Formative Assessment

The question we gave to the students was "What are the stars made of?"  From the assessment there were only three out of seventeen students who had the correct answer which was Sophia:  "I think astronomers examine the light given off by a star to see what it's made of."  From the results we gathered most of the students thought when shooting stars fall to Earth, some pieces are left and astronomers take them to the lab to see what they're made of.  Since the majority of the class has the misconception that we see what the stars are made out of by having them fall, this would need to be addressed right away in the beginning of the lesson. The second question which was asking the students why they thought their answer was right had various and some interesting answers.  It seemed that only one student really knew what they were talking about because they really explained their answer and provided detail as to why sophia was correct.  The other two students who guessed Sophia, restated the question as their short answer or picked Sophia because it was the logical choice.  As a teacher I would take these results and go over the misconceptions before starting the lesson to help the students understand what the stars are really made of.
      This assessment would be very helpful as a teacher because it lets the teacher see where each student is and what they are thinking before the lesson is even started.  I would use this information to base a unit on stars to help students really understand the stars and what they are made out of.  The next step for me would also be to show videos and demonstrations to further the students education in stars and clear any misconceptions.  This assessment was helpful and would help me as a teacher where to go to help my students clear up any misconceptions they have about stars.