Assessment is anything where a student is given the opportunity to demonstrate their mastery of learning in a way that the teacher can observe or evaluate that student's progress in learning. Assessments can be a tool for teachers to make adaptations to instruction to offer more targeted support.
Formal: Assessments are structured and designed to measure a student's knowledge, skills, and understanding against specific standards. (ex. Standardized tests, Final project with rubrics, Graded essays)
Informal: Unstructured or semi-structured methods of evaluating students' progress, often integrated into everyday classroom activities. (ex. Classroom discussions, exit tickets, journals, observations of student behavior)
Formative: Ongoing evaluations are conducted during the learning process. They aim to provide timely feedback to students and teachers to guide and improve learning.
Summative: Evaluations conducted at the end of a unit, course, or significant learning period. They aim to measure students' overall achievement and mastery of specific learning goals or standards.