An assessment is a measure of student learning. Assessments benefit students, teachers and parents. They are used to find out how well a student has learned material, and to give direction to the student’s further learning efforts. Teachers can use this information to adjust lessons to fill in gaps in student knowledge. Parents sometimes do not see much of their child’s schoolwork, and assessments may be the most concrete way they have to monitor learning progress. It is important to remember that assessments must be in line with teaching style and learning goals. Students should be assessed on what they were expected to learn, and in a way that is similar to the format that was used for teaching. There are two kinds of assessments, formative and summative.
Formative Assessment
Formative assessments happen during the course of learning. They are mostly a form of feedback, both for the student and the teacher. Formative assessments are most effective when they are continuous but not intrusive. In this way, teachers are continually gaining a better understanding of their students’ thinking, and students eventually can learn to self-assess their work and peer-assess the work of other students. Formative assessment can be in the form of teacher comments on worksheets or draft papers, or quizzes during the course of instruction.
Summative Assessment
Summative assessments happen at the end of learning. They measure the results of learning after learning goals should have already been met. Due to this, they are less useful for feedback because students do not have an opportunity for revision. However, summative assessments are still necessary as a way of grading and quantifying student learning. Summative assessment usually happens in the form of a test.
