How do you use the different types of assessment in your classroom to

promote student learning?

Most students don’t like tests. Testing can contribute to math anxiety for
many students. Assessments can be difficult to structure properly and
time-consuming to grade. And as a teacher, you know that student
progress is so much more than a number on a report card.

But there’s so much more to assessments than delivering an end-of-unit

exam or prepping for a standardized test. As mathematics educator
Marylin Burns puts it:

“Making assessment an integral part of daily mathematics instruction is a

challenge. It requires planning specific ways to use assignments and
discussions to discover what students do and do not understand...The
insights we gain by making assessment a regular part of instruction
enable us to meet the needs of the students who are eager for more
challenges and to provide intervention for those who are struggling.”

The 6 types of assessments are:

 Diagnostic assessments
 Formative assessments
 Summative assessments
 Ipsative assessments
 Norm-referenced assessments
 Criterion-referenced assessments
But first, let’s find out how assessments can analyze, support and
further learning.

What's the purpose of different

types of assessment?

Different types of assessments help you understand student progress in

various ways and adapt your teaching strategies accordingly.

In your classroom, assessments generally have one of three purposes:

1. Assessment of learning
2. Assessment for learning
3. Assessment as learning

Assessment of learning
Assessments are a way to find out what students have learned and if
they’re aligning to curriculum or grade-level standards.

Assessments of learning are usually grade-based, and can include:

 Exams
 Portfolios
 Final projects
 Standardized tests
They have a concrete grade attached to them that communicates student
achievement to teachers, parents, students, school-level administrators
and district leaders.

Common types of assessment of learning include:

 Summative assessments
 Norm-referenced assessments
 Criterion-referenced assessments

Assessment for learning

Assessments for learning provide you with a clear snapshot of student
learning and understanding as you teach -- allowing you to adjust
everything from your classroom management strategies to your lesson
plans as you go.

Assessments for learning should always be ongoing and actionable.

When you’re creating assessments, keep these key questions in mind:

 What do students still need to know?

 What did students take away from the lesson?
 Did students find this lesson too easy? Too difficult?
 Did my teaching strategies reach students effectively?
 What are students most commonly misunderstanding?
 What did I most want students to learn from this lesson? Did I succeed?

There are lots of ways you can deliver assessments for learning,
even in a busy classroom. We’ll cover some of them soon!
For now, just remember these assessments aren’t only for students --
they’re to provide you with actionable feedback to improve your
instruction.

Common types of assessment for learning include formative assessments

and diagnostic assessments.

Assessment as learning
Assessment as learning actively involves students in the learning
process. It teaches critical thinking skills, problem-solving and encourages
students to set achievable goals for themselves and objectively measure
their progress.

They can help engage students in the learning process, too! One study
found:

“Students develop an interest in mathematical tasks that they

understand, see as relevant to their own concerns, and can
manage. Recent studies of students’ emotional responses to mathematics
suggest that both their positive and their negative responses diminish as
tasks become familiar and increase when tasks are novel” (21)

Douglas B. McLeod
Some examples of assessment as learning include ipsative assessments,
self-assessments and peer assessments