Formative assessment is a type of evaluation that teachers use to assess student learning progress during a lesson, unit, or course. It is a continuous process that helps teachers identify concepts that students are struggling to understand, skills they are having difficulty acquiring, or learning standards they have not yet achieved. The goal of formative assessment is to collect detailed information that can be used to improve instruction and student learning while it’s happening. Formative assessments are commonly contrasted with summative assessments, which are used to evaluate student learning progress and achievement at the conclusion of a specific instructional period—usually at the end of a project, unit, course, semester, program, or school year .
Formative assessments help teachers identify learning needs and problems. They also help students develop a stronger understanding of their own academic strengths and weaknesses. When students know what they do well and what they need to work harder on, it can help them take greater responsibility over their own learning and academic progress .
ome examples of formative assessments include questions that teachers pose to individual students and groups of students during the learning process to determine what they know and don’t know; specific, detailed, and constructive feedback that teachers provide on student work; self-assessments completed by students themselves; and more .