Three Types of Assessment (2024)

Formative Assessment

This occurs in the short term, as learners are in the process of making meaning of new content and of integrating it into what they already know. Feedback to the learner is immediate (or nearly so), to enable the learner to change his/her behavior and understandings right away. Formative Assessment also enables the teacher to "turn on a dime" and rethink instructional strategies, activities, and content based on student understanding and performance. His/her role here is comparable to that of a coach. Formative Assessment can be as informal as observing the learner's work or as formal as a written test. Formative Assessment is the most powerful type of assessment for improving student understanding and performance.

Examples: a very interactive class discussion; a warm-up, closure, or exit slip; a on-the-spot performance; a quiz.

Interim Assessment

This takes place occasionally throughout a larger time period. Feedback to the learner is still quick, but may not be immediate. Interim Assessments tend to be more formal, using tools such as projects, written assignments, and tests. The learner should be given the opportunity to re-demonstrate his/her understanding once the feedback has been digested and acted upon. Interim Assessments can help teachers identify gaps in student understanding and instruction, and ideally teachers address these before moving on or by weaving remedies into upcoming instruction and activities.

Examples: Chapter test; extended essay; a project scored with a rubric.

Summative Assessment

This takes place at the end of a large chunk of learning, with the results being primarily for the teacher's or school's use. Results may take time to be returned to the student/parent, feedback to the student is usually very limited, and the student usually has no opportunity to be reassessed. Thus, Summative Assessment tends to have the least impact on improving an individual student's understanding or performance. Students/parents can use the results of Summative Assessments to see where the student's performance lies compared to either a standard (MEAP/MME) or to a group of students (usually a grade-level group, such as all 6th graders nationally, such as Iowa Tests or ACT). Teachers/schools can use these assessments to identify strengths and weaknesses of curriculum and instruction, with improvements affecting the next year's/term's students.

Examples: Standardized testing (MEAP, MME, ACT, WorkKeys, Terra Nova, etc.); Final exams; Major cumulative projects, research projects, and performances.

Three Types of Assessment (2024)

FAQs

Three Types of Assessment? ›

There are three types of assessment: diagnostic, formative, and summative. Although are three are generally referred to simply as assessment, there are distinct differences between the three.

What are the 3 components of assessment? ›

There are three key elements of Assessment for Learning: assess, diagnose, and remediate. But it shouldn't stop there. The three key elements of Assessment for Learning are cyclical. After completing the last remediation step, you can assess the pupil again to determine if they have understood the concept.

What are the 3 fundamental principles of assessment? ›

Principles of assessment
  • Validity. A valid assessment assesses exactly what it claims to assess. ...
  • Reliability. A reliable assessment gives a consistent result each time it is carried out, including by different people. ...
  • Flexibility. ...
  • Fairness.

What are the three main elements of the assessment portion? ›

Answer. There are four components of the assessment process. These include observation, written records, portfolios, and family information.

What are the three most common types of assessment? ›

The most common types of assessments to measure students' academic achievement and progress are summative, interim, and formative.

What are the 3 domains of the Common assessment Framework? ›

The assessment covers three domains: development of the child or young person; parents and carers; and family and environment.

What are the key concepts of assessment? ›

There are eight main key concepts, functions and fundamental principles of assessment in learning and development which you have to consider as an assessor. These are ethics, fairness, sufficiency, currency, authenticity, reliability, validity, and learning domains.

What are the 3 fundamental elements of a learning situation? ›

The three elements of a learning design: learning tasks, resources and supports, and their interactions with each other. A key point is the central location of assessments (from Oliver and Herrington, 2001; Agostinho et al., 2008).

What are the key principles of assessment? ›

The principles of assessment are that assessment is Valid, Authentic, Current, Sufficient and Reliable – known as VACSR. Reliable- the work is consistent across all learners, over time and at the required level. An assessor has numerous roles and responsibilities.

What is Level 3 assessment? ›

The Level 3 Qualification in Assessing Vocational Achievement is a comprehensive course designed to train individuals in assessing the occupational competence of learners within a work environment and classroom.

What is an effective assessment? ›

Effective assessment demonstrates the knowledge, skills and strategies, and attitudes of each student and the progress the student is making, rather than simply identifying deficits in learning.

How many types of need assessment are there? ›

Types of needs assessment. Methods of needs assessment can be classified into seven main types, each of which can take many different forms in practice.

What are the 4 major types of assessment? ›

A Guide to Types of Assessment: Diagnostic, Formative, Interim, and Summative. Assessments come in many shapes and sizes. For those who are new to assessment or just starting out, the terms can be hard to sort out or simply unfamiliar.

What is the best type of assessment in education? ›

Formative Assessment is the most powerful type of assessment for improving student understanding and performance.

What are the components of assessments? ›

Fundamental Components of Assessment

Includes. Direct assessments - projects, products, papers/theses, exhibitions, performances, case studies, clinical evaluations, portfolios, interviews, and oral exams - which ask students to demonstrate what they know or can do with their knowledge.

What are the five basic components of an assessment? ›

Five elements for assessment design and use are described: (1) Provide accessible and actionable information that supports further learning; (2) Be understood, embraced, and valued by students as authentic and worthwhile; (3) Align with curriculum and instruction to support knowledge transfer; (4) Create opportunities ...

What are the 5 elements of the assessment? ›

The five elements:
  • Provide accessible and actionable information that supports further learning.
  • Be understood, embraced, and valued by students as authentic and worthwhile.
  • Align with curriculum and instruction to support knowledge transfer.
  • Create opportunities to build strong identities.
  • Promote equity.

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