Different Assessments and Their Uses

Assessments are a tool to collect measurable data. Applied to education, assessments

are a process for teachers to determine how well students are learning the material. The
process of teaching has to have checks to assess how the students are progressing.
Assessments allow teachers to see if their methods are effective and where to plug the
holes, if any. Depending on the type of assessment an educator can determine the needs
of the group as a whole or an individual. I will describe informal, formal, authentic, and
authentic informal assessments; explain how an authentic assessment can t into an
informal assessment and how an E-Portfolio can be an authentic informal assessment.

Informal assessment is observing the students during their learning. Where useful data
can be gathered to be studied and evaluated. The teacher can decide if the methods of
instruction are working for all students or who may need individual assistance. There
are various ways to gather informal data. The instructor can observe during an activity,
taking notes of each student or group. A checklist can be prepared prior to a lesson to
collect data on the students progress. Portfolios, a collection of data, can be informal
assessment. Observations can be taken over time with that kind of data. In group
discussions teachers can gather information with simple open-ended questions.

Formal assessments are preplanned tests, quizzes, standardized tests, essays, and
specic topic papers that provide formal data. The data gathered from these
assessments measure how well students are learning. Formal assessments contribute to
the students grade. IRI here in Idaho is a standardized reading test administered 3 times
a year to gauge reading prociency. That data helps through the year to move children
to the groups where they can get the best help. Spring data determines how much
progress has been made by each student in reading. Last school year I was involved in
administering the IRI in Jerome School District for all 3 assessments and weekly
progress monitoring. It was an invaluable experience. It isnt an easy assessment for
most children but many of them did improve over the year. I believe it emphasizes
reading fast as opposed to reading for comprehension. However, it is what we have at
this time, as one type of formal reading assessment.

Authentic assessments are real world reading or writing tasks. Administered as close
to real world situations as possible. Students are asked to complete them to gain
meaningful experiences. I would consider Student Teaching an authentic assessment. It
is a real world experience before a degree is completed. A student teacher must be the
teacher for a time and is evaluated on their performance. An authentic assessment may
t into informal assessment because it doesn't have tests and quizzes as formal
assessments do. Its an observation of how well a student does in the real setting.
It places value on the work and steps taken during study as much as the nal result.


An E-portfolio is an electronic data storage of work. It is a record of a students learning
during a specic time. It would show progress, allow for reection, an exchange of
information and whats been learned. It can be written papers, art, music and more. It
allows students to store their work and show it easily. One would have access to their
work and be able to assess the their own growth. As an authentic informal assessment it
would allow the same for an instructor. When a student consistently adds to the
portfolio the growth and progress would be clearly evident. Teachers have the
opportunity to observe their students progression. It can be considered authentic
because it is a literary task that can be applied in the real world. It should be lled
with meaningful assignments that apply to real world situations, depending on the
subject matter of the portfolio. I believe, with internet courses made commonplace, e-
portfolios are going to be a necessary tool in determining growth during a semester.

I found this assignment fascinating. Working as a teachers aid last year I was involved
in a number of different assessments. Each teacher had different informal/formal
assessments in their classrooms. There were the state tests; IRI, CORE and M-COMP.
When I was researching for this I found myself comparing my experiences as a student
and as a teachers aid. It is all very interesting food for thought. I hope I was able to
convey my thought in a clear concise manner. I fell like I was able to get a deeper
understanding of assessments.

















References
What is Authentic Assessment?. Reading/Language Arts. Center Professional
Development. Education Place. Houghton Mifin. 1997. Web Publication.

Merriam Webster Online Dictionary 2014 Merriam Webster An Encyclopedia Britannica
Company .Web Publication

Formal Assessments:Examples, Types & Quiz. Education Portal 2003-2014 .Web
Publication

Informal Methods of Assessment. education.com 2006
Electronic portfolio. Wikipedia Moblie .Web Publication

An Overview of E-Portfolios. George Lorenzo and John Ittelson. Edidted by Diana
Oblinger. ELI Paper:2005. EDUCAUSE Learning Initiative. Advance learning through IT
innovation. Web Publication