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What are Formative Assessments?

Formative assessments are educational evaluation techniques that are employed during the learning process to gather ongoing feedback and monitor students' progress, understanding, and performance. Formative assessments are integrated into the instructional process to shape and guide teaching and learning. Their primary purpose is to provide real-time information to both educators and students, enabling them to adjust their strategies and approaches for better learning outcomes.

https://www.nwea.org/blog/2023/what-is-formative-assessment/

https://www.edutopia.org/article/8-quick-checks-understanding

https://www.commonsense.org/education/articles/teachers-essential-guide-to-formative-assessment

Why are Formative Assessments used?

Enhanced Learning: Formative assessments provide students with a clear understanding of their strengths and areas for improvement, fostering a growth mindset and motivating them to actively engage in the learning process.

Timely Feedback: Teachers can offer immediate feedback on students' performance, helping them grasp concepts and address misconceptions before they become ingrained.

Adjust Instruction: Educators can adapt their teaching methods based on the assessment results, tailoring lessons to address specific learning needs and preferences of individual students or the entire class.

Identification of Gaps: Formative assessments highlight gaps in knowledge, enabling teachers to target specific concepts that require reinforcement or further explanation.

Student Engagement: Active participation in formative assessments encourages students to take ownership of their learning, promoting higher levels of engagement and retention.

Flexible Teaching Strategies: Formative assessments allow educators to experiment with various teaching strategies and assess their effectiveness in real-time.

Support for Differentiation: By identifying diverse learning needs, formative assessments facilitate differentiated instruction, catering to the varying abilities and learning styles of students.

https://pce.sandiego.edu/14-examples-of-formative-assessment-faqs/

https://www.edutopia.org/blog/formative-assessments-importance-of-rebecca-alber

https://www.weareteachers.com/what-is-formative-assessment/

Some examples of Formative Assessments:

Peer Review Pairs: The teacher divides the students into pairs and assigns each pair an essay written by one of their classmates.

Guiding Questions: The teacher provides a set of guiding questions to help students provide constructive feedback. These questions focus on aspects like clarity of argument, use of evidence, organization, and language.

Peer Feedback Discussion: Each pair engages in a discussion where they read and analyze the assigned essay together. They use the guiding questions to guide their conversation, offering specific suggestions for improvement.

Feedback Exchange: Students take turns providing feedback to their partner's essay. They discuss strengths, areas that need improvement, and potential revisions.

Written Reflection: After the discussion, each student writes a brief reflection on the feedback they received and the insights they gained from reviewing their peer's essay.

Teacher Assessment: The teacher also listens in on the discussions, taking notes on key points raised and identifying common trends in feedback. This information will inform the next steps in the instruction.

https://pce.sandiego.edu/14-examples-of-formative-assessment-faqs/

https://helpfulprofessor.com/formative-assessment-examples/

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What are Summative Assessments?

Summative assessments are evaluation methods used to measure a student's overall understanding and mastery of a specific set of knowledge, skills, or learning objectives. These assessments are typically administered at the end of a defined instructional period, such as a unit, course, or semester, and are used to determine the extent to which students have achieved the desired learning outcomes. Summative assessments are often graded and serve as a final judgment of a student's performance, providing a snapshot of their knowledge and abilities at a specific point in time.

https://www.edglossary.org/summative-assessment/

https://teachingcommons.stanford.edu/teaching-guides/foundations-course-design/feedback-and-assessment/summative-assessment-and-feedback

Why are Summative Assessments Used?

Measuring Mastery: Summative assessments provide a final measure of students' overall understanding and mastery of specific learning objectives, serving as a culmination of their knowledge and skills.

Grading and Evaluation: These assessments contribute to students' grades and academic records, providing a standardized basis for evaluating and ranking their performance.

Accountability: Summative assessments are used to ensure accountability at both the student and institutional levels, helping to maintain standards and assess the effectiveness of education.

Transition and Progression: These assessments determine whether students are ready to advance to the next educational level or phase, guiding educational transitions.

Program Assessment: Summative assessments aid in evaluating the effectiveness of educational programs and initiatives, informing decisions for program improvements and future planning.

https://resilienteducator.com/classroom-resources/summative-assessment-what-teachers-need-to-know/

https://teaching.uic.edu/resources/teaching-guides/assessment-grading-practices/summative-assessments/

https://teachingcommons.stanford.edu/teaching-guides/foundations-course-design/feedback-and-assessment/summative-assessment-and-feedback

Some examples of Summative Assessments:

Final Exams: Comprehensive tests conducted at the end of a course to assess students' overall understanding of the subject matter.

Standardized Tests: Nationally or regionally standardized assessments that measure students' proficiency in specific subjects or grade levels.

End-of-Course Projects: In-depth projects requiring students to apply knowledge and skills acquired throughout a course.

State or National Assessments: Large-scale standardized tests administered by educational authorities to assess students' academic progress across a jurisdiction.

https://www.prodigygame.com/main-en/blog/summative-assessment/

https://helpfulprofessor.com/summative-assessment-examples/

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What is it?
An evaluation method that measures an individual's performance against a pre-determined set of criteria or standards and made available to students at the time the assignment is set. Instead of comparing a person's performance to that of others (as in norm-referenced assessment), criterion-referenced assessment focuses on whether the individual has met specific learning objectives or mastery levels.

Why it is used:
Schools use criterion-referenced tests to assess the specific knowledge and skills students have most likely learned in order to assess how close a student is to mastering a specific standard. We say “most likely” because there is no absolutely perfect way to measure things we cannot directly see without some error.

Example:
- Rubric Assessment
A rubric provides a clear and pre determined set of criteria by which to evaluate a student's performance. In a rubric, specific criteria and performance levels are established to measure how well a student's work meets predetermined standards or learning objectives.

- Driving test
Driving tests are criterion-referenced tests, because their goal is to see whether the test taker is skilled enough to be granted a driver's license, not to see whether one test taker is more skilled than another test taker.

Sources:
https://www.renaissance.com/edword/criterion-referenced-test/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xz2WuJ_D09A

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What is it? and Why is it used?

Performance assessment is a systematic process of evaluating an individual, a group, a team, or an organization's performance based on specific criteria and standards. It involves measuring and analyzing various aspects of performance to determine how well goals, objectives, and expectations are being met. Performance assessments are commonly used in workplaces, education, and sports.

What are some examples of the type of assessment?

Self-Assessment: Individuals reflect on their own performance and analyse their areas for improvement.

360-Degree Feedback: Getting feedback from peers, supervisors to gain a well-rounded perspective on one's performance.

Performance based assessment requires a little bit more outside-the-box thinking than traditional assessments. However, they are engaging and encourage students to take ownership of their work, which is very useful.

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Diagnostic assessments are sets of written questions (multiple choice or short answer) that assess a learner’s current knowledge base, strength's and weaknesses or current views on a topic/issue to be studied in the course.
The goal is to get a snapshot of where students currently stand - intellectually, emotionally or ideologically - allowing the instructor to make sound instructional choices as to how to teach the new course content and what teaching approach to use.

Example of a Diagnostic Assessment:
English Language Proficiency Diagnostic Assessment for English Language Learners (ELL)

Purpose: The purpose of this diagnostic assessment is to evaluate the English language proficiency of English Language Learners (ELL) entering a new educational setting. The assessment aims to determine their current language abilities and areas in which they may need additional support.

The Assessment includes:
- Listening
- Speaking
- Reading
- Writing

Outcome: After analyzing the results of the English language proficiency diagnostic assessment, educators can categorize ELL students into different language proficiency levels, such as beginner, intermediate, or advanced. This information helps teachers design appropriate lesson plans and learning activities that match the students' current language abilities.

Resources:
"Diagnostic assessment." Queen's University - Centre for Teaching and Learning, https://www.queensu.ca/teachingandlearning/modules/assessments/10_s2_02_diagnostic_assessment.html. Accessed 16 Aug. 2023.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H-WEmsuvDsA

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Diagnostic Assessment: Examples & Overview

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Assessment of, as, and for learning (Kevin)

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Assessment of, as, and for learning (Kevin)

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What are assessment of, as, and for learning? Why are they used? Examples?

Assessment of learning involves evaluating student's understanding through formal tests or exams, providing a summative measure of their performance and effort.

Example: Final exam at the end of the semester.

Assessment as learning refers to students' active engagement in assessing their own learning progress and setting goals. Students reflect on their work on a regular basis, and decide what their next learning will be.

Example: Student solving practice problems to improve on their weaknesses.

Assessment for learning happens during the learning, and it exists to help students understand exactly what they are to learn and what is expected of them.

Example: In-class quizzes and discussions to engage students in understanding of a new concept.