Assessment Types
Jessica Kalra
The key to assessment design towards the prevention of misconduct behaviours is to use a variety of assessment types. The main types of assessment include: 1. Diagnostic; 2. Formative; or 3. Summative assessments. These assessment types and their utility are described in the table below.
Assessment Type |
Examples |
Advantage |
|
Diagnostic Used to identify prior knowledge, and/or skill level and capabilities |
|
Diagnostic assessments can help to identify gaps in knowledge and misconceptions. Having a sense of the strengths and weaknesses of the learner(s) can help instructors plan and focus lessons and assessments |
| Formative
Used to monitor student progress, and provides feedback during the assessment process |
|
Formative assessment provides feedback during the teaching and learning process so that students can use the feedback as learning and improve their performance as the course progresses. Formative assessment also measures the progress of the instructor and may highlight areas that require additional focus or less time. |
| Summative
Used to assess knowledge and skill acquisition or performance at the end of the learning process. |
*could also be assessed during development as a formative assessment |
Summative assessment evaluates the final product of teaching and learning. The outcome of a summative assessment is normally a fraction of a final grade that determines whether a student will progress in their course of study. |