2. Types of assessments
How do we know whether students have learned? One might look to the results of graded assessments like midterms, exams, or final projects. We can also keep track of student learning in a lower-stakes, less formal, and ongoing manner by providing feedback on a draft of a paper, or asking students to work out a problem together in class and giving feedback on their process. The advantage of ongoing, low-stakes assessments is that they can help students build the skills, knowledge, and self-awareness required to be successful in their more formal, higher-stakes, graded assessments. As an instructor, you have the opportunity and responsibility to gauge and provide feedback on student learning. Considering best practices with both high-stakes assessments and lower-stakes, ongoing assessments will better support student learning.
It is also important to understand what feedback is in this conversation. In the educational context, feedback refers to information that is provided about a student’s academic ability and performance, often following an assessment. In general, feedback should provide students with information they can use to improve their academic performance, and enrich their learning experience (Taras, 2005). Although feedback is intended to be constructive and ultimately helpful, how it is framed and delivered may affect how it is received.
Broadly speaking, there are two types of assessments that instructors may use in order to gauge, and give feedback on, their students’ learning:
- Formative assessment
- Summative assessment
Each of these types of assessment is discussed in detail in the sections that follow.
