Date of this Version
In this action research study of a sixth grade mathematics classroom, I investigated what would happen to the students’ understanding of mathematical concepts and what student learning would look like when multiple formative assessments were implemented and descriptive feedback was given by the teacher. I also examined how my own teaching would be affected when I utilized descriptive feedback on formative assessments in attempts to decrease the number of retakes needed on summative assessments. I discovered that my students were better prepared for summative assessments when multiple formative assessments were implemented and when I utilized information from the formative assessments to frame the teaching and re-teaching of concepts in my classroom. I found that I was given more opportunities to communicate with my students about their strengths and weaknesses through the use of descriptive feedback. I believe that the characteristics of my research project led to giving me a deeper understanding of my students’ mathematical proficiency. As a result of this research, I plan to implement portions of my practice with new classes of sixth grade students. I am interested in implementing these strategies in other subject areas, such as science or language arts.