Assessment in EducationAssessment in education is meant to inform us about student progress and needs. What types of assessment should teachers use?
Educators should use differentiated assessment tools. This means that we use a variety of methods to assess background knowledge, current understanding, and overall learning.
Both of these types of assessments should be used in a balanced approach as they are equally valuable in gathering information about students. A performance based assessment can be either summative or formative. A performance based assessment will become more of a formative assessment when the students are allowed to reflect on the quality of their own work (assessing themselves). Summative AssessmentOften teachers use only summative assessments in their grading, but that is simply a gauge, a pinpoint of a particular moment in time that indicates how a child performs at precisely that moment.Report cards for school performance are based on summative assessments. So are chapter tests, exams and mid-terms. The problem with a summative assessment is that is happens so far down the road that the real growth and value of what has been learned is not apparent. A summative assessment does nothing to help teachers know what their students need to continue on towards mastery learning. The only way to make adjustments and interventions is during the learning process, not at the end. That is why we use the formative assessment in education. Formative AssessmentsThis is what teachers do every day. It is actually a built-in part of the instructional process. The information gained from formative assessments in education should guide the teacher in continually evaluating the needs to the students.Adjustments can be made quickly using formative assessments. Perhaps a child requires intervention, or maybe needs differentiation in the classroom. A key difference between a summative and a formative assessment in education is that a formative assessment is "practice." It gives teachers an opportunity to consider the next steps that are needed based on practice results. Another important factor is that the students are completely involved in assessing their own learning. They learn to identify what they need help with, what is going well, and the teacher provides targeted feedback. However, teachers often are great at gathering information with formative assessments, but never put it to good use. How can educators use assessment in education? How to Use Assessment in Education1. Getting to Know You (Formative Assessments) 2. Unit of Study Pre-Assessment (Formative Assessments) 3. Check for Understanding (Formative Assessments) 4. Closing Assessments (Formative Assessments) 5. Traditional Assessments (Summative Assessment) 6. Self Assessments (Formative Assessments) "To say that you have taught when students haven't learned is to say you have sold when no one has bought. But how can you know that students have learned without spending hours correcting tests and papers? . . . check students understanding while you are teaching (not at 10 o'clock at night when you're correcting papers) so you don't move on with unlearned material that can accumulate like a snowball and eventually engulf the student in confusion and despair." Madeline Hunter, 1989 Return to Top: Assessment in Education
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