Testing Shmesting

Are Tests the Only Objective Assessment of Student Learning? Absolutely not! There are so many ways a student's learning can be assessed objectively. A test is just one of the ways. Students, whether they know it or not, are being assessed constantly while in the classroom. There are two main types of assessments that can objectively show a students growth or mastery in a subject: formative and summative.

Formative assessments are helpful when it comes to monitoring the  learning process of students. They are also beneficial when making decisions about a student's progress or how and where to improve instructional practices. Some common types of formative assessments include student tracking, observations, active responding systems (clickers), adaptive assessments, and participation.

Summative assessments are closer to a final assessment and can be aligned to a curriculum or an IEP goal. It can show mastery of specific skills or concepts. Common summative assessments are final exams, presentations, portfolios, essays, and rubrics.

Both types of assessments can be very helpful and some types of assessments fall into both categories. For example, a multiple choice assessment can be used as a final exam or as a daily exit ticket to show progress.
So, is a test the only way to objectively assess a student? After reading this, I hope you can agree with my answer of, "No! That's just the tip of the iceberg!" We can and should assess students using many different methods.

As educators, we need to prepare our students for the real world in the 21st century. We can't possible do that with assessing only with tests.