Formative Assessment

Formative assessment is ongoing. Formative assessment might include formal or informal measures and could be used as a diagnostic assessment or to monitor progress. Sometimes, formative assessment may resemble instruction because this type of assessment includes tasks typically used in the instructional process. Curriculum-based assessment, running records, and Informal Reading Inventories (IRIs) are examples of formative assessment. For students with persistent reading difficulties, it is important to select formative assessments that directly assess skills that greatly impact learning to read. Directly assessment of these component skills provides important information for making instructional decisions.

Summative Assessment

Summative assessment means the same thing as outcome measure. A summative assessment is usually used at the end of a major unit of study or at the end of a school year. It is usually an achievement test that evaluates overall student performance. It can provide programmatic planning information for a group of students.