What is Assessment?

Broadly speaking, assessment generates evidence of how learners are developing according to agreed standards over a period of learning, as well as achievement at the end of the learning period.

Assessment occurs in many different contexts in a school. It can include everything from an informal conversation with a student in the corridor to the pre-tertiary exams assessed by an external organisation. It can also focus on the many different aspects of a young person’s development, from an understanding of what they are being taught to learning how to learn to an individual’s attitude or mindset.

Assessment Practices

Every assessment needs to contribute to the picture of the school, a year level, a class or an individual student. However, there are different purposes to assessment.

These include:

• Assessment for learning: when teachers use evidence to infer student development with the purpose of impacting the effectiveness of their teaching (formative assessment)

• Assessment as learning: when students use evidence to reflect on and monitor their ongoing development with the purpose of impacting their learning (formative assessment)

• Assessment of learning: when teachers use evidence of student learning to make judgements on the development of a student at a specific point in time against goals and standards (summative assessment).

Assessment for Learning, also known as formative assessment, is a teaching and learning process that involves the ongoing evaluation of a student's understanding and progress. The primary goal of assessment for learning is to provide students with timely and constructive feedback that they can use to improve their performance and deepen their understanding of a subject. This type of assessment is often informal, ongoing, and based on multiple sources of information, such as observations, tests, quizzes, and self-reflection. Assessment for learning is different from the assessment of learning, which is more formal and typically occurs at the end of a learning period, with the primary goal of determining a student's overall achievement or grade.

Assessment as Learning is a type of formative assessment, which means it is used to support the learning process rather than solely to measure what has been learned. Assessment as learning is a way of using assessments to help students understand what they know and what they need to work on and to monitor their own progress. This type of assessment focuses on the process of learning, not just the end product.

In an assessment as a learning approach, students are encouraged to take an active role in their own learning and assessment, reflecting on their own understanding, setting goals and evaluating their progress. This type of assessment is designed to be a positive, empowering experience that helps students to feel more confident and motivated to learn.

Assessment as learning is often integrated into the learning process, taking place as part of class activities, homework assignments, and other learning opportunities. The goal is to provide students with ongoing feedback that will help them to improve their skills and understanding and to keep them engaged in their own learning process.

Assessment of learning refers to the process of evaluating a student's or learner's performance and progress in acquiring knowledge, skills, and competencies. The purpose of assessment is to determine the extent to which learning objectives have been met and to provide feedback to the learner and instructor. Assessment can take many forms, including exams, quizzes, essays, projects, observations and self-assessments. It can be formative, providing information to support the learning process, or summative, evaluating the learner's achievement at the end of a course, program, or instructional period. Effective assessment of learning requires clear learning objectives, valid and reliable assessment methods, and appropriate use of assessment results for the improvement of learning and teaching.

Types of Assessment

Informal: ad hoc, immediate, usually as verbal or by demonstration, during a learning activity

Formal: planned, structured and defined against success criteria in relation to learning goals

Further Definitions

Informal assessment refers to the ongoing evaluation of a student's learning and progress that is not tied to a formal testing process. Informal assessments are often less structured, less formal and may not have a standardized format. They can still include tests and mock exams, but they can take many forms and may include teacher observations, student presentations, poster work, student self-reflection, portfolios of student work or other performance-based assessments.

There is an even more informal assessment, something that is better defined as an ‘over the shoulder’ assessment or dialogic assessment. This is where a teacher engages with a student while they are engaging with new knowledge, developing their understanding or practising new skills. This is an immediate assessment, in situ and open to immediate questioning or clarification on the behalf of the student. Almost forming a feedback loop.

Flash Feedback: How to Provide More Meaningful Feedback in Less Time

This can also impact teaching. Using the ‘I Do, We Do, You Do’ framing; imagine a scenario when one or two students in a class indicate they have not understood something introduced in the teacher presentation phase of the lesson. A teacher then draws the class back into this phase and reteaches the whole class, using the practice resources for a new ‘I Do’ or ‘We Do’ approach. This is an example of Assessment as Learning.

Overall, the purpose of informal assessment is to provide teachers with valuable information about a student's learning progress and areas of strength and weakness, so that they can adjust their instruction accordingly. Informal assessments are by definition less formal than formal assessments, such as standardised tests, and are often used to provide a more comprehensive view of a student's abilities and learning progress.

Formal assessment refers to a systematic and standardised method of evaluating a person's knowledge, skills, aptitudes or competencies in a particular subject or field. Formal assessments are often used for educational or employment purposes and can take the form of written tests, oral exams, standardised tests and other types of assessments.

These assessments are typically designed to provide a reliable and objective measurement of a person's abilities and are often used to make important decisions about a person's future, such as granting a degree, certifying a professional or determining eligibility for employment. Formal assessments are typically more structured and standardised than informal assessments, which may involve more subjective and qualitative methods of evaluation. However, in the classroom, an informal assessment is often the most effective.