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Description:   

Formative use of evaluation is useful for students as the data tell them what they are learning as compared to what they are expected to learn. By regularly (i.e. formatively) providing this information, small improvements can be made throughout the semester and there should be no surprises at the course final. Providing students with any UNGRADED assessment and/or a rubric that indicates what they are expected to know by the end of the course should help students determine how they are doing.

In ESSE:  

Exam review questions on Antarctic Marine Ecology and Policy are used at the University of California, Santa Barbara, to help students understand what they are expected to know on a mid-term exam.  Diagnostic instruments, which are administered early in a course, can also be used formatively for students.  Examples are the General Science Survey on attitudes from an Austin College Environmental Science course and the Arctic Pre-Assessment Survey from the University of Missouri, Kansas City, which gauges how much students know about the Arctic Climate.