Formative assessments are varying methods that are used by teachers to evaluate student comprehension, needs, and progress while they are in the process of learning. As more and more research is being done on this subject, formative assessments are now widely considered to be one of the most effective methods teachers can use. There are a variety of ways to do a formative assessment. Some examples include:

Why are formative assessments so important?  

Formative assessments allow teachers to monitor students' learning growth and adjust their lesson plans in order to maintain continuous improvement. While this is beneficial for students in general, it is especially valuable for struggling and gifted students who have special needs that can be easily overlooked in favor of meeting the needs of the “average students”. Formative assessments not only tell the teacher what they need to focus on or change, but it also gives students immediate feedback and shows them where they can improve and what they know. It can also help keep students on track for their learning goals. This has been shown to help motivate learners and teaches them how to self-regulate their learning. 

9 Benefits of Using Formative Assessment to Increase Student Growth. (2021, January 22). Powerschool.com.
Retrieved May 28, 2022, from https://www.powerschool.com/blog/9-benefits-of-using-formative-assessment-to-increase-student-growth/

Formative Assessment Definition. (2014, April 29). The Glossary of Education Reform. Retrieved May 28, 2022, from https://www.edglossary.org/formative-assessment/#:%7E:text=Formative%20assessment%20refers%20to%20a,lesson%2C%20unit%2C%20or%20course.

Rich, J. (2017, December 14). Polling Students to Check Understanding. Edutopia.org. Retrieved May 28, 2022, from https://www.edutopia.org/article/polling-students-check-understanding

Finley, T. (2014, July 30). Dipsticks: Efficient Ways to Check for Understanding. Edutopia.Org. Retrieved May 28, 2022, from https://www.edutopia.org/blog/dipsticks-to-check-for-understanding-todd-finley

Teachings in Education. (2016, November 14). Formative Assessments: Why, When & Top 5 Examples [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-RXYTpgvB5I

Gaining Understanding on What Your Students Know. (2015, June 23). Edutopia.Org. Retrieved May 28, 2022, from https://www.edutopia.org/practice/exit-tickets-checking-understanding

Summative assessments are often high stakes methods used to evaluate student learning at the end of a semester or unit by comparing it to a school benchmark or other standards. They generally take place in a controlled environment. 

Summative assessment examples

Summative assessments provide teachers, administrators, and districts with data on student learning. It can help identify areas that need improvement and areas that are working well in the curriculum. It also provides information to families and the general public. However, there are some well founded criticisms of summative assessments. It is not always an accurate portrayal of a student's ability. Students with anxiety or students who thrive on creative learning may be misrepresented by this method. So it is important to use summative data in conjunction with formative and other assessment methods to get a clear picture of student learning. Teachers and administrators can also consider less traditional ways to get summative data. I like this article for fun ideas to make summative assessments less daunting for students. 

Sources: 

Summative Assessments. (2020, November 24). Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction. Retrieved May 29, 2022, from https://dpi.wi.gov/strategic-assessment/cycles-assessment/summative#:%7E:text=Summative%20assessments%20provide%20cumulative%20snapshots,families%20and%20the%20general%20public.

Does summative assessment risk learning outcomes? (2020, December 3). Promethean Blog. Retrieved May 29, 2022, from https://resourced.prometheanworld.com/summative-assessment-risk-educational-outcomes/#:%7E:text=So%2C%20school%20results%20would%20only,performance%20rather%20than%20learning%20goals.

Meador, D. (2019, March 4). Building a Portfolio Assessment Can Be a Powerful Tool for Students. ThoughtCo. Retrieved May 29, 2022, from https://www.thoughtco.com/the-purpose-of-building-a-portfolio-assessment-3194653

Summative Assessments. (2020, November 24). Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction. Retrieved May 29, 2022, from https://dpi.wi.gov/strategic-assessment/cycles-assessment/summative#:%7E:text=Summative%20assessments%20provide%20cumulative%20snapshots,families%20and%20the%20general%20public.

Gardner, B. M., PhD. (2019, December 9). Using Interviews to Assess and Mentor Students. Faculty Focus | Higher Ed Teaching & Learning. Retrieved May 29, 2022, from https://www.facultyfocus.com/articles/educational-assessment/using-student-interviews-to-assess-and-mentor-students/

Diagnostic assessments inform both the teacher and the students and can come in many forms-written form or class discussions depending on age group, and subject area.

Why are Diagnostic Assessments used?
It is primarily used to highlight student difficulties and guide lesson and curriculum planning and give the teacher information to modify any lessons, differentiate instruction and provide more choices for students to gain the knowledge and skills of the topic in question.

 For Diagnostic examples to be effective, they must occur at the beginning of each unit.

 With this form of assessment, teachers can plan meaningful and efficient instruction and can provide students with an individualized learning experience. In short, it saves everyone’s time and is especially beneficial for teachers starting with a new class, it can ensure you do not assume students have prior knowledge of certain topics, and you may need to revisit your ideas, strategies and methods of instruction. On the other hand, you may find lots of students have skills, ideas and lots of information about a topic, and you can modify or differentiate accordingly. You may find you have gifted students or students in the lower bracket who may need individualized instruction or are lacking in a particular area of the unit. 

Another benefit is that it can be used before every new unit or new book and act as a good baseline for future learning. It makes the teaching and learning process more efficient by highlighting content that needs to be taught.

Diagnostic assessments are "low-stake" assessments because they are non-graded and do not determine whether the student moves to the next educational level, so students shouldn’t feel any pressure and can answer honestly and without judgement

I found this article very useful researching Diagnostic Assessments explaining it clearly, outlining benefits and limitations of this assessment tool.
https://harappa.education/harappa-diaries/diagnostic-assessment/

I must admit,I hadn't heard of the term ‘diagnostic assessments’ before today but after researching, it turns out I have been conducting these assessments for quite some time now.
In my class, I use a KWL board before each IB unit of inquiry to assess what students 'know' and importantly for student-centred learning-what they 'want to know'. As my students are 6-year-old English language learners in a Chinese bilingual school, my KWL boards usually come in the form of  discussions where I can guide the questions and conversations.

The L section at the end of each unit (What we have learned) is another example of diagnostic assessment and a useful comparison tool for your students to complete at the end to see if you as a teacher and the students have filled these knowledge gaps, and the class have met their aims and objectives.

Another example of diagnostic assessments that I use for my students are individual student questionnaires, which I simplify for my student’s needs. I learned the value of this in Module 3 in an assignment about ‘getting to know your students ’and found that it can be useful to apply it to certain topics and also to gauge knowledge at the beginning and end of units. These questionnaires help me receive up-to-date to date information  of my student's knowledge. I use the same or slightly modified  questionnaires at the  end of units, which is an effective  assessment tool.  

I also use the 'Heninemin rubric' to assess students  initial writing levels at the beginning of term and  also assess reading levels for our TCRWP program (Teachers, college, reading and writing project) At the beginning of term, I can assess all student's reading and writing levels quickly and efficiently using the previously linked  rubric. This would also fall under the category of Formative assessment, but it is a good baseline and guide for me to understand my student's prior reading and writing ability. It also helps me differentiate accordingly and place students into  appropriate reading and writing groups.


Other examples of Diagnostic Assessments.

Diagnostic Assessments can be either informal  or more commonly standardized for your class or grade level. Informal assessments can be used if you need information quickly and can come in the form of conversations with individual students or the whole class. 

Standardized assessment are more common as you can gather data about your whole class and are more beneficial for planning units or lessons and spotting obvious areas of strength knowledge gaps.

Entry slips to collect information from students

A performance assessment involves students applying and showing skills and knowledge through carrying out performance tasks. The objective of a performance assessment is to improve the student learning experience and evaluate the effectiveness of lesson plans/projects etc.

Performance assessments demonstrate can the students apply the knowledge and skills they have learned through different tasks - not how they can remember the information.

It is a very useful tool if your school practices student-centred learning and for measuring if students have important 21-century learning skills such as communication, and collaboration.

The key to effective performance assessments is that it requires the student to produce something, such as a report, experiment, or performance, which is scored against specific criteria.  Performance assessments should be open-ended and time bound.
 From an educator's point of view, for performance assessments to be effective and serve a future purpose, they should have clear and defined goals and a defined checklist to  evaluate the assessment and the learning process.

Why are Performance Assessments used?

As education slowly edges away from relying on traditional summative assessments, new educational concepts and modern ideas such as IB, student-centred learning and project-based learning are becoming more widespread. As a result, different means of assessment are required. In a project-based learning environment, there would be little value in a traditional test or written summative assessment at the end of the module, as the whole point of the project could mean the inquiries could go in different directions and be extremely difficult to grade in a traditional context. 

Performance assessments give the student an opportunity to demonstrate learning and skills, and the teacher the chance to see if the students are using the skills you wished them to demonstrate. Performance assessment often asks students to use problem-solving skills or critical thinking to produce a report, experiment or give a performance that displays their ability to apply what they have learned. Also, some educators may use performance assessments to develop conclusions regarding  the effectiveness of course curriculums, different projects and to evaluate their teaching. It is an opportunity for students and teachers to check their progress.

Benefits of Performance Assessments 

Disadvantages of Performance based assessments in my view are without enough experience and knowledge to create effective rubrics or checklists, then it is too subjective to the teacher's opinion.

My experience with Performance Based Assessments
I work in an IB school, so I feel this sort of assessment is relevant and beneficial. I teach young students and there isn't a big emphasis on grading or assessing what they have learned in IB modules. The school and parents focus more on reading and writing levels.
In the past I have given students mini projects and tasks including posters and presentations to demonstrate skills and knowledge. Researching this form of assessment will help me in the future to design more relevant and engaging  performance assessments.
I found this article to be very useful regarding Performance based learning

References