NYSTCE English to Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) Practice Test

Which approach is focused on informal assessments to guide educational practices?

1. Summative assessment

2. Diagnostic assessment

3. Formative assessment

4. Criterion-referenced assessment

The correct answer is: Formative assessment

The approach focused on informal assessments to guide educational practices is formative assessment. This type of assessment is used during the learning process to monitor student progress and understanding, allowing educators to make adjustments to their teaching methods based on real-time feedback. Formative assessments can include quizzes, discussions, or observational assessments that help identify areas where students may be struggling. One key aspect of formative assessment is that it emphasizes continuous improvement rather than a final evaluation of student performance. By gathering information about students' learning on an ongoing basis, educators can tailor their instruction to meet the individual needs of their students, fostering a more responsive and adaptive learning environment. In contrast, summative assessment evaluates student learning at the end of an instructional period, often through tests or projects meant to measure what students have learned. Diagnostic assessment provides insights prior to instruction, helping identify students' strengths and weaknesses before teaching begins. Criterion-referenced assessment measures student performance against a fixed set of criteria or learning standards, rather than relative to other students. Each of these approaches serves different purposes in the educational framework but does not focus on the ongoing informal assessment aspect seen in formative assessment.