Formative Assessment, PGIs and UbD

I think we need an acronym for Formative Assessment... and I think that F-Ass just isn't really appropriate. :) Ha.
Actually, I'm pretty excited about the idea of formative assessment and really diving in and getting it done. I read some more today about formative assessment from Carol Ann Tomlinson and the Chappuis super team... both were good articles, however I feel that Tomlinson's seemed to be written in the manner that I better understand and am looking to use formative assessment. It's kind of in that hippy-granola sort of way... and less in that, you can still use tests, but use them formatively sort of way. (Even though the latter is a good reminder for me so I don't go re-inventing the wheel.)
Actually, this month's Educational Leadership issue is all about formative assessment and has the articles by Tomlinson and the Chappuis twins (not actually twins, but it reminds me of the "wonder twin powers... activate!" sort of thing).
Otherwise I feel pretty on top of the homework this month. I have already finished my UbD and have taken some feedback from the students... even the immer-pessimistic ones... and I look forward to really looking at that as a way to reflect and change what I think is a chapter with a lot of potential. It is also a great opportunity for me to look at using that sort of thing in my split level class. One of my students said that he scored better on this test than he has on ANY OTHER TEST so far in German class because he had the round tables, study groups and was able to work at his own pace. GLORIOUS!
So, knock on wood, here's to staying on top of things!