Which Assessment Tool Should I Use?
Assessment is one of the most important aspects of teaching and learning. It’s therefore vital that you use the proper tools for online assessment. Brightspace (D2L) offers a wide variety of tools for various types of assessments. Please refer to the table below as a guide.
Formative Assessment
The goal is to monitor student learning to provide ongoing feedback that can be used by instructors to improve their teaching and by students to improve their learning.
- Often referred to as the assessment for learning
- Prepares learners for the summative assessment(s) and focuses on improvement and feedback
- Should occur often, start early, and be generally low stakes
Examples: Weekly assignments, labs, graded discussions, proposals or chapter quizzes
Suggested Brightspace Tools:
Formal Assessment
This assessment type is evaluated and added to the overall grade in a course. A formal assessment should be authentic and clearly outlined in the course syllabus.
Formal assessment includes both formative and summative assessments.
Examples: Assignments, tests, papers, group projects, graded discussions and portfolios
Suggested Brightspace Tools:
Summative Assessment
The goal is to evaluate student learning at the end of an instructional unit by comparing it against some standard or benchmark.
- Often referred to as the assessment of learning
- Generally high stakes, which means that they have a high point value
Examples: Final exam, midterm exam, major course paper, or capstone project
Suggested Brightspace Tools:
Informal Assessment
Used to just to provide feedback to the learner. These assessments are not evaluated and don’t contribute to the grade of the course
Informal assessments can play a significant role in learning but they are a method or strategy to assist a learner in their learning.
Examples: Portfolios, reflective journals, participation