The major topic in these two modules is assessment. The purpose of assessment is to determine whether or not something has been learned, the quality of teaching, and the quality of education programs. Assessments can be formal or informal, as well as formative or summative. Formal assessments come in the form of pre-planned quizzes, tests, or projects. Informal assessment can be anything from listening to students talk to asking them questions during class. Formative assessments as more like the day-to-day observations and small activities teachers use to assess students' performance. Examples of summative assessments include the SAT/ACT and final exams.
As a teacher, it is important to know the difference between the types of assessment. Our future students will not all have the same strengths and weaknesses, therefore is is important for teachers to assess students in a variety of ways.
Is one way better than the other in assessing students, or do both work equally well?
Formal/Formative- a quick pop quiz that is not graded
Informal/Formative- asking the class questions about a story they just read
Formal/Summative- SAT/ACT
Informal/Summative- a final project instead of a final exam
You can't tell from looking at some type of assessment whether it is formative or summative. The purpose of formative and summative assessments are different. So for example, a class might be taking a quiz that they thinks is graded, but really the teacher is using the quiz formatively just to see his progress without actually grading the quiz. The teacher is the only one who really knows what the purpose of the assessment is.
I think the best type of assessment is always contingent upon what you are trying to assess.
ReplyDeleteI think the type of assessment that would be best depends on what is being taught, and what the teacher wants her students to learn. If facts (such as names and dates) are crucial to the lesson, than a formal assessments (both formative and summative) such as quizzes and tests would be better. If the teacher wants to emphasize theories and applications more than facts, than a summative assessment (such as a paper or project) might work best. It really depends on the teacher and what is being taught.
ReplyDeleteBoth formative and summative assessments have different purposes that are beneficial to the teacher and students, and I think both should be used in the classroom. It is good to check-up on students and see what they are learning and what they need help with. It is also important to have a final evaluation of students' knowledge in some sort of summative assessment (test, project).
You make a good point at the end in that the form of assessment comes from how it is used. However, at the top you name the ACT as a summative assessment, and observations as formative assessments--that's not necessarily true, is it? Of course, they are usually true. :)
ReplyDeleteI think the comments here are great in noting that an assessment in itself is not good or bad--it is entirely dependent on how aligned it is with what you're trying to measure. Is it getting at the learning goal you stated? Is it the best choice?
You note that assessing in many ways is a good thing because of student diversity, but it's ALSO good for one individual student. You're trying to get information about what is inside their head (which is unobservable) so getting as many different kinds of data as you can is really important. Written essays may never show a misconception a student has that drawing a picture of the concept would show....