Assessment in education

Formative assessment is defined as frequent, interactive assessments of student progress and understanding to identify learning needs and adjust teaching appropriately.

Assessment is a fundamental aspect in education and every teacher has to do it. Assessment involves two mayor types of activities; the first one is based on collecting information about students’ knowledge and skills and the second one is based on checking if each student has the appropriate level of learning. Both imply measurement and evaluation activities that can be materialized through tests, oral questions, homework, write papers, problems, and presentations. Teachers can evaluate the score from those activities by comparing them one another or to an absolute standard.

Assessment has to be done with the purpose of supporting learning; for learning it is the most critical tool in developing and personalizing an individual student’s route through school, as it takes account of the specific learning needs of each student. Assessment guides students as individual learners because they will know what they strengths and weaknesses are. Through assessment students develop an awareness of how they learn and use that awareness to adjust and advance their learning, taking an increased responsibility for their learning.

Teachers view assessment as their responsibility to provide students with knowledge, examination tips and structures that result in formulaic approaches to examination questions. Also, it helps teachers to gain insight into what students understand in order to plan and guide instruction, and provide helpful feedback to students.