Formative assessment is a process, acted out in a formative learning cycle, that partners the teacher and the student to regularly gather evidence of learning with the express goal of improving student achievement. Formative assessment is most effective in classrooms in which the learning cycle enables students to

• Understand what they are trying to learn and the criteria by which they can assess that learning.
• Produce evidence of how they are doing.
• Receive formative feedback.
• Use the feedback to improve the quality of their work.

In this guide, experts Susan M. Brookhart and Jay McTighe show how best to incorporate the formative learning cycle into everyday instruction. They offer techniques for sharing learning targets, assessment activities to use in the classroom, and strategies for providing student feedback.