Key Resource: Assessing learning

Assessment falls into two categories. One category looks back and makes a judgement on what has been learned already. This is called summative assessment. The second category is when we use assessment as part of the learning process (for example when we use questioning to check whether pupils have understood something). We call this formative assessment. Summative assessment can be seen in the form of tests and marks which tell the pupils how well they have done in a particular subject or piece of work. Formative assessment is quite different. Formative assessment – or assessment for learning – is based on the idea that pupils will improve most if:
they understand what it is they are meant to learn; they know where they are now; they can see how they can close the gap between these two. As a teacher, you will get the best out of your pupils if you aim to use the three points above, which makes an assessment as much responsibility for the pupil as it is for the teacher. How does this work?