Assessment Resources - Part 3

Assessment for Learning, Assessment as Learning, and Assessment of Learning (Chapter 4)

Assessment for learning: assessment that is used to gauge where learners are in their understanding of content; it is not used for grading but rather as a tool for students and teachers. It's broken down into: 

• diagnostic assessment which occurs before instruction begins so teachers can determine students’ readiness to learn new knowledge and skills, as well as obtain information about their interests and learning preferences; and 

• formative assessment which occurs frequently and in an ongoing manner during instruction, while students are still gaining knowledge and practising skills.

Assessment as learning: assessment that is ongoing and in conjunction with students. It attempts to foster students to become their own best assessor. It is comprised of: 

• formative assessment which occurs frequently and in an ongoing manner during instruction, with support, modelling, and guidance from the teacher. 

Assessment as learning and for learning are similar since they both depend heavily on formative assessment, but AfL happens even before instruction begins and is mostly for the teacher's benefit while AaL is, again, ongoing but includes students more as co-assessors of their own learning and growth.

Assessment of Learning: assessment that is reflected on report cards/progress reports. It's the final assessment once instruction has finished. It is comprised of: 

• summative assessment which occurs at or near the end of a period of learning, and may be used to inform further instruction.

In addition to pages 33-36 of Growing Success there are also several other documents that can be used by teachers to fully understand and implement these practices. For example, there are several EDU Gains clips here and a TVDSB resource here. There is also an excellent resource here and here for implementing these practices with Aboriginal students. 

In terms of my own practice, I want to become proficient in ongoing formative assessment in order to aid in student learning rather than discourage them through low grades. I will do this by establishing a strategy for formative assessment (ex: a template I can carry with me for anecdotal notes and/or rubric and/or 'exit cards' to gauge student learning every (or almost every) lesson).