @ CollinBrooksie ). He teaches elementary PhysEd and I knew he would have a great response for you! Here are the ideas Collin shared: 1) In Oregon (where he teaches), he does not have to formally assess his kindergarten students. 2) He looks at their locomotor, non-locomotor, and manipulative skills, scaffolds his lessons to meet the needs of every student, and makes sure all of his students understand the basic skills that are developmentally appropriate for their specific age. 3) You should investigate using Plickers to conduct formative assessments with ages 5-8! 4) We would both like to encourage you to create rubrics—that are directly linked to specific grade-level otucomes—that each have 3-4 critical elements. You can use the rubrics to assess your students and then revisit the elements that need to be re-taught.

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This has been an absolutely fabulous read. I am currently seeking my bachelor’s in Secondary Edu with physical education as my major. When doing all my practicum hours at our local middle schools none of this assessment is taking place. I love how you ask for feedback and your students understanding of what they are learning with each unit, and that grading is not from your assessment rather for your own knowledge as to what your students know or don’t and what you can do to make improvements.

Thank you! Autumn Doyle

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Assessment is essential and integral to effective teaching and learning in PE as it provides information on students’ strengths, weaknesses, and educational requirements, which informs future planning and teaching [ 1-9 ]. Assessment is also vital for the provision of grades (achieved and predicted), informing others of attainment (parents, teachers etc.), and is used to judge the effectiveness of teachers and the school [ 7, 10 ]. Moreover, feedback from assessment has been recognized for increasing pupil motivation and engagement, and helps create a positive learning environment [ 11, 12 ].

In PE there are many modes of assessment but for the purpose of this article we will focus on the most significant modes (formative and summative) and reference systems (criterion, norm, and ipsative).

Formative assessment has been described as ‘ongoing’ and takes place during teaching-learning situations in PE. It is important as it involves providing pupils with constructive feedback, diagnosing future learning needs, describing students’ progress, and determining their strengths and weaknesses [ 2, 3, 4, 13, 14 ]. It has also been closely related to ‘Assessment for Learning’ and has been commended for its emphasis on describing progress, identifying pupils’ needs, planning for next steps in learning, and providing vital information for summative assessment [ 1, 15, 16 ].

Summative assessment is an overall assessment which takes place at the end of an interval, unit, key stage or year. It has also been described as ‘Assessment of Learning’ as it provides a synopsis of students’ levels of attainment at the end of a specified interval, and is used to provide examination grades [ 1, 2, 7, 9, 15 ]. Summative assessment has been asserted as the ‘systematic recording of the pupil’s overall progress and achievement, and is made up of a series of formative assessments’ [ 3 ].

As previously mentioned, there are three reference systems that have been used for assessment in PE, these are: Norm Referenced; Criterion Referenced; and Ipsative Referenced assessment [ 1, 2, 7, 17, 18 ]. Norm Referenced assessment is when students are compared with one another [ 7, 18 ]. This form of assessment has been regarded as ‘group centred’, as comparisons within the group are made to establish how successful the pupil is in relation to others of the same age [ 2 ]. However, Norm Referencing assessment has been criticised, as the goal for learning is a moving target due to other pupils’ performances determining the standard of learning [ 18 ]. This can be detrimental to students’ self-esteem, as when pupils progress to ‘above average’, it is at the expense of others who become ‘below average’ [ 2 ]. Additionally, dependent upon the ability of the class determines the students’ attainment, as in a high calibre class pupils may receive on average a lower mark, compared to a mediocre class who receives on average a higher mark [ 17 ]. Notwithstanding, Norm Referencing has been deemed inevitable, as it is used in public grading systems, and for selecting pupils for school representation and teams [ 2 ].

Criterion Referenced assessment is comparing pupils performance to a predetermined criteria or standard [ 2, 7, 17, 18 ]. For example, in the UK the National Curriculum’s attainment targets/level descriptors, GCSE’s, A Levels, and other national governing body awards are all examples of Criterion Referenced assessment since students’ performances are judged based on established criteria [ 7 ]. Criterion Referencing is ‘activity centered’ assessment, as all students can potentially achieve the target, eliminating comparison with others, thus promoting collaborative learning as pupils are working together towards a common goal [ 18 ]. Criterion Referenced assessment should not to be viewed in conflict with the other referencing systems, but rather to be used in conjunction with them [ 2 ]. Therefore, the advantage of Criterion Referenced assessment and set standards is that it provides educators with a more accurate measuring stick to assess pupils learning, and provides details of the additional work students must complete to reach the next level of achievement [ 18 ].

Ipsative Referencing assessment compares a pupil’s current performance with their previous performance in the same activity [ 2, 7, 17 ]. Ipsative Referencing is regarded as ‘child centered’, as pupils focus on beating their previous achievement, which is useful for recording learning and progress [ 2, 7 ]. This form of referencing promotes a mastery climate, again eliminating comparison with others, which enhances pupils’ self-esteem, motivation, and accountability [2]. Furthermore, Ipsative Referencing provides a foundation for self and teacher assessments in Records of Achievement [ 2 ].

In conclusion, Norm, Criterion, and Ipsative referenced assessment should not be viewed as mutually exclusive, as they are all beneficial for supporting students’ learning when employed together. It is expected that all PE teachers implement a range of assessment methods in every lesson, as it helps teachers and pupils to progress in their teaching and learning. For assessments to be managed efficiently and effectively, it is important for the criteria to be precise, clearly identified, and related to each other [ 2 ]. Moreover, to develop appropriate and reliable assessment criteria calls for dedicated and devoted teachers, who possess strong observational skills, detailed knowledge of activities and their techniques, and can make sound judgements of pupils’ ability [ 2, 8, 19 ].

• Piotrowski, S. (2000) Assessment, Recording and Reporting. In, Bailey, R., and Macfadyen, T. (Eds) Teaching Physical Education 5-11. London: Continuum. pp. 49-61
• Carroll, B. (1994) Assessment in Physical Education. Burgess Science Press: Basingstoke.
• Mawer, M. (1995) The effective teaching of Physical Education. Essex: Pearson Education Limited. pp. 229-248
• Bailey, R. (2001) Teaching Physical Education: A handbook for primary and secondary school teachers. London: Kogan Page. pp. 137-152
• Coates, B (2001) Assessment Planning for KS3 PE. Cambridge: Pearson Publishing. pp. 1-13
• Walker, D., (2001) Assessment, Recording and Reporting of Pupil Attainment in Physical Education – A Voice form the Real World. The British Journal of Teaching Physical Education. 32(4): pp. 24-25
• Macfadyen, T., and Bailey, R. (2002) Teaching Physical Education 11-18. London: Continuum. Pp. 75-89
• Lockwood, A., and Newton, A. (2004) Assessment in PE. In Capel, S. (Eds) Learning to Teach Physical Education in the Secondary School: A companion to School Experience. Second Edition. Oxon: RoutledgeFalmer. pp.165
• O’Neill, J., and Ockmore, D. (2006) Assessing pupils’ learning. In Capel, S., Breckon, P., and O’neill, J. (Eds)A Practical Guide to Teaching Physical Education in the Secondary School. Oxon: Routledge. pp. 133-143
• Peach, S., and Bamforth, C. (2003) Tackling the problems of Assessment, Recording and Reporting in Physical Education and Initial Teacher Training 2: an update and evaluation of the project and recommendations for future good practive. The British Journal of Teaching Physical Education. 34(1): pp. 22-26
• James, A.R., Griffin, L., and Dodds, P. (2009) Perceptions of middle school assessment: an ecological view. Physical Education and Sport Pedagogy. 14(3): pp. 323-334
• Koka, A. and Hein, V. (2006) Perceptions of teachers’ positive feedback and perceived threat to sense of self in physical education: a longitudinal study. European Physical Education Review. 12(2): pp 165-179
• Morley, D. and Bailey, R. (2004) Talent Identification and provision in PE – A strategic approach. The British Journal of Teaching Physical Education. 35(1): pp. 41-44
• Strand, B.N., and Wilson, R. (1993) Assessing sport skills. Leeds: Human Kinetics
• Williams, A. (1988) Teaching Physical Education: A Guide for Mentors and Students. London: David Fulton Publishers Ltd. pp.67-78
• Giles-Brown, L. (2006) Physical Education Assessment Toolkit. Leeds: Human Kinetics.
• Piotrowski, S., & Capel, S. (2000) Formal and Informal Modes of Assessment in Physical Education. In: Capel, S., & Piotrowski, S. (Eds.) issues in physical education. London: RoutledgeFalmer. pp. 99-115

• Pete Charrette

Understanding Assessment in Physical Education: Strategies, Examples and Best Practices

Physical education plays a vital role in the holistic development of students. It offers numerous benefits, including promoting physical fitness, enhancing motor skills, and instilling a lifelong appreciation for physical activity. However, the true potential of physical education is often overshadowed by the perceived difficulty of assessing student learning and achievement in this context. The aim of this article is to demystify the concept of assessment in physical education and provide PE teachers with comprehensive strategies to ensure student progress and enhance teaching practices.

As the field of education continues to evolve, so too must the methodologies applied in the classroom, including those in the gymnasium or on the sports field. Traditionally, physical education assessment was focused on the more easily quantifiable aspects of fitness levels and specific skills. But a more comprehensive approach incorporates diverse assessment methods that not only evaluate physical abilities but also account for personal improvement, student understanding, and knowledge of physical activities.

Understanding the Role of Assessment in Physical Education

Assessment in PE is crucial for gauging student progress, refining curriculum, and enhancing teaching strategies. It provides a reliable way to measure the development of specific skills, including motor abilities, knowledge, and understanding of various physical activities, and the personal and social growth that accompanies participation in physical education class. Consequently, physical education assessments offer invaluable data to teachers, students, and parents about student achievement, forming the basis for setting new goals, providing feedback, and making inferences about future instruction.

The role of assessment is not limited to the measurement of the students' physical abilities. It extends to the evaluation of cognitive growth, understanding of the rules and strategies of specific sports, and development of teamwork, leadership, and ethical behavior. Moreover, assessment in physical education plays a critical role in promoting students' self-evaluation skills, encouraging them to take responsibility for their learning.

Utilizing Rubrics in Physical Education Assessment

Rubrics serve as essential tools for PE teachers

when conducting assessments. These established scoring criteria help to evaluate a student's performance in an organized, consistent, and objective manner. They offer clarity about what is expected of students, providing them with specific performance expectations and a clearer understanding of what constitutes success.

Well-constructed rubrics detail varying levels of proficiency for each learning objective, allowing teachers to pinpoint where a student is excelling and where improvement is needed. Additionally, rubrics facilitate constructive feedback, enabling students to understand their strengths and weaknesses better. They also promote consistency in evaluation and make the

assessment process transparent, promoting student understanding and fairness.

Formative Assessment in Physical Education

Formative assessment, also known as assessment for learning, is an ongoing process that occurs during instruction. It allows teachers to monitor student learning, provide feedback, and adjust instructional strategies to enhance student achievement. In the context of physical education, formative assessments can include peer assessment, self-assessment, exit assessment slips, and exit checks.

Peer assessment: Peer assessment encourages students to constructively critique each other's performance. It promotes the development of communication skills and a better understanding of the learning objectives. This form of assessment can be particularly effective in team sports and group physical activities, where students can give and receive feedback about specific skills or teamwork strategies.

Self-assessment: Self-assessment promotes self-reflection and personal improvement. Students assess their own performance, identify their strengths and weaknesses, and set goals for improvement. This formative assessment method fosters a sense of responsibility and accountability for one's own learning and progress.

Exit assessment slips: These are quick assessments at the end of a lesson where students write what they learned, questions they might have, or difficulties they experienced. They help teachers understand the effectiveness of the lesson and provide insight into students' understanding.

Exit checks: These quick checks at the end of class assess student understanding of the day's lesson. Students can point to or touch a visual on the way out of class to self-assess their performance for the day.

Summative Assessment in Physical Education

While formative assessments focus on ongoing feedback during the learning process, summative assessments occur at the end of a unit, semester, or school year. They provide an overall measure of student learning and achievement. Examples of summative assessments in physical education include fitness tests, skill performance assessments, written assessments, or team sport participation.

Summative assessments are useful for making inferences about student achievement over time and their readiness for the next level of physical education. They also help physical education teachers report student progress to parents and school administrators.

Authentic Assessment in Physical Education

Authentic assessment in physical education refers to evaluating students in situations that replicate real-world activities rather than contrived testing scenarios. For example, rather than simply testing a student's ability to kick a soccer ball, an authentic assessment would involve evaluating the student's performance during an actual game, taking into account their skill execution, decision-making, and teamwork.

Authentic assessment offers a comprehensive view of a student's abilities. It values the learning process, rewards meaningful learning, and mirrors the kind of work students are likely to encounter outside of the school environment.

Utilizing Assessment Data in Physical Education

Assessment data from a PE class serves as valuable resource for a physical education teacher. The data offers insights into students' physical abilities, understanding of PE concepts, and progress in various skills and objectives. By evaluating this data, teachers can identify trends, spot challenges, and tailor their instruction to better meet students' needs.

For instance, if PE assessment data show that many students struggle with a specific skill, the teacher might revisit that skill in subsequent lessons, provide additional practice opportunities, or adapt their teaching strategies to improve student understanding and performance. Furthermore, assessment data can also help professionals teaching physical education communicate more effectively with parents about their child's progress and learning needs in PE.

The Four Essential Components of Physical Education Assessment

There are four essential components to effective physical education assessment:

1 - Ongoing evaluation: Assessing student performance and progress should be a regular part of the physical education class. Consistent evaluation provides timely feedback to students and informs instruction.

2 - Diverse assessment methods: Utilizing a mix of formative, summative, and authentic assessments ensures a comprehensive evaluation of student learning.

3 - Student involvement: Engaging students in the assessment process through peer and self-assessment encourages active participation in their learning journey.

4 - Data-informed decision-making: Utilizing assessment data to inform teaching strategies and learning objectives ensures that physical education is responsive and tailored to students' needs.

Final Thoughts

Physical education plays a critical role in student development, promoting physical fitness, motor skills, and a love for physical activity. However, to fully realize its benefits, a comprehensive and effective assessment strategy is necessary. Through a combination of rubrics, formative, summative, and authentic assessments, physical educators can track student progress, adapt their teaching strategies, and enhance student learning.

Assessment in physical education is not just about evaluating student performance but is an essential tool for improving teaching practices and promoting student achievement. It allows teachers to create a learning environment that meets students' unique needs, encourages personal growth, and prepares them for a lifetime of physical activity.

As we move forward, we must embrace a broader vision of assessment in physical education—one that views each student holistically, values their personal improvement, and uses assessment data to continually enhance the quality of physical education.

How do you assess your students (formative and summative) during PE? Let us know in the comments below?

FREE Assessment Rubric Visual for Your Learning Space!

Do you need a practical rubric visual to help you highlight and showcase how you assess your PE students for a skill, movement or concept? If so, Cap'n Pete's Power PE has you covered! This FREE colorful Physical Education visual (poster) displays an Olympic-themed, 4-point grading rubric that can be utilized by teachers during student assessment in physical education. It can also be informative for students during PE skill self-assessment and by their classmates through peer-assessment.

Fill out the form below to download the physical education rubric visual that you can use to reference when assessing your students. PE Poster: 4 Point Rubric- Olympic Themed (Go for the Gold) - in 5 color schemes displays the 3 Olympic medals as motivation to improve PE assessment scores and provides a descriptor statement and graphical icons to help students easily relate to each score point.

This freebie set will be sure to enhance your PE program for years!

Need Some Easy to Implement Resources to Help Assess Physed Skills & Movements?

Download 24 practical assessment sets for several skill and movement actions for physical education students from 2nd to 8th Grade! The PE Assessment Series: Super Bundle: 24 Skill and Movement Assessment Sets is a comprehensive bundle of teacher, peer and self-assessment visuals teachers and students can easily use for formative and summative assessment in a PE setting.

You can download the bundle (or individual resources) from either of the following platforms: Cap'n Pete's Power PE Website or Teachers Pay Teachers- Cap'n Pete's TPT Store

Each assessment format can be used by a physical education teacher for formative or summative assessment purposes. The different sheets share the same visuals, element descriptors and basic rubric system. The teacher versions (Pre/Post-test and Single test variation) allow for scoring to be conducted by the teacher while the peer and self-reflection versions provide an area for student reflection.

What Skills and Movements are included in the PE Assessment Series Super Bundle?

PE Assessment Series: Bundle 1

1. Catching a Ball

2. Hand Dribbling

3. Overhand Throw

4. Throwing a Football

5. Underhand Roll

6. Underhand Toss

PE Assessment Series: Bundle 2

7. Foot Dribbling

8. Forehand Strike ️

9. Hockey Stick Handling

10. Kicking a Ball

11. Punting a Ball

12. Striking with a Bat

PE Assessment Series: Bundle 3

13. Forward Roll

14. Jumping Rope

15. Overhand Volley

17. Twirling a Hula Hoop

18. Underhand Volley

PE Assessment Series: Bundle 4

19. Galloping

20. Leaping

21. One Foot Hopping

22. Skipping

23. Slide Stepping

24. Two Foot Jumping

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The Purpose of Assessment in Core PE

By Lee Sullivan

Introduction

There can be no doubt that assessment has been an area of contention and challenge for physical educators for some time. The need for standardisation, accountability, and evidence has driven many assessment models that are not fit for purpose.

Much of my learning comes from reflecting on my own mistakes, others challenging my thinking, seeing better practice and reading and listening to experts that know more about a particular topic than I do.

For years I assessed in the same way I was assessed at school and the same way I had seen others assess. I was doing what had always been done and the only way I knew. When I first became a PE teacher and well into my first few years as Head of Department, at the end of every unit of work I would hold an assessment lesson. This would inform my summative grades and essentially I would hold some form of conditioned/full context version of the activity, walk around the class with my clip board and pen and mark off whether students could effectively replicate a skill or movement. I would then input that summative grade, send it off to parents and inform students. The students never had an opportunity to act on any of the assessment information in that scheme of work and would not likely return to that activity for another year. The only purpose of that form of assessment was to inform students, SLT and parents whether a child was any good at that activity or not. Furthermore, the assessment focused only on practical ability that focused on GCSE PE outcomes or one of an elite performer.

This blog seeks to explore the purpose of assessment in Core PE.

What do we mean by Assessment?

The AIESEP Position Statement on Physical Education Assessment describes assessment as, ‘a process by which information on student learning is obtained, interpreted and communicated, relative to one or more predefined learning outcomes (AIESEP, 2020). Myatt (2018) offers a sound definition of assessment as, ‘the process of gaining insight into what our pupils know, understand and can do as a result of what we have taught them’.

Both of these definitions focus on the teacher understanding if learning has occurred. However, it could be argued that in PE we have become fixated on using assessment only to communicate to senior leaders and parents how well (or not) someone has done in an activity, not because we value the process, but because we have to. I think assessment can go further than these definitions to include the use of the gathered information to inform future teaching, provide student ownership and opportunities for reflection and should not be considered as a final destination, but instead as a key part of the learning journey.

It is also vital that we remind ourselves at this point what we are aiming to achieve in Core PE. I explored this in a recent blog ‘The Problem with GCSE PE’ . We do not have the same aims as GCSE PE in Core PE. We should use our assessment in Core PE to assess against our Core PE curriculum intent. Consider what knowledge and skills we hope they leave us with and how do we know we have achieved it?

What Messages Are We Sending?

At the start of this academic year, I had a Year 7 student come up to me to inform me that he was unable to run. I asked him if he had an injury to which he replied he had not. I asked him why he was unable to run and his reply was an instant reminder as to the negative impact that assessment can have on ones self-identity in PE. He said that in Year 6 he got a “rubbish grade in athletics”. He thought that he couldn’t run because of the message his assessment had given him. I wondered what other activities this message might have transferred to. Might he not want to have a kick around at break for fear of having to run for the ball, or try to avoid PE because of the humiliation attached to the poor grade he would likely receive? I reminded him that of course he can run! He doesn’t need to win a race or run the furthest, but he can absolutely run and find enjoyment in it. Whether it be running or running in another activity, he can find meaning through movement.  

Assessment in schools recently went through its biggest change for some time, as we transitioned into life without levels. Previously, students were given a level, based on their ability to perform a skill. These levels often came with sub-levels and were com­plicated for teachers to understand, let alone students.

However, with levels now gone, it seems that they have been replaced by different wording with a similar negative impact. Levels in disguise. It is not uncommon for schools to report home using a GCSE 1-9 grade or be asked to input data against working below, working at or working above grades that are often set against performance in English and Maths. How is any of this relevant to PE? It certainly doesn’t meet our objective to build positive relationships with PE, physical activity and sport. Much like skill-drill PE delivery, is this doing more harm than good?

The way in which we share assessment information is also something to reflect upon. I have witnessed PE departments choose to publicise students’ results in different forms. Some chose to put assessment grades achieved in a student planner, while others communi­cate attainment out to the class in a register-style approach. More recently, I have even seen assessment grades transferred to a 100-metre sprint race analogy-style notice board. The students achieving the highest grades have their pictures pinned closer to the finish line and those with lower attainment further back. Once again I ask, what message is this sending to those that can and those that, according to the performance and practical focused assessment, cannot?

The wording around how we communicate progress is very important and the method in which we use to communicate that information is equally as important.

What is the Purpose of Assessment?

Often when we think about an assessment, we think of a test. I think it’s time to reframe what that means in PE as we consider what we are hoping to gain from any form of assessment in PE.

Firstly, the teachers should use their observations to reflect on whether learning has occurred. Do they know what I need them to know? Can they show what I want them to show? If they can then great, we can increase the level of challenge. If not, then we may need to revisit prior learning or provide more time for practice. Either way, this information should enable and inform future lesson planning. We must also acknowledge the vital part that students themselves must take in their learning journey. Students should reflect on their own progress. What can they do now that they couldn’t before? More importantly. What do they need to do/know to take their learning further? Finally, it is important to share learning progress with our senior leaders, parents and other key stake holders. I am often saddened to see the number of schools who will provide summaries of learning progress in every subject but PE. What does this say to the educational value that PE holds in that school and the importance of PE to the children’s development?

We must reflect on what it is we are trying to achieve with our curriculum. We are a mass education system and not an elite education system. A huge majority of our students will not go on to play sport at an elite level, and those that do, won’t do so because of our practical focused and performance obsessed assessment. We must ensure learning is occurring, adapt future teaching, bring students in on their learning journey and communicate learning progress. We must not provide messages that tell students they are not good at something because they are judged against criteria set out to create professionals. We must build positive relationships that nurture intrinsic motivation so that children engage in and remain in physical activity.

Formative vs Summative

Assessment is often referred to in two different forms: summative and formative. In her keynote speech for Making Shift Happen (2018), Daisy Christodoulou provided this clear differentiation for the two forms of assessment, “formative assessment is the journey and summative assessment is the destination.”

Despite the clear differences in summative and formative assessment, assessment guru Wiliam argues, in The Research Ed Guide to Assessment, that summative and formative assessment should not be separated as different forms of assessment, as assessment can be used both summatively and formatively. This point is further supported by Christodoulou (2016) in her suggestion of combining both summative and formative assessment in a ‘descriptor-based assessment’. By using descriptors of performance, teachers can assess student performance throughout the entire scheme of work, and use these observations to provide a summative grade once completed.

In the Concept Curriculum we recommend this approach of using formative to inform summative. Do away with those harmful assessment lessons and instead use the information you gather each and every lesson to provide you with a bigger view of a student’s progress. At the risk of losing many readers, I often use an analogy linked to my beloved and enraging Tottenham Hotspur Football Team. If I was to observe one of our key players, Harry Kane, in any one match he can have zero shots on goal and few touches in the opposition’s box. If I were to assess him in that one game, he might receive a low mark. However, if I observed him across an entire season I could see just how good he is. I can see his technical ability, how he moves under pressure, decision making, tactical awareness, etc. I might even observe the times he leads his team, communicates effectively, demonstrates resilience and determination and unfortunately as a Spurs player his ability to embrace and learn from failure.

In short, the information we can gain from an entire scheme of work is far greater than the information we can gather in one assessment lesson. Thus the benefits of using ongoing formative assessment to inform summative judgements.

Going Beyond the Physical

It is not the purpose of PE to develop resilience or leadership skills, nor is it our responsibility to improve communication or intrapersonal skills. We are however, in a fantastic place to offer immersive experiences with character development learning opportunities. We can provide a safe place to learn about failure, to lead and be led, to aim to win and communicate to create.  All while being active for sustained periods of time, building positive relationships with PE, physical activity and sport and developing movement competence and confidence. “The development of fundamental movement skills can provide the foundation from which children move with increasing complexity, variety and versatility in a range of activity areas. Whilst developing these skills children are also able to build on social, affective and cognitive learning opportunities.” (Randall, V. 2022). This leads to the point that if we are going to explicitly bring character development into our curriculum, we should assess it.

Andrew Frapwell and the Association for Physical Education (AfPE) released A Practical Guide to Assessing Without levels (2015). This book presents the Head-Heart-Hands framework for organising content and criteria. The content represents the ‘key skills’ (Hands), ‘essential knowledge and concepts’ (Head), and ‘vital behaviours’ (Heart) expected of all learners by the end of their respective Key Stages:

• Physical , referring to the changes in the body, growth, movement, and environment perception (psychomotor domain).
• Cognitive development addresses the mental processes including mem­ory, language, and problem solving (cognitive domain).
• Social/emotional development, pertaining to how children handle rela­tionships and their own emotions (affective domain).

Encouragingly, many schools have adopted this framework, or the Matt Bowler ‘Me in PE’ approach. Holistic assessment should focus on development, not performance, through more than the physical domain, therefore encouraging students to learn from mistakes and motivating them to engage. This encourages a positive and enriching environment in which all students can flourish through physical activity, thus nurturing physical literacy. I too often see PE departments make bold claims about their curriculum intent and then assess only against the physical domain. Whilst I agree, learning through the physical domain is our bread and butter as PE teachers, we have the opportunity to go further.

This blog aimed to explore the true purpose of assessment in core PE. Through my reading, research, experience and collaborations I believe that assessment should not be considered as the final destination in a unit of work, but as part of the learning journey throughout it. The information gained from formative assessment should be used to see if students know what we want them to know and can show what we had aimed for them to show. This information can be used to inform future teaching and provide opportunities for students to reflect on progress and understand what can be done to progress further. Formative can be used to inform summative. We must do better when considering how we communicate assessment information and assess students against what we had set out to achieve with our curriculum intent.

Looking for More

Wanting to explore assessment in PE further? Check out the bite size Assessment in PE course (free to PE Scholar members) which is intended to provide a clear rationale for thinking differently about assessment whilst also providing some initial ideas to help you improve the way you assess.

• Meyer, L. (2011) The Value of GCSEs. https://filestore.aqa.org.uk/content/research/CERP-RP-LM-01062011.pdf?download=1 Centre for Education Research Policy.
• Association for PE. (August, 2022). More GCSE Students Choose Computing Over PE for the First Time https://www.afpe.org.uk/physical-education/more-gcse-students-choose-computing-over-pe-for-the-first-time/
• Frapwell, A. A Practical Guide to Assessing Without levels (2015). The Association for Physical Education (AfPE)

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Assessment For Learning In Physical Education

For this episode of The #PhysEd Show Podcast, I invited the one and only Terri Drain onto the show so that we could discuss assessment for learning in physical education.

If you don’t know who Terri is, she’s an amazing physical educator who teaches at Vintage Hills Elementary School in the San Francisco Bay Area. In 2007, Terri was named the California Association for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance Elementary Teacher of the Year and was named the SHAPE America Southwest District Teacher of the Year for the following year. In addition to her physical education-specific accolades, Terri was named the Pleasanton Unified School District Teacher of the Year in 2016. She is a National Board Certified Teacher, a member of the SHAPE America Board of Directors , a fellow Canadian, and probably the most cited person on this blog. Terri is one of the best presenters I have ever had a chance to see in action (you can find most of her session handouts on her blog ), I’ve learned so much from her over the past few years, and I’m so excited to have her on The #PhysEd Show to talk about assessment!

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As I’ve done with past episodes of The #PhysEd Show, I decided to put together some pretty thorough show notes that elaborate on some of the ideas we explored in the podcast to help you dive deeper into the topic of assessment for learning (AFL). Sound good? Here we go:

What is assessment?

Let’s start off by defining our terms here. According to the Great School Partnership , assessment “refers to the wide variety of methods or tools that educators use to evaluate, measure, and document the academic readiness, learning progress, skill acquisition, or educational needs of students.” That said, I always liked this definition that Katie White , educational consultant/author of “ Softening The Edges “, shared on Twitter:

To change our view of assessment, we could open our definition: any time we measure efforts against a goal, we're assessing #ATAssess — Katie White (she/her) (@KatieWhite426) January 26, 2017

What’s the different between assessment for learning and assessment of learning?

Whereas assessment of learning usually appears as summative tasks in which students demonstrate their learning and have a grade/result associated to their level of achievement, assessment for learning involves formative tasks which inform both the student and the teacher about where the student is at in their learning, remind them of where they are aiming to go, and help them better understand what they can do in order to get there.

Still not sure what the difference is between the two ( for and of )? Here’s a video in which author/educational consultant Rick Wormeli provides a detailed explanation:

What are the benefits of assessment for learning?

In his book “ Classroom Assessment For Student Learning: Doing It Right – Using It Well “, Rick Stiggins highlights for benefits of assessment for learning:

Stiggins goes on further to state that “ the effect of assessment for learning on student achievement is some four to five times greater than the effect of reduced class size “.

That being said, it’s pretty clear that assessment for learning is something that we, as physical educators, should be taking seriously. Let’s dig deeper into what AFL can actually look like in physical education:

What does assessment for learning look like in PE?

Stiggins identifies seven strategies of assessment for learning. Here they are along with some examples of what they could look like in physical education:

Strategy One: Provide a Clear and Understandable Vision of the Learning Target

What is it?

Share the learning objectives prior to the start of your lesson or before any classroom activity. You’ll want to make sure that you are using language that the students understand and ensure that you take the time to check for that understanding. You can also provide your students with the grading rubric to help them fully understand what achievement can look like.

What could it look like in physical education?

As Terri mentions in the podcast, this is a perfect time to introduce the “What”, “Why”, and “How” of your lesson .

I like doing this by sharing the “What” and “How” portions, but then having my students come up with the “Why” either through a class discussion or a Walk & Talk session.

As for the rubrics, I like to create Learning Roadmaps for my units in physical education.

Although I really do believe in the power of these qualitative rubrics, I’m always looking to improve them. Here are two things I’m working on right now:

• Using Student-Friendly Language. As Stiggins states, the rubric should be written in language that the students understand and are comfortable with. This is something I want to continue working on as my Learning Roadmaps can sometimes be a little too wordy and contain too much teacher-speak.
• Offer Different Paths Towards Mastery. This is an idea that was shared with me by Dr. Justen O’Connor in a blog post he wrote that explored how the Learning Roadmaps could be improved. The idea is to provide different levels of achievement within each level of mastery on the roadmap so that students can follow a path that is unique to their skill/knowledge/understanding level. I’ll be tinkering with this in the new year.

Strategy Two: Use Examples and Models of Strong and Weak Work

Share examples of real work and have students reflect on those examples so that they can identify strengths and weaknesses in the work provided. This can help students gain a more thorough understanding of the task at hand and help them build a deeper understanding of what mastery can look like. This process can also help students develop strategies that they can use to master the content they are exploring in class.

As I’ve blogged about before, I maintain pretty extensive, digital student portfolios in my physical education classes . This means that, over the years, I’ve collected a lot of videos of students performing different skills (and completing different assessment pieces) at different levels of mastery.

I’m currently working on putting together Anchor Portfolios for the different outcomes that we focus on in class. An Anchor Portfolio is an idea that was introduced to me by my wife (who is a classroom teacher and is, also, very lovely). Basically, it is a portfolio that contains pieces of student work for each level of mastery.

These pieces can serve as examples for my current students who can analyze them to better understand why the work corresponds to a specific level of mastery and compare the work to their own performance.

Another example of an effort I’ve made in regards to this strategy is that I’ve created visuals (graphics and videos) that illustrate what mature patterns look like for various skills.

I’ve done this for fundamental movement skills…

… and different sport skills

Although these posters take a ton of time to produce, my goal is to have one for every skill that I teach in my program so that students can always have the clearest idea of what a “strong” performance looks like in regards to these different motor skills.

Strategy Three: Offer Regular Descriptive Feedback

Instead of providing students with a grade on a formative assessment piece, provide them with descriptive feedback. Feedback works best when it is specific, focuses on the student’s strengths and weaknesses in regards to the learning objective, let’s the student know what they are doing right and what they need to do in order to keep making progress.

Stiggins recommends a “Stars & Stairs” approach: focus on what the learner accomplished and what are the next steps.

Finally, don’t overwhelm students by providing them with too much information. Although some students can digest and act on a lot of feedback at once, not all students can. Get to know your students so that you have a better understanding of the kind of feedback that has the greatest impact on their learning and how much feedback they can take at once.

In terms of skill development, skills are pretty easy to break down into critical elements which allows you to get super specific with your feedback.

The bigger issue is finding the time to provide each learner with descriptive feedback in your super short, overly crowded, chaotic-by-nature physical education lessons. This is why it is so important to come up with descriptive feedback systems in your teaching that will allow you to increase the amount of feedback loops for each student. Here are a few examples of these types of systems:

Marked Up Learning Roadmaps

This is another idea that falls under the “still in beta” category, but I’ve been experimenting with marking up my Learning Roadmaps so as to provide my students with potential next steps to help guide them along their learning journey.

The idea here is that, by adding comments to the Learning Roadmap, once students have identified what level they are currently at (via teacher feedback, peer-assessment, or self-assessment), a student can look at the comments on the roadmap to better understand what they can be focusing on in order to move their learning forward. I’m still working on these in class, but the early results have been pretty great!

Environmental Feedback Loops

Now this is an idea I’ve been wanting to try but haven’t even tested out yet! A few years back, I got to see Dr. Stevie Chepko speak at the 2013 National PE Institute (you can watch her 2012 National PE Institute keynote ). In her presentation on motor learning, Stevie was sharing thoughts on the importance of feedback loops in regards to mastery of the fundamental movement skills. One of the ideas she brought up was an environmental prompt that provided students with feedback based on the result of their performance. Here’s an example of what that means:

So imagine you have a large version of the graphic above printed out and pasted on your gym wall. Using an underhand throw that includes a release between the knee and waist level, students can attempt to throw a ball or beanbag so that it hits the blue “Just Right” area. If it hits the orange area, then they know that they released the ball/beanbag too high which is why they missed their target. They therefore have to release the ball lower in order to hit the blue area (as indicated in the orange area text). If they hit the purple area, then they know that they released the ball/beanbag too low which is why they missed their target. They therefore have to release the ball higher in order to hit the blue area (as indicated in the purple area text).

This type of environmental tool can help students get important, descriptive feedback without needing the teacher to intervene. By having several of these kinds of setups in your gym, you can increase the amount of feedback loops that each student experiences in any given lesson.

Purposeful Stations

I teach my younger grades (i.e. grades 1-2) as a full group (about 26 students). Although that is small compared to some of the groups that my fellow physical educators teach, I still find it hard to provide descriptive feedback to each student. A solution I have used to counteract this is by using purposeful stations in my lessons from time to time.

What I call purposeful stations are stations that all have a common theme and that have students using a simple “Thumbs Up/Thumbs Down” mini-coaching system at each one. For example, I will set up six stations in my gym with each station’s focus being one of the critical elements of overhand throwing (I use my Critical Element Key Focus Cards that are part of my premium FMS Manipulative Posters downloads to help with this.) The sixth station is where I am at, working with one group at a time throughout the lesson to ensure that each student has received individualized descriptive feedback by the end of the lesson (I usually watch their performance once or twice and then provide them with their “Stars” and “Stairs”).

Strategy Four: Teach Students To Self-Assess and Set Goals

According to Stiggins, self-assessment is an essential part of learning as it helps students better understand where they are at in their learning which, in turn, helps them set goals for their learning.

Effective self-assessment should include the following:

• Identify strengths and areas for improvement.
• Complete exit cards in which they record what they have learned and what questions they may still have.
• Select work samples that prove their level of mastery of the content (and explain why the piece does so).
• Offer descriptive feedback to classmates.
• Use feedback in order to set goals for the future.

Reflection and self-assessment play a large role in my teaching . Here are a some of the different ways that my students go about self-assessment in my lessons:

Assessment Magnets

I have been using magnets as assessment tools in my teaching for a couple years now. Magnets provide my students with a simple tool that allows them to reflect on where they are at in their learning, mark that location/level of mastery, set a goal, and then physically move their magnet forward as their learning progresses.

Last year, I upgraded my magnet system to Plickers Assessment Magnets . Based off of Mike Ginicola‘s awesome idea, I create my own template that would allow me to quickly collect the self-assessment data from the magnets in class.

Mini-Coaching

Mini-Coaching is what I call the peer-assessment system I use in my teaching, which I’ve blogged about before. In a nutshell mini-coaching is a peer assessment system in which one student plays the role of the coach (i.e. the one doing the assessment) and the other student plays the role of the athlete (i.e. the one being assessed). In classroom activities in which I am using mini-coaching, I’ll divide my class into three teams. As two teams participate in the activity, the third team is on the sideline playing the role of coaches to athletes they are assigned.

In older grades (e.g. grades 3-6), coaches will fill out their athlete’s mini-coaching sheets by writing down their observations. These sheets are living documents, meaning that they get filled out several times throughout the unit so that the athlete can view the progress of their learning:

With my younger grades (e.g. K-2), mini-coaching involves a coach looking for a single success criteria (i.e. “moves arms opposite to legs when running) and provides their athlete with a simple “thumbs up” or “thumbs down” at the end of the round to indicate whether or not they saw that success criteria being demonstrated.

Either way, at the end of each round the coaches and athletes come together to discuss the performance. Something I really want to develop as a procedure within mini-coaching is having the athlete ask their coach what their “stars” and “stairs” are in regards to their performance. I want my student to seek out feedback so that they understand the value of it and, therefore, take their mini-coaching roles as seriously as they can.

Psst: I’ve also combined my Mini-Coach system along with my Assessment Magnets in a few different lessons. Here’s an example of what I’m talking about:

Strategy Five: Design Lessons to Focus on One Aspect of Quality at a Time

Basically, what this means is that you want to break larger tasks down into smaller ones and then teach each smaller task one at a time making sure that students understand how all of the parts come together. This creates smaller chunks in learning which allows more students to experience success, build their confidence, and restore/maintain their desire to learn.

The idea of breaking skills down into smaller pieces isn’t necessarily a new one for physical educators, but we teach a lot more than just skills. This is where the unpacking step of the standards-based instructional design (SBID) method becomes so important as it allows you to look at content and reflect on what would be the absolute smallest learning pieces that students would need to learn in order to continue to make progress.

Need a visual example of what the unpacking process looks like? Here the Unpacking Tree from my International Dance Showcase Teacher Pack :

Strategy Six: Teach Students Focused Revision

By teaching students how to revise samples of work, we can help them develop a critical eye in terms of the content being taught. You’ll want to scaffold this exercise by having students start with a very simple revision (e.g. only one aspect of the work needs revision) and then provide them with more and more complex revisions as their skill level grows.

There are a few different ways that I go about this in my teaching:

Using my Plickers Question Template, I’ll create questions in which students get to observe a skill being performed with a non-mature pattern and then select the missing critical element from the multiple choice questions provided.

Strategy Seven: Engage Students in Self-Reflection, and Let Them Keep Track of and Share Their Learning

According to Stiggins, “any activity that requires students to reflect on what they are learning and to share their progress both reinforces the learnings and helps them develop insights into themselves as learners”. This reflection really helps reinforce the learning and deepen their understanding of the content that was taught.

Again, this is where student portfolios are so powerful. Being able to pull up samples of a student’s work (or even samples of their work in prior years) really helps students recognize just how far they have come in their learning.

Another tactic that I use in my teaching is to create assessment pieces that act as living documents throughout the unit and/or year. What this means is that, instead of using multiple sheets/forms as assessment tools, I create one assessment piece that can be filled out multiple times so that students see their prior work as they self-assess and can see in a very visual way just how far they have come in their learning. Here are some examples of these “living” assessment pieces I’ve used in my teaching:

The Tactics Definition Developer from my Chasing & Fleeing Games Teacher Pack .

Forehand Stroke Mini-Coach assessment tool from my grade six Net/Wall Games unit.

Learn More About Assessment For Learning

Want to keep learning more about assessment for learning? Here are some awesome, people, books, blog posts, and videos to help keep you digging deeper into this topic!

Amanda Stanec : Twitter

Dylan Wiliam : Twitter

Justen O’Connor : Twitter

Katie White : Twitter

Rick Stiggins : Twitter

Rick Wormeli : Twitter

Shirley Clarke : Twitter

“ Classroom Assessment FOR Student Learning: Doing It Right – Using It Well ” by Rick Stiggins, Judith Arter, Jan Chappuis, and Stephen Chappuis

“ Embedding Formative Assessment: Practical Techniques for K-12 Classrooms ” by Dylan Wiliam

“ How to Grade for Learning ” by Ken O’Connor

“ Softening The Edges ” by Katie White

“ Unlocking Formative Assessment ” by Shirley Clarke

“ Dylan Wiliam & The 5 Formative Assessment Strategies to Improve Student Learning ”

“ Thinking Inside the Box for Assessment Roadmaps in #Physed ”

“ Why Is Assessment Important ”

A New Vision of Excellence in Assessment

Unpacking Formative Assessment

Thanks for reading and happy teaching!

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Assessments In Physical Education

• Doug Curtin
• July 14, 2022

At times over the years, assessments and tests have mistakenly become interchangeable words in the world of education. In this article, we set out to better define assessments in physical education and how they can be utilized to empower student learning and provide better teacher insights. Let’s first start with making sure we set the record straight on our terminology.

>>> Free E-Book: Creating Effective Assessments in PE

Assessment in PE

It is important to note that assessment does not equal testing. Testing implies pass/fail, and this, for our purposes, is useless when it comes to fitness, performance, and physical education. While even here at PLT4M, we still sometimes use the phrase fitness testing , we really mean the idea of formative assessments that allow us to check in on progress and learning.

Assessment in physical education better implies measurement and comparison. Assessment allows us to track qualities like performance abilities, fatigue levels and readiness, general health markers, and understanding of key concepts.

Shape America defines assessment as, “one of the four essential components of physical education — is the gathering of evidence about student achievement and making inferences about student progress based on that evidence.”

Knowing your WHY with PE assessment

Once you have differentiated between testing and assessment, it is time to decide what your point of assessment will be. Basically, why bother? What will the data or information you are collecting via your phys ed assessment be used for?

You (The Physical Education Teacher) – Physical education teachers can utilize assessment as a means of evaluation and validation. Are the lessons and materials in class you are using helping students to learn the concepts? Are workouts or physical activities promoting personal improvement? If your evaluation via assessment says no, you can change and alter your approach. If the assessment helps to communicate yes, you are validating your work and can continue in that direction.

Them (The students) – For many students in physical education, a phys ed assessment can be a reinforcement of hard work through positive results. Students can see progress over time with simple check-ins or fun assessments. It can also help students identify personal strengths and weaknesses, which can help them set goals or strategies for better results.

Someone Else (Administrators, Parents, Etc) – While we wish physical education assessment didn’t have to be a means to justifying the subject, assessment can be a helpful way to showcase the ‘proof’ of what is going on in class. Often teachers can take assessment data and information and highlight key takeaways to showcase what is going on in physical education and its impact on students.

Formative Assessment For Physical Education

The Eberly Center at Carnegie Mellon has a simple way of defining formative assessments :

The goal of formative assessment is to monitor student learning to provide ongoing feedback that can be used by instructors to improve their teaching and by students to improve their learning. More specifically, formative assessments:

• help students identify their strengths and weaknesses and target areas that need work
• help faculty recognize where students are struggling and address problems immediately

In physical education, this can take the shape of many different types of assessments. Examples of formative assessments in physical education can include, but are not limited to,

• Beginning of class open-ended question
• Multiple choice survey
• Physical activity questionnaires
• Exit tickets
• Fitness/Skill Check In

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Creating effective assessments in pe.

Looking to create more effective assessments in your PE program? Download our free e-book for strategies on creating effective assessments in PE

Weightlifting Example of Formative Assessment For Physical

At PLT4M, one of our favorite times to use formative assessment in physical education is while doing weightlifting or strength training.

Historically, a summative assessment of a ‘max out’ has been the preferred choice for physical education teachers and coaches. The assessment tasks students to perform a single rep of the heaviest weight possible.

While some students enjoy this ‘max-out’ assessment, it does have its drawbacks. Students could have an ‘off-day’ when it is time to assess, which can lead to an inaccurate reflection of progress. Often PE teachers will conduct this assessment at the beginning and end of the semester, leaving weeks in between where measuring change or progress is not possible.

Worksets As A Formative Assessment In Physical Education

An alternative to maxing out is what we like to call a workset. Worksets are a tool found in our weight-based programs, used to assess students’ maxes and automatically adjust them up or down in increments of 5 lbs, based on their performance.

Based on the result of a given workset, and the rules set in place by PLT4M (or you if you built your own program), the max will auto-update and show kids a corresponding message:

• Great Job: We’ve Increased your max 5 LBs
• Almost: We’re going to keep your max where it is at for another week
• Don’t Sweat it! We are going to take one step back to take two forward. Your max has been adjusted down 5 LBs, but don’t worry, you’ll have plenty of chances to go back up in future weeks. 

The benefit to this assessment style is that students can get feedback on a much more regular basis and start to see smaller improvements over time that can keep them engaged and motivated through a semester. Molly Collins, a PE teacher in Michigan, described the advantage of the workset for her physical education students,

“Worksets have made weightlifting more enjoyable for all my students in class. Instead of only the strongest kids feeling like they are improving, everyone can see the weekly feedback and know they are making progress. This is huge for an activity like weightlifting, which can be intimidating!”

Other Formative Assessment Physical Education Examples

Outside of just weightlifting, PE teachers can utilize a wide variety of fitness-based formative assessment strategies in class. Many PE teachers, because of the district or state requirements, will incorporate assessments like a 1-mile run, 1-minute squat, pacer, and 1-minute push-up test.

The important thing to remember with all of these examples is that students should only be compared to themselves. In the past, a norm assessment has been used to compare and contrast student performance with their peers. The problem with this assessment style is that it can leave students feeling like failures. Let’s use a hypothetical physical activity assessment with a student named Sarah as an example of this.

For example: Sarah ran the mile in 14:00. In a norm assessment she would be told she is in a certain percentile among her peers. Let’s say she was in the 20th percentile. When Sarah improved her mile time to 12:30, while she had a 1:30-minute personal improvement, she may only have moved up to the 25th percentile in her age group. Now Sarah feels as if her progress is not meaningful. This can have unintended consequences and people like Sarah overtime will learn to have a negative association to fitness.

But if we take a formative assessment approach with this mile example, her progress can be celebrated instead of making Sarah feel dejected. We can take that one-minute improvement and highlight that she made significant individual progress. A 10% improvement to be exact! This reframing of assessment and result can now better engage Sarah to continue working towards improvement, rather than disengagement and frustration.

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Technology’s Role in PE Assessments 

With all of the formative assessment physical education examples, it is important to note that technology in PE can help for a more streamlined assessment process. Collecting data on a regular basis can be a daunting task, but technology can allow for a more efficient and effective way to conduct assessment in PE.

Better yet, the use of technology can help you to achieve a better line of communication and processing of data for all stakeholders. Students can see progress and feedback mapped out over time. Teachers can better evaluate data at both an individual and class level. Administrators can see the top-line information.

Bonus Content! PE teacher Brandon Siegel describes data and assessment at his school! 

Key Takeaways on Assessments in Physical Education

When it comes to assessments in physical education, we should take the hypothetical example of Sarah from earlier and consider the larger theme of engagement and motivation. Yes, we want to know if what we are doing within our physical education curriculum is working, but not at the cost of leaving students embarrassed or frustrated. 

PE assessments can still give insights needed for teachers while still giving students the confidence that PE and physical activity is a positive in their lives. While you may still need to have a summative assessment for grading, it should not be tied around students’ ability to perform certain activities. Instead, it should consider the larger understanding of key concepts tied to whatever topic you cover.

This concept is not new to physical educators. Over the years, PE teachers have taken great steps to find ways that assessment is a low-stakes check-in that can improve their teachers and engender better student learning. Let’s continue to have open and honest conversations about what assessments in physical education can and should look like!

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What Is Formative Assessment and How Should Teachers Use It?

Check student progress as they learn, and adapt to their needs.

Assessments are a regular part of the learning process, giving both teachers and students a chance to measure their progress. There are several common types of assessments, including pre-assessment (diagnostic) and post-assessment (summative). Some educators, though, argue that the most important of all are formative assessments. So, what is formative assessment, and how can you use it effectively with your students? Read on to find out.

What is formative assessment?

Source: KNILT

Formative assessment takes place while learning is still happening. In other words, teachers use formative assessment to gauge student progress throughout a lesson or activity. This can take many forms (see below), depending on the teacher, subject, and learning environment. Here are some key characteristics of this type of assessment:

Low-Stakes (or No-Stakes)

Most formative assessments aren’t graded, or at least aren’t used in calculating student grades at the end of the grading period. Instead, they’re part of the daily give-and-take between teachers and students. They’re often quick and used immediately after teaching a specific objective.

Planned and Part of the Lesson

Rather than just being quick check-for-understanding questions many teachers ask on the fly, formative assessments are built into a lesson or activity. Teachers consider the skills or knowledge they want to check on, and use one of many methods to gather information on student progress. Students can also use formative assessments among themselves for self-assessment and peer feedback.

Used to Make Adjustments to Teaching Plans

After gathering student feedback, teachers use that feedback to make adjustments to their lessons or activities as needed. Students who self-assess then know what areas they still need help with and can ask for assistance.

How is formative assessment different from other assessments?

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There are three general types of assessment: diagnostic, formative, and summative. Diagnostic assessments are used before learning to determine what students already do and do not know. Think pre-tests and other activities students attempt at the beginning of a unit. Teachers may use these to make some adjustments to their planned lessons, skipping or just recapping what students already know.

Diagnostic assessments are the opposite of summative assessments, which are used at the end of a unit or lesson to determine what students have learned. By comparing diagnostic and summative assessments, teachers and learners can get a clearer picture of how much progress they’ve made.

Formative assessments take place during instruction. They’re used throughout the learning process and help teachers make on-the-go adjustments to instruction and activities as needed.

Why is formative assessment important in the classroom?

These assessments give teachers and students a chance to be sure that meaningful learning is really happening. Teachers can try new methods and gauge their effectiveness. Students can experiment with different learning activities, without fear that they’ll be punished for failure. As Chase Nordengren of the NWEA puts it :

“Formative assessment is a critical tool for educators looking to unlock in-depth information on student learning in a world of change. Rather than focusing on a specific test, formative assessment focuses on practices teachers undertake during learning that provide information on student progress toward learning outcomes.”

It’s all about increasing your ability to connect with students and make their learning more effective and meaningful.

What are some examples of formative assessment?

Source: Writing City

There are so many ways teachers can use formative assessments in the classroom! We’ve highlighted a few perennial favorites, but you can find a big list of 25 creative and effective formative assessments options here .

Exit Tickets

At the end of a lesson or class, pose a question for students to answer before they leave. They can answer using a sticky note, online form, or digital tool.

Kahoot Quizzes

Kids and teachers adore Kahoot! Kids enjoy the gamified fun, while teachers appreciate the ability to analyze the data later to see which topics students understand well and which need more time.

We love Flip (formerly Flipgrid) for helping teachers connect with students who hate speaking up in class. This innovative (and free!) tech tool lets students post selfie videos in response to teacher prompts. Kids can view each other’s videos, commenting and continuing the conversation in a low-key way.

What is your favorite way to use formative assessments in the classroom? Come exchange ideas in the WeAreTeachers HELPLINE group on Facebook .

Plus, check out the best tech tools for student assessment ..

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Professional Learning

Assessment in physical and health education.

Assessment in physical and health education is an essential component of purposeful and meaningful learning experiences for students, with the overarching goal of supporting and enhancing their learning.   

There are two main purposes for assessment of student learning: improving learning and communicating learning. How assessment information is used will determine which purpose it is being used for, and one of the most effective ways that assessment can improve student learning is through an approach known as assessment for learning. 

Assessment for learning is a process of collecting information on student learning to interpret their progress, use it to advance their learning, and communicate achievement as it relates to predefined learning outcomes. Effective practices consider learning across the psychomotor, cognitive, social, and affective domains as well as demonstrate alignment in the following areas: curriculum learning outcomes, assessment activities, and learning tasks within the class. 

Quality assessment practices include: 

• Sharing learning outcomes and success criteria with students throughout the learning process
• Inviting students to develop their learning goals and choosing how to demonstrate their learning 
• Ensuring that assessment is aligned with the curriculum learning standards and the learning activities in class
• Self- and peer-assessment
• Student reflection of learning

Assessment in PHE Resources

In this series, we have developed six resources on important assessment topics. Click on the titles below to access and download PDFs of the resources.

1. Formative vs Summative Assessment: What's the Difference

2. Assessment for Learning

3. Assessment as Learning

4.  Co-constructing Success Criteria

5.  Collecting Evidence of Learning

6. Feedback

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Formal and informal modes of assessment in physical education

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Assessment has always been an integral part of good teaching in physical education. Effective physical education teachers identify clear learning objectives and gather evidence on the extent to which those learning objectives are achieved. Such evidence provides a basis for feedback. Feedback can be given to pupils so that sound practice can be reinforced and mistakes corrected. It also provides information to the teacher on whether learning objectives are set at an appropriate level of difficulty and provides a basis from which appropriate adjustments to the challenging nature of learning materials can be made.

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Evaluation In Physical Education And Sport

Evaluation is a stable component of the education process, mainly having a regulatory role for both train the students and to improve teaching strategies. The rating is a measure necessary in a business process management and decision-making, it providing information necessary adjustment and improvement of teaching, adopting measures appropriate training situations. It is present in any teaching activity and is related to inter-determination, functional interaction with teaching and learning, making them more effective. Through educational activities, evaluation aims to achieve awareness and appreciation of the changes students in all areas of their personality (intellectual, affective, psychomotor, creative capabilities, etc.). Nature rating action is to know the effects of the activity in order to improve the process in phases. For teaching to pursue an approach that guarantees success, special care should be given to designing training sequences, following conjugation natural elements of teaching with learning, assessment concluded. Assessment in physical education and sport is a continuous feedback purpose of confirmation or rejection by students of both quality and quantity properties of knowledge and skills quality and quantity properties psychological and social driving. The evaluation process is an ongoing, formal or informal, quality assessment of the importance or usefulness of teaching - learning. A proper evaluation involves defining, formulating process as objective characteristics evaluated, and identify the most relevant techniques and assessment tools. Keywords: Physical education evaluation methods

Introduction

Evaluation is a fundamental concept in any activity undertaken by an individual based on their goals and are an indispensable educational process.

Evaluation is a stable component of the education process, mainly having a regulatory role for both train the students and to improve teaching strategies.

Assessment in physical education and sport are relevant to measuring and assessing the effectiveness of the formative process, according to the objectives set. It is not just the results of the subjects, but can be extended and activity level teacher or teaching approach specific efficiency physical education lesson.

Evaluation, seen as one of the three operations of the education system is a necessary step which constitutes an act integrated pedagogical activity as a possibility validation "correctness sequences educational component teaching process and a means of separation and intervention the content and educational goals "( Cârstea, 2000 ).

Assessment in physical education teaching, is a system of concepts and techniques for measuring and assessing the results of the educational process and competitive activity. But the assessment should not be understood and treated only as a way to control or shape the objective measurement of knowledge, skills and driving skills but also as a strategy in the formation of motivation for practicing physical exercises.

Regarding subject to assessment in physical education lesson, it constitutes the practice of behavioral changes caused by physical plan exerdjittor cognitive, physical, motor, affective, aesthetic, moral, social subject. To achieve an objective assessment taking into account the stages of school and learning contents, we have developed a series of tests which include samples and control rules.

Like learning, assessment fulfills a number of functions. According to the literature ( Cârstea, 2000 ; Dragnea & Teodorescu, 2002 ; Mihailescu & Mihailescu 2006 ) functions of the evaluation process are:

Finding and diagnostics function monitors whether an activity was conducted under optimal conditions, or in what kind of conditions;

Position adjustment and improvement, which is based on feedback on students' achievements and reactions;

Position diagnostic causes that led - eventually - to efficiency improper actions;

Position prognostic on future students and suggestions on optimizing the educational process;

Automatic entry position or decision on a subject in a hierarchy, form or level of its preparation;

Position teaching the subject and driver perspective educational process, to know what they did and what they have achieved;

Job training, innovation and information society, the state and evolution of preparing various echelons of subjects;

Feature selection and classification of students in relation to the results, but also in relation to progress.

Problem Statement

School physical education evaluation is a means of relating effectively training students towards achieving planned objectives. It can be considered as the main way to control the impact of pupil means physical education and sport, but also as a mechanism of self-control on behavioral assimilations of physical, mental, motor, moral, social, aesthetic, etc. By being able to offer direct and tangible procurement data recorded, the evaluation is considered as part of the education system and has global character in terms of how engaging all students in a labeling system value.

Research Questions

What is the importance of evaluation in physical education and sport?

Purpose of the Study

Knowing of concept evaluation in physical education and sport creates premises deployment an educational process based on scientific foundations, manifested dynamic and effective for achieving objectives.

Research Methods

According to the literature ( Sandu, 2012 ), this research within the scope of qualitative research, being represented by a process of mixing multiple methods, an approach based view of the subject.

Sports training evaluation process is actually conducted the assessment process of teaching. In education are three types of assessment: predicative, formative and summative.

Training predicative initial evaluation or initial knowledge enables students, knowledge that has an important role in programming the educational process to be conducted. Teaching Evaluation initial aims and determining the amount of time students finding skills. Is achieved by measuring and assessing the preparedness of students at the beginning of the school year, semester or the beginning of a new cycle of education which allows future orientation of teaching.

Formative Evaluation of Teaching (also called continuous) carried out during lessons throughout the semester and aims at finding accumulations according to the proposed operational objectives. It has formative influence. This type of evaluation is important because it provides accurate data on efficiency and boosts program offered to students. The advantage of applying continuous assessment is the fact that there is the possibility of reprogramming permanent training activity, leading to the correction of mistakes and achieve a steady progress. When progress is not as expected redesign required tasks, methods, means.

Summative Evaluation of Teaching (cumulative balance) include spot checks and checking the overall conclusion of the semester or school year. Important in this type of evaluation is that it provides data on the actual level of mastery knowledge and abilities at end of period / training sequence allocated by the teacher, according to the objectives of curricula. Summative evaluation of teaching aims checking the level reached and the effectiveness of the strategy, stimulate students' motivation for learning. This type of evaluation in the context of physical education, provide full, accurate data is not stimulative, when the conditions for checking are very different (with negative influences, such as wind / rain), thus having a negative influence or positive on the results and so appraisals. The final assessment is a form of appreciation of the yield achieved in the educational process, but also a basis for the new design.

Conditions of successful evaluation are:

Establishing criteria for assessment;

Measurement accuracy;

Evaluator's skill in performing measurements;

Evaluator's ability to interpret and assess data obtained.

Evaluation of the educational process in physical education involves the following three phases or components verification, assessment and grading and awarding marks.

Verification is the process by which the subject or action is subject to evidence being put to execute something said by the head of the educational process. Verification is accompanied by measurement, or sometimes checking is done by measuring when targeted quantitative elements such as checking by measuring the level of physical development and functional somatic indices.

Findings follow mandatory after any check. Track the stage belongs mostly teacher / trainer. It can be achieved by members of the subjects or the subject subjected to verification (self-evaluation), if that capacity was formed and developed in the educational process, especially being able to capitalize independence in activities of subjects.

In physical education lesson assessment must be made not only after verification of any executions but also acts and actions driving.

Scoring is a result of the two previous actions (checking and appreciation). It is present in case of verification subjects. Scoring re carried out mainly as planned transition control samples. Scoring is done by numbers from 10 to 1 or granting qualifiers. Note must be objective, ie appreciation consistent without bias. Also, note must be public and meet the following three main functions:

- Teaching position, expressing the exact level at which the topic is and how accomplished teaching professor / instructor entry should reflect exactly the stage where they are subject to appropriation motion skills and the skills development of more or other objectives stipulated in curriculum specialist.

- The educational necessary to determine an active attitude and awareness of the subject and it did not remove him from physical education. To perform this function as one who must lead this process and make notation to explain, to justify the note to show that they were and what prospects for said subject.

- Social function, requires orientation coefficient of success in the election and the subsequent evolution professionally the subjects assuming that any student who receives the grade 10 physical education in all school grades should be able to succeed anytime, anywhere on practical tests in entrance exam in top educational institutions in the field. If those means do not pass the practical tests in normal as the grade physical education not fulfilled the aforementioned functions, including the social.

In assessing errors may occur that affect the objectivity of the evaluation because of circumstances that may induce significant variations present is the same value at different times (variability enter individual) or to explore various (inter-individual variability), such as :

- Effect 'Halo'. The evaluation is done by extending the qualities found in certain moments of the entire student conduct. In physical education assessment of the results may be influenced by results in other subjects (math, Romanian) and those undertaking the assessment by virtue of judgments anticipated not notice any flaws of good students, even as they are not willing to find some progress the weak students. In assessing the conduct can meet two types of effect: the effect of 'bland', characterized by a tendency to appreciate more understanding persons known compared to the unknown, and the error of generosity that occurs when the assessor has some reason to be lenient, tend to present a reality superlative way (top marks), the desire to mask inadequate state of affairs, etc.

- Pygmalion effect or Oedipal effect. Assessing the results obtained from an individual that is influenced by what he did at that evaluates about its capabilities, which become relatively fixed opinion. Predictions evaluators predict not only the occurrence but also facilitates the conduct alleged.

- Personal equation evaluator. Each evaluator structures its own assessment criteria. Some are more generous, others are more demanding.

- The effect of contrast. The second is by emphasizing contrasting traits that occur after another. currently there is a tendency to operate a comparison and ranking of attributes. It is common for the same outcome to receive an appreciation (Rate) better if following the assessment of a lower score, or receive a lower assessment of real value if immediately following an excellent result.

- Effect of order. Due to phenomena of inertia, the assessor maintain about the same level of appreciation for a series of executions in reality shows qualitative differences.

- Logic error. It consists in substituting objectives and key parameters for evaluating the secondary endpoints.

Errors in assessment occur when certain personality factors are involved which take either the personality of the teacher or the student. Fatigue, time and other accidental factors may cause some distortion on assessment results.

Trends in the field regarding the evaluation process requires rethinking the relationship between the main component of the system of educational relations. Until recently the assessment was reduced to predicting outcomes by reference to the implicit and explicit rules. Recent approaches the educational process from the perspective of the system have highlighted the need to establish the link between action and evaluation, namely coherence between goals, action and results. According ( Stufflebeam & Shinkfield, 1985 ; Cronbach, 1986 ; Conrad, 1994 ) evaluating student performance, although necessary in a didactic approach, however, is not sufficient, by itself, in improving it. Reverse connection loop, meant to suggest possibilities for improving the activity from one segment to another, it is necessary to include information about both the result and the actions that have occurred. in this respect, to reach understanding evaluation as an operation designed to obtain information in order to take decisions aiming at improving activity, as well as revealing that evaluation functions they perform on different moments of action. therefore, without disregarding the need for more accurate knowledge of student performance evaluation is meant to guide the teaching and support its systematic regulation, to guide and stimulate the learning activity, making them both more effective.

In conclusion evaluation in the educational process requires a systematic check of student performance, to detect any gaps that may stifle, to identify the objectives of teaching to improve its standing.

It is imperative that teaching will be conducted in a manner to develop and sustain students' interest in the activity carried out, to guide them in learning activities and independent practice physical exercise.

• Cârstea, Gh. (2000). Teoria și metodica educației fizice și sportului. București: AN-DA Publishing House.
• Conrad, K. J. (1994). Critically evaluating the role of experiments. New Directions for Program Evaluation. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
• Cronbach, L. J. (1986). Signs of Optimism for Intelligence Testing. Educational Measurement: Issues and Practice, 5, 23–24. Doi:
• Dragnea, A., Teodorescu, S. (2002). Teoria sportului. Bucureşti: FEST Publishing House.
• Mihăilescu, L., Mihăilescu, N. (2006). Atletism în sistemul educațional. Pitești: Editura Universității din Pitești.
• Sandu, A. (2012). Metode de cercetare în știința comunicării. Iași: Lumen Publishing House.
• Stufflebeam, D. L., Shinkfield, A. J. (1985). Systematic evaluation: A self-instructional guide to theory and practice. Boston: Kluwer-Nijhoff Publishing.

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Teacher training, teaching, teaching skills, teaching techniques,moral purpose of education, social purpose of education, counselling psychology

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Cucui, G. G. (2017). Evaluation In Physical Education And Sport. In A. Sandu, T. Ciulei, & A. Frunza (Eds.), Multidimensional Education and Professional Development: Ethical Values, vol 27. European Proceedings of Social and Behavioural Sciences (pp. 100-105). Future Academy. https://doi.org/10.15405/epsbs.2017.07.03.14

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• Assessment in Education – Its Types & Purpose »

Assessment in Education – Its Types & Purpose

Checking how students are doing in school is essential, but it can get confusing with all the different types of assessments. There’s assessment for learning, assessment as learning, and assessment of learning. Plus, every school community seems to have its own way of monitoring student progress. The importance of assessment in education cannot be overstated, as it plays a crucial role in guiding both teaching and learning processes .

So, what are the basic types of assessment, and how do you use them in teaching? We looked at the common ones in early education to give you a starting point or just a quick review! Without waiting further, let’s dive in.

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What Are Assessments in Education?

In education, assessments mean collecting information about what a student knows, their skills, and how they’re doing in learning. The main goal is to check if students are meeting the learning goals and to guide how teaching and learning happen. Assessments take various forms and serve multiple functions within the educational context. Here, we’ll break down some important types of assessments.

Traditionally, classroom assessments have relied on methods like quizzes, tests, and essays. These assessments provide valuable snapshots of student learning, but may not always capture the full picture.

In the evolving landscape of education, smart classrooms are emerging with new assessment possibilities. These classrooms may utilize interactive whiteboards, educational software, and online platforms to deliver assessments. This allows for more dynamic and personalized assessments, such as adaptive quizzes that adjust difficulty based on student performance, or gamified learning experiences that incorporate formative assessment throughout the learning process.

What Are the Types of Assessments in Education?

1. diagnostic assessments.

At the beginning of the school year, or even before starting a new unit or lesson, you can do a diagnostic assessment to figure out what your students already know and what they might be struggling with. This kind of early check helps identify learning gaps and gives you a sense of where each student stands.

The cool thing about diagnostic assessments is that they’re not about grades but more for teachers to understand what they need to cover. You can do them in a chill way, like through student surveys or chats, or in a more official style, like a curriculum-based test.

These assessments are vital for spotting what your students are good at so you can build on that and figure out where they might need extra help. They also:

• Give you a starting point for future assessments. Make teaching more efficient.
• Help you personalise how you teach.
• Connect what students are learning to specific goals.

Some examples include:

• Short quizzes
• Journal entries
• Student interviews
• Student reflections
• Classroom discussions
• Graphic organisers (e.g., mind maps, flow charts, KWL charts)

2. Formative Assessments

Formative assessment happens while you’re in the middle of teaching. It’s like having a little spy in the room, picking up on what students are getting and what they’re not quite getting while you’re upfront doing your thing.

These assessments are relaxed and don’t add stress for students. You can incorporate simple methods like asking a few questions on a sticky note or having them complete a brief exit ticket. The objective is to use this real-time information to adjust your teaching on the spot, whether it involves individual students or the entire class.

Just like the diagnostic assessment, formative assessment helps teachers find where students might be struggling and adjust their teaching methods to assist them. The benefits of formative assessment include:

• You get feedback on your teaching right away.
• It helps you personalise your teaching.
• You can give specific feedback.
• More students get involved.
• Even those who don’t rock formal tests can feel a sense of accomplishment.
• It’s like a sneak peek into what’s going on in your students’ heads.
• Group projects
• Progress reports
• Class discussions
• Entry and exit tickets
• Short, regular quizzes

3. Summative Assessments

Summative assessments are usually done to give a final grade and happen at the end of something, like a semester, school year, or a unit.

Examples of summative assessments include end-of-lesson quizzes, projects or portfolios, and district or state tests. But the main goal is the same: to see how much a student has learned based on certain standards. Summative assessments show a teacher what knowledge and skills a student has picked up, helping identify strengths and weaknesses, just like other assessments.

Summative assessments have some advantages:

• They show what students have learned.
• They help you know if students are ready for what’s next, whether it’s a lesson, a unit, or even the next school year.
• They let students put what they’ve learned into action.
• They pinpoint areas where both teaching and learning might need more attention.

Also read: Formative Assessment vs Summative Assessment

4. Ipsative Assessments

An ipsative assessment in education helps figure out a student’s personal strengths, weaknesses, and growth.

The word “ipsative” is from Latin, where “ipse” means “of the self.” In education, it means “comparing how a person is doing now to how they did before.” This kind of assessment is a real way to see how a student is progressing because it’s all about that individual student. It’s way different from those standardised tests that compare students to a “norm.”

You can make ipsative assessments using other assessments. For example, you might check how a student did on a pre-test at the start and compare it to their results on a post-test later for a clear measurement of progress. Some examples of this assessment include:

• A two-stage testing process
• Project-based learning activities

5. Norm-referenced Assessments

Norm-referenced assessments are basically tests that compare you to other people your age or in your group. They look at national standards and sometimes adjust for things like age or ethnicity.

Unlike tests where you’re only trying to beat your own score, norm-referenced assessments use a bunch of data from different people to figure out how well you’re doing.

Examples of these tests are IQ tests, physical assessments, and big college entry tests like the SAT and GRE.

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6. Criterion-referenced Assessments

Criterion-referenced assessments compare how well a student does against a specific learning standard, no matter what other students are doing. In class, it means checking how a student is doing compared to the set grade-level standards, maybe through end-of-unit or final tests.

Outside of class, you see criterion-referenced assessments in things like professional licensing exams or citizenship tests. Here, students need to get a certain percentage of questions right to pass.

These assessments are often looked at next to norm-referenced assessments. Both types check what students have learned, but criterion-referenced ones don’t compare students to each other. They look at each student individually, showing what they’re good at and where they can improve. Some examples of criterion-referenced assessments include:

• Concept Mapping

7. Scenario-based Assessments

Scenario-based assessment is all about using interactive scenarios to help students learn actively. It sets up a made-up situation where students use what they’ve learned in theory.

This kind of assessment lets students go beyond just reading a textbook or listening to a lecture. They get to apply what they know in real-world situations. For teachers, it’s a great way to really see if students understand the subject. You can watch how they use what they’ve learned in actual situations.

• Role-Playing Exercises
• Problem-Based Learning
• Debates and Discussions

8. Confirmative Assessments

Once you’ve put your teaching plan into action, it’s important to check in with assessments. Confirmative assessments help you see if your teaching is still working even after some time, like a year later. It’s like a bigger version of a summative assessment, giving you a good look at how well your teaching methods are holding up.

Example includes:

• Follow-Up Surveys

9. Oral Assessments

When teachers ask questions or give short tasks, oral assessments use conversations to figure out what students know and can do. It gives a better view of their skills, how they think, and where they might be confused. Plus, it helps build a closer bond between teachers and students.

Oral assessments can be things like:

• Talking about a topic you got ready for (alone or with a group, live or recorded)
• Chats or discussions
• Acting out real-life situations
• Presentations on a prepared topic (individual or group, live or recorded)
• Interviews or discussions
• Simulations

10. Gamified Assessments

Gamified assessments are like a fancy upgrade to regular tests. They mix game elements into aptitude and personality exams, making them quick and fun. But don’t be fooled by the playfulness—they’re still based on science and stats.

These assessments are not only enjoyable but also encourage more people to take part. Plus, they help analyse important skills and behaviours through things like short skill tests, longer games for personality checks, and even job simulation experiences and trivia quizzes.

Some notable examples include:

• Board Games
• Scavenger Hunts
• Trivia Competitions

Also Read : Gamification in Education

11. Skill Assessments

A skill assessment is basically a test to check how good a student is at a particular skill or group of skills. During the test, students have to show what they know about a certain topic, subject, or problem. The idea is to compare what they know with what’s expected based on the standards for that subject. The goal is to figure out if students have the skills the curriculum expects them to have.

Master the Art of Effortless Evaluation and Assessments Transform your testing with Extramarks’ Assessment Centre.

12. Interim Assessments

An interim assessment, as the name suggests, checks how a student is doing midway through a course. It’s mainly to see if the student is gearing up for the final exam. Think of interim assessment as something between a check-in during the course (formative assessment) and the big final test (summative assessment).

This type of assessment works well for:

• Mid-term exams in school or college
• Tests on specific chapters or projects during the term

It’s a handy way to keep an eye on how students are doing and fix things if needed.

When creating an interim assessment:

• Stick to topics you’ve already covered in the course
• Keep it shorter than the final exam
• Remember, the goal is to track progress and get students ready for the big final.

13. Alternative Assessments

Alternative assessment is a way of figuring out what students know by looking at how they apply their new knowledge to real tasks. It’s a more personalised approach, where the instructor tailors the evaluation to each student’s needs and abilities.

Instead of relying on standardised tests, students dive into hands-on tasks that make them use what they’ve learned. This type of assessment gives the teacher a better understanding of how well a student grasps a subject.

To make alternative assessments work best, it’s important to match your methods with the overall goals of the training or subject. This could involve tasks like creating concept maps, writing reports, or teaming up for collaborative testing.

Summarising the Purpose of Assessments in Education

• Diagnostic Assessment: This one’s about spotting where your students shine and where they might need a boost before you kick off your teaching. It’s like a sneak peek to help you customise your lessons to fit each student.
• Formative Assessment: Keeping a pulse on how your students are doing as you teach. It’s your real-time guide to adjusting your methods and helping your students track their progress .
• Summative Assessment: When it’s time to wrap things up, this assessment evaluates how well your students have grasped everything. It’s the grades and the overall summary of subject mastery.
• Ipsative Assessments: This is about tracking an individual student’s progress by comparing their current performance to their past efforts. It’s all about personal growth, not how they measure up to others.
• Norm-Referenced Assessments: Here, you’re comparing a student’s performance to a group to see where they stand. It’s about rankings and categories.
• Criterion-Referenced Assessments: You’re checking if a student has nailed specific learning goals. Their performance is measured against set standards, not against their classmates.
• Scenario-Based Assessment: Putting your students to the test in real-world situations. It’s all about problem-solving and critical thinking.
• Confirmative Assessment: This is the verification step. It’s about making sure your learning goals are met and your students acquire the necessary knowledge and skills. Typically, this happens at the end of a teaching unit.
• Oral Assessment: Evaluating your students’ spoken language skills, from communication to pronunciation. It’s a window into both their linguistic and cognitive abilities.
• Gamified Assessment: Turning assessments into a bit of a game. It’s all about making assessments enjoyable, motivating, and effective by adding in elements of competition, challenge, and rewards.
• Skill Assessment: Measuring your students’ specific practical abilities in areas like communication or problem-solving. It’s about assessing their real-world skills.

Closing Thoughts

Alright, that’s the scoop on assessments in school! Whether it’s a quick check or a big test, assessments help teachers see how we’re doing. It’s not just about grades – it’s about learning and getting better. So, as we use these assessments, let’s keep things fun, helpful, and all about growing smarter. Here’s to learning and growing together in the awesome world of education!

Boost Your Students’ Performance with Cutting-Edge Assessments

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Last Updated on August 9, 2024

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Teaching Place Value in Year 1: A Comprehensive Guide for Educators

Maths Researcher

Place value is a foundational concept in our number system, laying the groundwork for all future mathematical learning. For Year 1 pupils, grasping this concept is a key step in developing a deep understanding of numbers and their relationships.

As educators, it's our responsibility to guide these young minds through the fascinating world of place value, setting them up for success in their mathematical journey.

In this guide, we'll explore effective strategies, engaging activities, and assessment techniques to help you teach place value in Year 1, as well as how parents can get involved at home.

Whether you're a seasoned educator or new to teaching maths, you'll find practical tips and research-based methods to make place value come alive in your classroom.

Understanding place value: Key concepts for Year 1

The UK National Curriculum states that in Year 1, pupils are expected to read, write and count numbers up to 100 using a tens and ones place value through objects and other pictorial representations.

Base-10 number system

Our number system is built on the concept of base-10, which means we use ten digits (0-9) to represent all numbers. In Year 1, we introduce this concept through hands-on activities and visual representations.

Key points to remember:

• Each digit's position determines its value
• The value of a digit increases tenfold as it moves one place to the left
• Zero is an important placeholder in our number system

Try this : Use a place value chart with physical objects to demonstrate how numbers are built. Start with single digits, then progress to two-digit numbers to show how the position changes the value.

• Tens and ones

Understanding tens and ones helps pupils visualise numbers and lays the groundwork for addition and subtraction.

Key ideas to emphasise:

• A 'ten' is a group of ten ones
• Two-digit numbers are composed of tens and ones
• The first digit in a two-digit number represents tens, the second represents ones

Try this : Use base-10 materials such as blocks or linking sticks to physically represent numbers. For example, show 34 as 3 sticks and 4 individual blocks.

Developmental progression of place value understanding

Understanding place value is a journey that unfolds gradually in Year 1. Let's explore the key stages of this developmental progression, from foundational skills to more abstract thinking.

Pre-place Value Skills

Before diving into place value, pupils can benefit from certain foundational skills. These pre-place value skills set the stage for deeper understanding.

Key pre-place value skills include:

• One-to-one correspondence : matching objects to numbers
• Subitising : recognising small quantities without counting
• Conservation of numbers : understanding that the number of objects remains the same regardless of arrangement

Try this : Use dot patterns on cards for quick subitising exercises. Start with patterns up to 5, then gradually increase to 10 as pupils become more confident.

Counting and grouping

As pupils progress, they move on to counting and grouping. This supports the understanding of the base-10 system and forms the backbone of place value comprehension.

Focus on these activities:

• Counting objects in twos, fives, and tens
• Grouping objects into tens and ones
• Using ten frames to visualise numbers

Try this : Create a 'counting station' in your classroom with various objects. Encourage pupils to practise counting and grouping during free time, reinforcing these skills through play.

Transitioning from Concrete to Abstract thinking

The journey from concrete understanding to abstract thinking is at the heart of the Maths — No Problem! approach. We teach this through the Concrete-Pictorial-Abstract (CPA) approach.

Stages of the CPA approach:

• Concrete : Pupils manipulate physical objects
• Pictorial : They use drawings or images to represent numbers
• Abstract : They work with numbers and symbols

When introducing a new concept, always start with concrete materials. Gradually introduce pictorial representations alongside the concrete, before moving to abstract symbols. This layered approach ensures pupils build a solid understanding at each stage.

Effective teaching strategies

Teaching place value in Year 1 requires a thoughtful approach that engages young learners and builds a strong foundation for future mathematical understanding. We’ve already discussed the CPA method, but what about other strategies? Let’s find out.

Manipulatives: More than just toys

How we use manipulatives determines how effective they are during our lessons. We can’t just hand out counters and hope for the best. Guide pupils in using these tools purposefully. For instance, when working with place value charts, have pupils physically move objects between columns to demonstrate regrouping.

Try this : create a 'maths toolkit' for each pupil with essential manipulatives like:

• Base-10 blocks
• Place value cards
• Number line

This ensures everyone has access to these tools when needed, promoting independent exploration and reinforcing place value concepts.

Visual models: Seeing is understanding

Visual models bridge the gap between concrete objects and abstract numbers. Number lines are particularly versatile when teaching relationships between numbers.

Use them to demonstrate:

• Counting forwards and backwards
• Visualising 'one more' and 'one less'
• Comparing and ordering numbers

For a practical activity, create a long number line on the classroom floor. Have pupils physically jump forward for 'one more' and backwards for 'one less'. This kinesthetic approach reinforces the concept while adding an element of fun.

The language of maths

Precise mathematical language is key to understanding place value:

• What does the [digit] stand for?
• Place value chart
• Number bonds

Encourage pupils to use this language when explaining their thinking. This not only reinforces their understanding but also develops their mathematical communication skills.

A helpful strategy is to create a ' maths word wall ' in your classroom. Add new terms as you introduce them, and refer to the wall regularly during lessons. This visual reference helps pupils internalise the language of place value.

The goal isn't just for pupils to calculate correctly, but to truly understand the underlying concepts of place value.

Engaging activities for teaching place value

We can make teaching maths fun with these hands-on experiences and real-world connections.

Hands-on games and exercises

Try these hands-on activities:

• Place value bean bag toss : Set up buckets labelled 'Tens' and 'Ones'. Pupils throw beanbags and record the two-digit number they create.
• Number building dice : In pairs, pupils roll dice to generate digits, then use base-10 blocks to build the largest number possible.
• Swap shop : Give pupils a pair of digit number cards. They must trade with classmates to make the largest or smallest number possible.

Digital tools and interactive activities

Incorporating technology can enhance place value lessons and cater to different learning styles.

Effective digital resources include:

• Interactive number lines and hundred squares
• Place value games on educational websites
• Virtual manipulatives that mimic physical base-10 blocks

Digital tools should complement, not replace, hands-on learning. Use them to reinforce concepts and provide additional practice.

Real-world applications and problem-solving

Connecting place value to real-life situations helps pupils understand its relevance and importance.

Consider these real-world activities:

• Classroom shop : Set up a pretend shop where items cost up to £99. Pupils use play money to make purchases, reinforcing their understanding of tens and ones.
• Number treasure hunt : Hide two-digit numbers around the school or playground. Pupils must find and order them from smallest to largest.
• Daily calendar : Use a monthly calendar to discuss dates, reinforcing concepts like 'one more' and 'one less'.

Try this : Encourage pupils to spot numbers in their environment and discuss their place value. This could be house numbers, price tags, or page numbers in books.

Differentiation techniques

In your classrooms, you'll find a range of abilities when it comes to understanding place value. Effective differentiation ensures that all pupils are appropriately challenged and supported. Let's explore some techniques to cater to diverse learning needs.

Supporting struggling learners

Pupils who find place value challenging often need more concrete experiences and targeted support.

Try these strategies:

• Use smaller number ranges : Start with numbers up to 20 before moving toward 100
• Provide additional manipulatives : Make sure struggling learners have regular access to manipulatives like base-10 blocks, number lines, and ten frames
• Use visual aids : Create place value charts with pockets to physically 'build' numbers

Try this : Implement a 'maths buddy' system where struggling learners are paired with more confident peers. This peer support can boost confidence on both sides. Pupils who understand the concept can practise explaining what they learned and struggling learners get a different perspective from another student.

Challenging advanced learners

For pupils who grasp place value quickly, provide opportunities to deepen their understanding and apply their knowledge in new contexts.

Consider these extension activities:

• Introduce three-digit numbers : Challenge advanced learners to explore hundreds, tens, and ones
• Encourage problem creation : Ask pupils to create their own place value puzzles for other students to solve

Addressing common misconceptions

Identifying and addressing misconceptions early is important for building a solid understanding of place value.

Common misconceptions include:

• Confusion between place and face value : Some pupils might think the '2' in 24 means 2, not 20
• Difficulty with zero as a placeholder : Pupils might struggle to understand why 105 is larger than 15
• Reversing digits : Writing 24 as 42, for example

Addressing misconceptions:

• Use concrete materials to physically represent numbers, emphasising the difference between tens and ones
• Provide plenty of practice with numbers including zero
• Use place value cards that can be physically arranged and rearranged

Try this : Create a 'misconception station' in your classroom. Display common errors and invite pupils to spot and correct them. This not only addresses misconceptions but also develops critical thinking skills.

By implementing these differentiation techniques, pupils, regardless of their starting point, can develop a robust understanding of place value. The goal is for every child to feel successful and engaged in their learning journey.

Parent involvement

Engaging parents in their child's mathematical learning can significantly enhance understanding of all maths concepts including place value.

Let's explore some effective strategies for involving parents in place value learning.

At-home activities to reinforce place value concepts

Encourage parents to incorporate place value exercises into everyday life. These activities should be fun, simple, and require minimal resources.

Suggested activities for parents:

• Number hunt : During walks or shopping trips, spot two-digit numbers and discuss their place value
• Dice games : Roll two dice to create two-digit numbers, then compare them. Talk about their place value and discuss why they are tens or ones
• Sorting coins : Use 1p and 10p coins to represent ones and tens, building different numbers

Try this : Create a 'Maths at Home' kit for each pupil. Include items like dice, base-10 blocks, and a simple place value chart. This ensures that pupils have access to basic resources for at-home practice.

Communication strategies for parents

Clear, regular communication with parents is key to maintaining their involvement and understanding of place value concepts.

Effective communication strategies include:

• Weekly newsletters : Share what maths concepts are being taught and suggest related home activities
• Parents evenings : Demonstrate how place value is taught in class during your next parent evening so parents can experience the learning process and model it at home
• Online resources : Create a class blog or use a learning platform to share videos of place value explanations and activities

Remember, many parents may be unfamiliar with current teaching methods, especially if they learned maths differently. Be patient and provide clear explanations of your classroom’s maths approach and the importance of place value.

Addressing parental concerns

Parents might express concerns or confusion about place value teaching methods. Address these proactively to maintain their support and involvement.

Common concerns and responses:

• " Why use base-10 blocks instead of just writing numbers? ": Explain the CPA approach and how concrete understanding leads to better abstract thinking
• " This looks different from how I learned maths ": Acknowledge this, but emphasise how these methods develop deeper understanding and problem-solving skills
• " My child still counts on their fingers ": Reassure parents that this is a normal stage of development, while gradually introducing more efficient strategies

Together we can create a supportive environment that extends beyond the classroom and opens up doors for communication to set up pupils for future maths success.

Assessment strategies

You may be wondering, how do we actually know if we are on the right track with our students with all of these strategies. This is where assessment comes into play.

Formative assessment techniques

Formative assessment provides real-time insights into pupils' learning, allowing us to adjust our teaching accordingly.

Try these formative assessment techniques:

• Observation : Watch pupils as they work with manipulatives or solve problems, noting their strategies and misconceptions
• Ask open ended questions : Learning to ask open ended questions leads to a wider understanding of the pupil’s capabilities
• White board responses : Pose quick questions for pupils to answer on individual white boards, allowing for a quick scan of class understanding

Using exit tickets and quick checks

Exit tickets and quick checks provide a snapshot of understanding at the end of a lesson or learning sequence.

Effective exit ticket ideas:

• Demonstrate place value : Ask pupils to represent a two-digit number using a place value chart, base-10 blocks, or number line
• True or false : Provide a statement about place value for pupils to evaluate
• Fill in the blank : Give pupils a partially completed place value statement to complete

Exit tickets should be quick to complete and easy to assess. Use the results to inform your planning for the next lesson.

Tracking progress over time

Monitoring progress over time helps ensure all pupils are moving forward in their place value understanding.

Consider these tracking methods:

• Place value checklist : Create a list of key skills (e.g., can count in tens, can identify tens and ones in a two-digit number) and regularly update it for each pupil
• Regular journalling : Have pupils consistently journal about their place value work throughout the year to show progression
• Regular low-stakes quizzes : Use short, focused assessments to track understanding of specific place value concepts

Using assessment data

The true value of assessment lies in how we use the data to inform our teaching.

Ways to use assessment data:

• Grouping : Use assessment results to create flexible groups for targeted support or extension
• Lesson planning : Adjust your plans based on common misconceptions or gaps identified in assessments
• Individual support : Use one-to-one conferencing to address specific difficulties highlighted by assessments

Baseline from Insights

See what pupils have retained. Quickly diagnose gaps. Move your class forward. Assessment as it was meant to be.

The goal with assessment is to gain a clear picture of each pupil's place value understanding, enabling educators to provide the right support at the right time.

Empowering young mathematicians: Their place value journey begins here

Teaching place value in Year 1 is a crucial foundation for mathematical learning, requiring a thoughtful blend of concrete, pictorial, and abstract approaches to help pupils understand the base-10 number system.

Effective strategies include using manipulatives, incorporating visual models, and engaging in real-world activities, whilst differentiating instruction to support all learners and involving parents in the learning process.

By implementing these varied techniques and maintaining ongoing assessment, we can create a rich, engaging environment for our pupils to develop a robust understanding of place value, setting them up for future mathematical success.

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