Forms of Assessment

            There are many different ways to assess students and particular assessments work better for some lessons than others. Deciding on which assessment is best in a situation can depend on what teachers want to learn from the assessment, time constraints, and the setting in which the assessment is administered. Taking the time to decide which type of assessment will work best helps teachers understand what content their students are successfully learning and with what content they are struggling. In the end, choosing the right type of assessment will lead to a higher content knowledge for each student in the classroom.
            The first category of assessment is informal assessment vs. formal assessment. Informal assessments are unplanned assessments than can take place throughout the day. Formal assessments involve a predetermined type of assessment that will usually take place at a certain time. For example, encouraging students to ask questions throughout the daily lessons is a type of informal assessment. The teacher does not know what questions the students will ask or when they will ask, but the teacher is willing to answer them. Informal assessments help gauge what areas students are struggling with and will help the teacher know what to focus on or review. This type of assessment is great to use throughout the day on a daily basis because it helps answer questions students have that might not have been answered without their encouraged inquiry.
  The second category of assessment is paper-pencil assessment vs. performance assessment. In paper-pencil assessment students write down their responses while in performance assessment responses are observed through a non-written manner. Using counting blocks to learn basic math skills in elementary school is a type of performance assessment. Students can either work individually or in groups during this type of assessment, and each student, or group of students, is given a certain number of blocks. When the teacher asks questions about adding or subtracting students respond by rearranging their blocks to show the correct answer. This type of assessment would be especially helpful in this situation because it enables students to physically see what happens during addition and subtraction which allows for better understanding. The teacher can also easily see where students are struggling with their math skills.
  A third type of assessment is standardized test vs. teacher-developed assessment. Teachers do not develop standardized tests for their own classroom, and they are intended for use in multiple schools. However, teacher-developed assessments are created by individual teachers for the specific class they are teaching. An example of a teacher-developed assessment would be a short-answer science test created over a unit that was recently learned. This type of assessment would be beneficial in this situation because only the classroom teacher knows how much of the unit was covered and what concepts tended to be difficult for the students. Through this type of assessment a teacher will be able to see what each student has achieved during the past unit and what concepts need to be reviewed before a multiple unit test, midterm, or final.
  The fourth type of assessment is criterion-referenced assessment vs. norm-referenced assessment. Criterion-referenced assessment shows what an individual student has learned, and norm-referenced assessment compares what a student has learned with other students in the same grade-level. Having students individually read aloud to the teacher in elementary school to show reading skills can be considered criterion-referenced assessment. It shows where a student is struggling, reveals if they need extra help, and determines whether they have reached pre-determined goals for reading levels. This type of assessment is appropriate in this setting because students develop reading skills at various rates and struggle with different components of reading. Assessing students separately can help teachers see how students are progressing as individuals, and it enables them to administer the correct type of help to the right students.
  The final type of assessment is traditional assessment vs. authentic assessment. Traditional assessment measures achievement separate from real-world tasks while authentic assessment involves real-world situations. An example of authentic assessment would be learning to write letters in elementary school. Students could practice writing letters to their peers or parents. This type of assessment would be beneficial in this situation because it not only helps students practice their writing and spelling skills, but teachers them a real-world practice they will use in the future even after they finish school.
  With all of these different types of assessments teachers can get a thorough understanding of what their students have achieved. When administered correctly and in the appropriate situations assessments can lead to knowledgeable students with an increased motivation to learn. It is important for teachers to evaluate each situation and carefully decided on which type of assessment will be most beneficial to produce a healthy classroom learning environment.