Formative Assessment In Student Learning

Assessments play an essential part of the learning process and educational experience. Assessments serve several purposes for both students and teachers alike. For example, teachers can use assessments to determine if their students are grasping the major concepts, themes, and ideas presented in a given unit or lesson. On the other hand, besides indicating student performance, assessments are used to illustrate student growth and provide opportunities for students to demonstrate their knowledge on a given topic/concept. Furthermore, assessments come in two distinct forms, formative and summative. Both forms serve different purposes and play a pivotal role shaping the content, procedure, and product in the learning process. Prior to this semester, my knowledge surrounding formative assessments and differentiated instruction was limited. However, throughout the semester, I gained a better understanding of the significance of differentiation and utilizing formative assessments during instruction.
Formative assessments can be described as either formal or informal. The goal of formative assessments is to monitor student learning during …show more content…
In education today, it is no longer sufficient to use a one size fits all approach. In other words, the traditional teaching approach does not reflect what education strives for today. Education has undergone a complete reformation with teaching today being designed to revolve around the concept of student-centered learning. Previously, teaching revolved around the instructor who decided what the student learned, how they learned, and how they will be accessed. Traditional education provides little to no flexibility in terms of assignments given, types of texts used, student interests, readiness, and learning styles. This approach is outdated and does not emphasize the notion that every student has his/her own individual learning needs and