Overview
Assessment gathers evidence of learning. Evaluation uses that evidence to make judgements and improve teaching.
Key concepts
- Formative assessment: during learning, to give feedback and adjust teaching (quick questions, exit slips).
- Summative assessment: at the end of a unit or course, to judge achievement (final exams).
- Diagnostic assessment: finds specific learning difficulties so they can be remedied.
Important points
- Reliability = consistency of results. Validity = measuring what the test claims to measure.
- Revised Bloom’s taxonomy: Remembering, Understanding, Applying, Analysing, Evaluating, Creating.
Quick revision
Formative = for learning; summative = of learning; diagnostic = finding the difficulty.
FAQs
Is a class test formative or summative?
It depends on how it is used. A unit-end test used for grades is summative; a quick test used to change tomorrow’s lesson is formative.
Practice questions
Check what you just read with 10 questions.
Source: NCET.in editorial. Academic year 2026–27.