ASSESSMENT!! The big scary word that every teacher (me) dreads. Ever since I started the education program, my biggest fear and the thing that would make me start sweating puddles was the idea of assessment.
As a student, I never knew the different types of assessment; heck, I thought teachers just marked student work for fun because check marks are fun to do. Mind you, that dream was crushed once I got my first report card.
Once I started learning about the two main types of assessment, I could pinpoint the different tasks I was asked to do as a student and determine whether it was a formative or a summative assessment.
Formative assessment is assessment as learning. It is a form of assessment that encourages students to have agency in their learning, creating reflective learners. Assessment as learning is done during the student’s education. Examples of this would be discussions on topics, etc. Assessment for learning occurs when there is evidence that students have reflected on what they have learned and monitored at what pace their learning has happened.
Examples of Assessment as Learning are, but not limited to
- peer assessment
- self-assessment
- encouraging risk-taking and questioning during learning
On the other hand, assessment of learning is what students find scary. This is the summative form of assessment. This form of assessment is usually done at the end of units by giving the students some visual, written or oral assignment that will be graded to gauge student understanding of what was taught. Assessment of learning is often evidence gathered that will be shared with parents, students, and sometimes even the whole school district.
Examples of Assessment of Learning are, but not limited to
- Tests/ quizzes
- SNAP assessment
- projects
- BAS assessment
