1. Summative Assessment: Given at the end of the year or unit, summative assessments assess a student’s mastery of a topic after instruction. (Ronan, 2015)
1.1. Advantages - Tests the knowledge of individual students at the end of a unit or learning period. Disadvantages - If delivered as multi-choice test, may not be a true reflection of a student's learning.
1.1.1. Assessment of Learning: Performed at the end of a unit to assess a student's knowledge is not used to inform a lesson plan.
1.1.1.1. Example: An end of unit exam or project that covers the objectives for the unit.
2. Performance-Based Assessment: Requires students to perform a task rather than choose an answer from a list. The product is then assessed through a rubric or other agreed-upon set of criteria.(Sweet, 1993)
2.1. Advantages - Enables students to demonstrate their learning in creative ways. Disadvantages - May be difficult, timely, and resource intensive especially in large classrooms.
2.1.1. Primarily an Assessment of Learning or Summative Assessment. An alternative to multiple choice exams, it enables a student to creatively demonstrate the knowledge of the unit's objectives.
2.1.1.1. Example: Finding the main character - have the student write about the main character in their book and dress up to class as the main character.
3. High-Stakes Assessment: Refers to testing that has a profound influence on a student's future prospects in reaching the next grade or preparing for college. It often refers to standardized testing.
3.1. Advantages - A way to collect data for a large population with set standards. Disadvantages - Is biased against (SES), negatively affects teaching practice - instead of concentrating on a few specific standards and seeking to achieve mastery in them, they are forced to teach too many standards less thoroughly to cover all of the material on the exams. Children end up learning how to take a multiple choice exam but not how to solve real world problems.
3.1.1. Assessment of Learning - An exam that is intended to quantify a student's knowledge on multiple standards at specific intervals throughout the year.
3.1.1.1. Example: SAT, State Administered exams etc.
4. Portfolio Assessment: Using student's work compiled over the course of a unit, semester or year to assess a child's learning.
4.1. Advantage - Teacher has a physical or digital collection of a child's work to refer to at any time to assess a child's abilities over an extended period of time. Able to use portfolio to communicate child's learning to parents. Disadvantage - child needs to be motivated to complete assignments in the portfolio, may require additional class time to prepare for each student.
4.1.1. Primarily an Assessment of Learning but can be used as a formative assessment - Used to demonstrate a student's knowledge of the subject matter over a period of time. An alternative form of summative assessment to written exams. I see it as a potential formative assessment tool as well as the teacher can access the portfolio throughout a unit.
4.1.1.1. Example: Have the students put all of their work for the entire year in the portfolio. Use to show parents the progress their child is making in class.
5. Authentic Assessment: Focuses on connecting what students are taught in school to real-world issues, problems, and applications.
5.1. Advantages - Students are able to correlate their learning with real world instances or rather an insight on how adults solve problems in their work. Teaches 21st Century Skills to students. Disadvantages - May require bringing in outside experts to assess students' work. This would amount to additional time required and planning from the teacher.
5.1.1. Primarily an Assessment of Learning - I see this method being used as a summative assessment at the end of a unit to demonstrate knowledge of the unit's objectives. Although, I believe it could be used as a formative assessment if administered at the beginning of a unit.
5.1.1.1. Example: At the end of a unit on addition and subtraction - watch a video of a supermarket check-out or bank teller and have the students work together in groups to model the behaviour as a summative assessment.
6. Diagnostic Assessment: Often defined as testing that occurs before instruction. Typically focuses on one domain or knowledge area; it can provide educators with information about each student’s prior knowledge before beginning instruction.
6.1. Advantages - Useful exercise for determining what the students' prior knowledge is. Disadvantages - May require a full days lesson time which would affect the overall pacing of the unit.
6.1.1. Assessment for learning - Useful for the teacher to know how to move forward in their lesson plan based on the students' needs.
6.1.1.1. Example: Before starting a unit on fractions, the teacher does some pre-vocabulary work based on Grade 1 terms to see what knowledge the students have carried over from the previous year.
7. Formative: Given during instruction, it can be used to determine what needs or topics have to be addressed next with a student in order to guide a student's learning.
7.1. Advantages - Administered throughout the day, it's a useful tool to guide student's learning based on their needs. Disadvantages - In order to reach the needs of all students, the results of the formative assessment may lead to re-teaching the content or differentiating the lesson which is time and resource intensive for the teacher.
7.1.1. Assessment for Learning - Formative assessment are used daily to guide a student's learning.
7.1.1.1. Example: Think, pair, share, Exit slips
8. Self-Assessment: Requires students to reflect on their own work and judge how well they have performed in relation to the assessment criteria.
8.1. Advantages - Causes students to reflect on how they are performing and examine whether or not they are meeting expectations. Disadvantages - Without clear guidance students may not get the full benefit from the exercise and dismiss it as just more paperwork to fill.
8.1.1. Assessment for learning - type of formative assessment that helps students understand what their level of understanding is of the content.
8.1.1.1. Example: Teacher hands out a reflection sheet in which the student's reflect on their work based on a rubric.
9. Peer Assessment: involves students taking responsibility for assessing the work of their peers against set assessment criteria.
9.1. Advantages - Children can often explain concepts to each other in terms that are easier to understand. Learning from a peer can also be less intimidating for some children. Disadvantages - If neither of the children grasp the concepts in the learning it can lead to further misunderstanding.
9.1.1. Assessment for learning - type of formative assessment that helps students understand what their level of understanding is of the content.
9.1.1.1. Example: Students pair up and review each others work. Together they correct each others work.