Even when a teacher delivers high-quality instruction with high expectations and motivation, it does not ensure that student learning will take place. The critical component for ensuring that all students learn is utilizing formative assessment. Formative assessment, in simple terms, involves a teacher establishing clear learning goals, constantly checking for student understanding, and providing timely, specific feedback. This may be done formally (ex: pre-test/post-test) or informally (ex: exit slips or observations). The most critical component is then what a teacher does with this data- and how s/he adjusts instruction based upon student performance. This progress monitoring continues on a daily basis to enable the teacher to monitor, assess and adjust instruction based upon student feedback and needs.