Challenge
Initial Thoughts
Wrap Up
Assessment

Page 1: Year-End Assessment vs. Progress Monitoring

Summative assessment: evaluation administered to measure student learning outcomes

Formative assessment: ongoing evaluation of student learning to provide continuous feedback about performance to both learners and instructors

Teachers can evaluate students’ progress using a variety of means: chapter tests, unit tests, and pop quizzes. They use the results of these tests to assign grades, but don’t often use them to revise instruction for those students who are not succeeding.

School leaders and teachers use other types of assessments as evaluation tools. At one end of the spectrum are year-end achievement tests, which are given once a year, often near the end of the school year. These provide an indication of a student’s overall progress for the year. However, because the results are usually received many weeks or months after administration, teachers do not have enough remaining time to try alternative approaches if they find that students do not score well on the test. Annual achievement tests, which focus on the outcomes of student learning, are an example of a summative assessment.

Year-end assessments are primarily designed to:

  • Estimate a growth in knowledge and skills from one year to the next
  • Identify academically at-risk students
  • Evaluate students’ progress against national norms

At the other end of the spectrum is progress monitoring, which consists of frequently administered tests that provide feedback on the skills currently being taught. Through progress monitoring, information on student learning is gathered throughout the year, rather than in one testing session, and the results are available immediately. This allows teachers to evaluate student learning and the effectiveness of instruction in an ongoing fashion and to make necessary changes to improve students’ academic progress. Progress monitoring, which evaluates student learning on a regular basis, providing useful feedback about performance to both learners and instructors, is an example of a formative assessment.

Progress monitoring is designed to:

  • Estimate rates of improvement for each student
  • Identify students who are not making adequate progress and who need additional or alternative instruction
  • Evaluate the effectiveness of instruction so that teachers can create better instructional programs

Please see the table below for a brief summary of these two methods of assessment.

Year-End Testing Progress Monitoring
Type Summative Evaluation Formative Evaluation
Administration Once during the year On a regular basis
Availability of Results Many weeks after administration of assessments Directly after administration of assessments
Comparison of Results National scores and averages Individual, classroom, or district scores and averages
Use of Information Judge student outcomes Evaluate and modify instruction
Type of information provided Student scores at a 4.3 grade level in math Student writes correct answers to two digit subtraction with regrouping at a rate of 85 correct digits per minute

Listen as Jessica Weisenbach Sellers, a former teacher from Nashville, TN, discusses the advantages of using progress monitoring to assess student growth (time: 1:17).

Jessica Weisenbach Sellers
Jessica Weisenbach Sellers, MEd, BCBA
Former Teacher
Behavior Analyst
Metropolitan Nashville Public Schools
Nashville, TN

Activity

Myth or Fact?
The tests I have now give me all the information I need.

Click here for answer.

Myth: The tests I have now give me all the information I need.

Fact: Traditional testing has drawbacks. For example, traditional tests typically come at the end of an instructional year, when it is too late to make instructional changes to increase student achievement. They are also typically summative in nature, not offering specific details on students’ individual needs. Progress monitoring offers information that is fast, accurate, and can be used for the purpose of placement and screening.

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