If you are looking for information on assessment, then you have come to the right site. There are a variety of assessments. These assessments can be classified as Formative or summative, Norm referenced or Standards-based. These types of assessments will assist you in understanding the goal of each kind of assessment. This article will provide you with the information you need to know about the differences and help you choose the most appropriate kind of assessment for your class.
Formative assessments
Formative assessments are the most important tool educators use to gauge the understanding of students and their growth. These assessments include exercises or questions that are quick to answer and can help teachers identify areas of concern in their teaching. Additionally, formative tests allow teachers to pinpoint students who struggle and address those needs early in the learning process.
When designing a formative assessment educators must consider several different kinds of student work and information. Student work, notes from observation and student communications can be utilized to inform the assessment program. Ideally, a comprehensive assessment program will combine the summative and formative data to provide an overall picture of student development and growth. Additionally, students must be able to articulate what they have learned from their work. Students should also be involved in these kinds of assessment, which is why student-led conferences are a viable assessment method that is formative.
Summative assessments
Summative tests are important in determining the abilities of a student in the classroom. They are usually conducted at the end of an entire lesson. They are used to evaluate the gaps in learning and teaching. They also serve as a wake-up alarm for teachers and could require changes in curriculum.
Summative assessments are used to assess the performance of students in relation to the curriculum standards. This kind of assessment however, is restricted to testing aspects of the learning process and is typically conducted within a year or two after instruction. Summative assessments are typically the final test a student will take, but they may also be used to assess the effectiveness of programs as well as school improvement goals.
Assessments that are norm-referenced
Norm-referenced assessments use a reference group to compare student performance against the scores of a large number of similar students. This group is typically representative of the population and includes students from different states, countries, and schools. This assessment method aims to discover differences between students’ performance and those of their peers, and also to identify areas of risk and need. These results are often used in universal screening assessments and can aid in identifying at-risk students.
The use of a norm-referenced test is useful in determining the student’s proficiency levels. The percentile rank is an indicator of how students perform in comparison to peers with comparable or higher performance levels. Students may not meet the requirements for proficiency and therefore, they could receive lower scores than their peers.
Standards-based assessments
The objective of the Standard Assessment Procedure (SAP) is to help teachers determine which skills are most important to student success. The results of this kind of assessment permit teachers to give feedback, make changes to the lessons they are planning to teach and track student progress. To develop sap calculation must first determine the outcomes they want students to achieve before establishing an assessment rubric that is able to accurately assess these outcomes.
The process of assessing needs to be an integral part of a continuous effort. It should be completed early in the project to allow monitoring, learning and adjustment. The objective of the assessment is to improve the quality of work and the reason for the evaluation will influence the information is gathered, how it is used and what the final results will be.