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Tutor Resource

Formative Assessment
Quality Checklist

Use before every session to ensure your check-for-understanding is purposeful, aligned, and informative.

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Why this checklist matters

A strong formative assessment tells you exactly where a student is — not just whether they sat through the lesson. Before you write your exit ticket or check-for-understanding, run it through these 4 criteria. All 4 should pass before you use it.

0of 4

Your Assessment Score

Needs Revision

Check off each criterion as your assessment meets it. All 4 must pass before using.

The 4 Quality Criteria
1

Objective Alignment

"Does this assessment measure what I taught today?"

✓
✅ Passes when… The assessment directly targets the specific skill or concept from today's lesson objective — not a related skill or a prior lesson.
❌ Revise when… The assessment drifts from the objective — even if it's a good question for another day. Redirect it back to today's focus.
Examples
📐 Math — Grade 5 · Objective: Add unlike fractions
What is 1/2 + 1/2? (prior knowledge, not today's objective)
Solve 3/4 + 2/5 using what we practiced today. (aligned)
2

Content & Skill Alignment

"Does this match the format and skills we practiced?"

✓
✅ Passes when… The vocabulary, format, and difficulty level all reflect what the student actually practiced during the session. No surprise formats.
❌ Revise when… The question requires a skill or format the student hasn't seen yet — even if related to the topic. That's assessment of untaught content.
Examples
📚 ELA — Grade 7 · Practiced: Identifying main idea with text evidence
Write a summary of the entire passage. (different skill — summarizing)
What is the main idea of paragraph 3? Which two sentences support it? (aligned)
3

Mastery Level

"Is this pitched at the right level to show mastery?"

✓
✅ Passes when… The question is challenging enough to distinguish mastery from familiarity — not so hard that it requires untaught material, not so easy it just confirms they were listening.
❌ Revise when… A student could answer correctly by guessing or recalling a single fact, OR the question requires knowledge they don't have yet.
Examples
✍️ Writing — Grade 4 · Objective: Use transition words for cause and effect
What is a transition word? (recall only — no mastery evidence)
Rewrite this sentence using a cause-and-effect transition: "It rained. We stayed inside." (application — shows mastery)
4

Depth of Response

"Does this require more than yes/no or one word?"

✓
✅ Passes when… The student must explain reasoning, show steps, apply a concept, or justify an answer. You can see how they're thinking, not just what they said.
❌ Revise when… A correct answer requires no reasoning — just a guess, a recalled term, or yes/no. Add "How do you know?" or "Show your work" to any borderline question.
Quick Fix
🔧 Any subject — Depth upgrade technique
Do you understand how to find the slope? (yes/no)
Find the slope of these two points and explain what it tells us about the line. (depth + reasoning)
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Get instant feedback from the A+ Support Bot

Paste your assessment question into the tutor support bot — it'll run all 4 checks automatically and suggest a revision if needed.

"Check my exit ticket: [paste question]"
"Quality check my assessment"
"Help me write a formative assessment for [grade/subject/objective]"
Adaptations for Diverse Learners

🧠 Students with IEPs / 504s

  • Offer sentence starters: "The main idea is ___ because ___"
  • Allow verbal response in place of written
  • Note accommodations used in lesson log
  • Reduce format complexity without reducing depth

🌐 English Learners

  • Use visuals or diagrams to support the question
  • Accept responses in home language + English
  • Use vocabulary from the session — no new terms
  • Allow extra processing time before responding
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Always record in your lesson notes

After the session, document: what you assessed, how the student performed, and what it means for next session. This is what coaches review and what drives your next plan.