Informal vs. Formal Assessment

Informal assessments give teachers information that is:

• practical

• immediate

• useable

• all of the above

Formal assessment allows teachers to:

• catch up on social media.

• catch up on lesson plans

• compare students to others of the same age or grade

• compare students to others of different ages or grades

Formal assessment involves screening every student following strict guidelines and procedures.

• True

• False

Results from formal assessments allow teachers to make decisions about:

• grouping students

• which students may be struggling

• A and B

• none of the above

Which is NOT a concern regarding formal assessments:

• students don't like them

• lack of critical thinking

• lack of authenticity

• fail to address specific content areas

Informal assessments are:

• unplanned comments

• verbal feedback

• observing students

• all of the above

Formal assessments should be:

• standard based

• completed with partners

• systematic

• A and C

Using both formal and informal assessments teachers can:

• know who the next TOY will be

• help students master learning

• provide struggling students with scaffolding

• both b and c

Formal assessments are scored with

• percentiles

• stanines

• scale scores (standard scores)

• all of the above

Informal assessments are scored with:

• portfolios

• running records

• rubrics

• all of the above and more