Checking for Understanding: Formative Assessment Techniques for Your Classroom, Edition 2

Douglas Fisher · Nancy Frey

Dec 2014 · ASCD

About this ebook

A teacher presents a lesson, and at the end asks students if they understand the material. The students nod and say they get it. Later, the teacher is dismayed when many of the students fail a test on the material. Why aren't students getting it? And, just as important, why didn't the teacher recognize the problem?

In Checking for Understanding, Douglas Fisher and Nancy Frey show how to increase students' understanding with the help of creative formative assessments. When used regularly, formative assessments enable every teacher to determine what students know and what they still need to learn. Fisher and Frey explore a variety of engaging activities that check for and increase understanding, including interactive writing, portfolios, multimedia presentations, audience response systems, and much more.

This new 2nd edition of Checking for Understanding has been updated to reflect the latest thinking in formative assessment and to show how the concepts apply in the context of Fisher and Frey's work on gradual release of responsibility, guided instruction, formative assessment systems, data analysis, and quality instruction.

Douglas Fisher and Nancy Frey are the creators of the Framework for Intentional and Targeted (FIT) TeachingTM. They are also the authors of numerous ASCD books, including The Formative Assessment Action Plan: Practical Steps to More Successful Teaching and Learning and the best-selling Enhancing RTI: How to Ensure Success with Effective Classroom Instruction and Intervention.

About the author

Douglas Fisher, PhD, is a professor of language and literacy education in the Department of Teacher Education at San Diego State University (SDSU), the codirector for the Center for the Advancement of Reading at the California State University Chancellor's Office, and a past director of professional development for the City Heights Educational Collaborative. He is the recipient of the International Reading Association Celebrate Literacy Award as well as the Christa McAuliffe award for excellence in teacher education from the American Association of State Colleges and Universities. He has published numerous articles on reading and literacy, differentiated instruction, and curriculum design as well as books, including Creating Literacy-Rich Schools for Adolescents (with Gay Ivey), Improving Adolescent Literacy: Strategies at Work (with Nancy Frey), and Teaching English Language Learners: A Differentiated Approach (with Carol Rothenberg). Doug has taught a variety of courses in SDSU's teacher-credentialing program as well as graduate-level courses on English language development and literacy. A former early intervention specialist and language development specialist, he has also taught high school English, writing, and literacy development to public school students. He can be reached at [e-mail].

Nancy Frey, PhD, is an associate professor of literacy in the School of Teacher Education at San Diego State University. Before joining the university faculty, Nancy was a teacher in the Broward County (Florida) Public Schools, where she taught both general and special education students at the elementary and middle school levels. She later worked for the Florida Department of Education on a statewide project for supporting students with diverse learning needs in general education curriculum. She is also a recipient of the Christa McAuliffe award for excellence in teacher education. Her research interests include reading and literacy, assessment, intervention, and curriculum design. She has coauthored several books on literacy, including Language Arts Workshop: Purposeful Reading and Writing Instruction and Reading for Information in Elementary School (both with Doug Fisher). She teaches a variety of courses in SDSU's teacher-credentialing program on elementary and secondary literacy in content-area instruction and supporting students with diverse learning needs. She can be reached at [e-mail].