Types of AIG Assessments

There are two fundamental ways to assess students: formative and summative. The two options determine a student's strengths, abilities, and potential (Karnes & Stephens, 2008). As noted in the reading, the role of formative assessment appears to be a spur-of-the-moment decision, however, the questions are planned and well-thought-out.

Generally, assessments are used so teachers can adjust the learning direction and or speed of instruction to better fit the student(s). The formative assessment is an ideal tool used either before, during and after a lesson. If an assessment is taken before teaching, they are exemplified in observation, performance-based task, anecdotal notes and or by a question-and-answer session. If the formative assessment is made after a lesson, at the end of instruction, it can be achieved by providing a written prompt such as an exit ticket.

For example, if the teacher was to use the Concept Development Model by Hilda Taba (1966), students could equally contribute what they know and understand throughout the lesson (Stiggins, 2002). Since the Taba model encourages students to exhibit critical thinking skills by allowing them to categorize, develop, extend and refine concepts, the formative assessment is a good way to ensure student understanding.

The second manner is the summative assessment which is generally done after a teacher has taught an entire lesson and now wants to revisit and highlight key points or concepts without having to teach the lesson for a second time. For example, the teacher completes a lesson of units one thru five and then test the entire lesson. The post learned assessment is taken at the end of a unit. Some examples are the benchmark test, end of grade tests or unit end projects (Burke, 2010; Karnes & Stephens, 2008)