Formal Vs. Informal Assessments in Education

Classroom assessment is one of the most important classroom tools that a teacher has at their disposal each and everyday. If the teacher utilizes classroom assessments properly, it can aid the teacher, and the students, in having a greater understanding on what is being, and what is expected to be, learned. The primary goal of assessments is to gather information about the students. Some of the information that is gathered could aid in: locating strengths and weaknesses of the students, monitoring student progress in lessons, and for the teacher, use this information to create and adjust lesson plans, among many other things. There are many forms of assessments, but regardless of the type, they all fall under one of two main categories; Formal and Informal, with many sub-categories.

When discussing assessments, it is best to understand what assessments are, before discussing their many forms. Assessments are a form of evaluation; a form of evaluation that displays the understanding or knowledge of topics. Of the two main categories of assessments, Formal assessments are considered to be more "standardized;" where the test are all given the same procedures for how they are administered, the amount of time allowed for the test to be completed and who (and how) a test can be graded/scored. These tests are created with a grade level in mind, not a student, not a class, not a school, but an entire grade level that is reflective across a state or nation. In fact, many of these tests include a very specific manual, with training and signed release forms for those that will be working with and around the tests. On the opposite side, there are Informal Assessments. These assessments are those that are "freer" in their usage. The teacher's are able to create and utilize tests that they design specifically for their classrooms/students and/or for a certain lesson or topic that is being instructed. There are no set guidelines, instructions or rules that need to be followed specifically when these test are created or administered. Best of all, these assessments do not even have to be "tests;" they can be things that are parts of the daily classroom routine.

The two primary forms of Formal assessments include: Norm-Referenced Assessments (NRA) and Criterion-Referenced Assessments (CRA). Norm-Referenced assessments are those that are created with a specific population in mind; grade level or age level, for example. These are those tests that must be administered according to specific rules, regulations and conditions to be considered as true and reliable results. Usually NRA's are used when it is needed to make comparisons between large numbers of students; where an individual student's performs in relation to the testing group at large. As a whole, NRA's are a positive in the "New World" of education with the implementation of the national guidelines as set by the No Child Left Behind reform. The primary purpose of these NRA's is to be able to have the ability to rank each of the students straight across the board in the various broad areas of achievement; determining the high and low students. This purpose is to aid the reform and add assistance for those students that are struggling with the materials presented to them. This also assists in the schools and school districts to have the information that is essential to their own development and to the growth of their students. This information, as valuable and essential as it may be, is also a cumbersome load to bear. These assessments are all based on the exact same guidelines, criteria and scoring to avoid unjust and unfavorable discrimination. Creating a standardized test is fair for the overall testing spectrum, but can cause great disadvantages when it does not take into account the cultural, social and economic backgrounds of all the students that are to partake in this testing. The NRA's, while they encompass broad spectrum of the field, it is too broad. For instance, the Virginia Social Studies lesson on Jamestown is not as in depth in California as it is here in Virginia; while at the same time, the students in North Dakota are not required to learn about the different regions, products and industries that are in Virginia. Many of the national standards for learning, especially in the Social Studies Department are individualized for the states and then for the regions. It is unfair to penalize the students because they are expected to learn local, but test nationally. At the same time, another disadvantage of the NRA's is that all students are tested together and then compared together. This is highly unfair, especially in terms of the Special Education Departments. The students that are accepted as Special Needs are being tested as though they are the same as the rest of the student population. This is unfair. How is a mentally challenged individual supposed to be able to understand and retain the same information as a regular education student? They cannot and it totally unfair to expect them to. At the same time, the scores of our Special Education students are encased within the regular education test scores. If the SpEd students' scores are low, they have a tendency to lower the scores of their schools, their districts and eventually their states, thus causing an inaccurate reading for the purposes of this testing. Special Education and Regular Education scores need to be separate for these forms of evaluation purposes.

Criterion-Referenced Assessments (CRA's) are used to measure/test the student against a set of predetermined material in a smaller scope, or range, than that of the NRA's. These assessments are used as fast and frequent methods to measure student progress in the everyday, regular school subjects; it also used to inform the students of the standards that they are expected to learn. Both of these methods can prove to be helpful for those students that are conscious of their education and their personal learning abilities; and for the teachers. These assessments are used, for instance, in the comparison of student performance/progress within specific areas/content. This Formal assessment can be used to determine if a child has reached a specific skill or mastered a certain concept or even to pre-assess knowledge prior to the lesson. Here the skills assessment is used to report and evaluate a student's individual skills against their own performance and progress. With CRA's, there is little to no chance of discrimination and that is a positive in the creation of the tests. Bias is eliminated with these tests because they are created more on the course objective versus the national standards. CRA's are best when administered and compared in a smaller group setting. Positively, there are no stringent guidelines that are used to administer or to grade the assessments that are given to the students in this form. There are many positives in this form of Formal Assessment, but as with all things, there is usually something negative about the system. With the lack of policies and guidelines in the creation of the CRA's, teachers are offered the "opportunity" of freedom in testing. The assessment, as helpful as it may seem when used to gauge a student's progress, is can also prove negative to the student's self-esteem. When, if, the teacher chooses to discuss the results of the test with the student, the outcome could harmful to the student if the results are negative and that student has low self-esteem. The student may feel inadequate in comparison to his/her classmates, even without knowing how their classmates stand. It could also "reinforce" the student's own poor opinion of themselves and give the feeling of helplessness and hopelessness in their own education. While on the other hand, if there is a student that is over-confident and vocal about their abilities, and they have positive results, this would also lead to, or contribute to, a problem for those with low opinions of themselves and their abilities. Another problem with CRA's is that these tests are usually associated with a "curve." Having an assessment with a curve can not be expected to show a student's true measure of knowledge and performance. The purpose of the "curve" is to give an advantage to the majority of the students that have difficulties with the assessment or with certain problems in particular.

Regardless of the form of Formal assessment, the greatest of the disadvantages in this entire method of testing is that these assessments are overused. Follow this with the fact that there are a large number of bilingual students that are now enrolled in our nation's schools, this method of assessment is difficult to use properly. The cultural mix in our nation has caused much discord because of the language gaps and barriers. The differences in language cause much distortion in the "standardization" of the tests since test creators need to work diligently to discover forms of testing that will remove discrimination. The frequency of the formal testing quickly causes student "burn-out," thus causing the student performance index to drop because the students are tired of the tests and no longer care about the testing.

On the other side of the spectrum, there are Informal Assessments. They are not as strict, or severe, as the Formal Assessments previously discussed. In fact, sometimes with Informal Assessments, the students themselves do not even realize that they are being assessed, or tested. Informal Assessments are a simple and basic method for immediate feedback for both the teachers and the students on how well they are learning what is being taught to them. These types of assessments are used to provide the information, and insight, into what could be used to improve the teaching quality and the effectiveness of the lessons. It also provides feedback on the study habits of the students and be used to help them improve their quality of learning. Some of the styles in this category are: observations, checklists (or rating scales), conversations, journals, retellings, rubrics, games, projects and even typical classroom assignments and homework. Informal assessments are a quick and easy way for the teacher to see how a student is progressing without strict guidelines and timetables.

Observations are a key way to figuring out, at a glance, the student's strengths and weaknesses. These could be planned; when the teacher provides an assignment and walks around purposely to observe the students at work. These could be unplanned; where the teacher happens to walk through the classroom and glances at "Johnny's" paper on the way by and makes note of something. This information has an advantage in that it can be used to help the teacher understand if they need to take extra time in reviewing/grading "Johnny's" assignment or if "Johnny" might be in need of extra help altogether. Observations, whether, planned or unplanned, can provide the student immediate attention to the possibility of a problem and allow for the chance to resolve it right away. This could prevent further problems later on in the class. These observations also allow for the chance that it can bring up a point that might be stumbling block for "Johnny" and other students at the same time; prompting a discussion or a quick mini lesson for the whole class to benefit from. Although observations can prove helpful and beneficial, they also have their downfalls. A teacher can observe a trouble spot that "Johnny" is having, but also make the mistake of assuming that "Johnny" does not understand at all, when he could be stumped and need a break and is going to come back to the issue with fresh eyes in a few moments. The quick glances at a student's paper are not always the best judge of a student's ability as they are passed by. Another disadvantage of this type of student assessment is that it can make a student nervous. Some students get especially nervous doing their work when they see that the teacher is walking around the room and observing the work in progress. Some of these student's may freeze up and not be able to remember anything, others may become disoriented and confuse the information that they are suppose to be working on.

An informal assessment that can prove to be very helpful is retelling. In this manner, a teacher can assess, without formally testing, a student's ability to recall, retell, understand and organize all at the same time. This is especially helpful in language arts (reading), but can be used in other subjects as well. This can also be done in writing or verbally. Retelling can allow for the teacher to determine a student's ability to comprehend and organize the data that they are being taught into the correct series of steps to recount a story, a problem, a formula, etc. It also allows for immediate feedback and attention to correct any mistakes that may occur in the retelling process. Yet, this also has downfalls to its good intentions. It can open pathways to teasing and embarrassment that many students fight to prevent. If the student is verbally retelling the story, the formula, and makes a mistake, an obvious one for instance, other students may use this as an open opportunity to tease and embarrass the student in front of other classmates. This could make the student afraid to answer questions when called upon at a later date. Another problem with retelling, is that it is primarily language based and can prove extremely difficult for those students that have a language barrier that prevents them from being able to express their thoughts properly. Although the student may understand and accept the order or concept, they may not have the ability to properly transfer their thoughts into the proper fashion; causing mistakes or mispronunciations that could prove difficult for the student to properly present their thoughts and ideas.

What would a discussion about Informal Assessments be if class assignments and homework were not brought up? Of all of the Informal Assessments, class work and homework are the two most common ones that any teacher can use to evaluate their students. This is a simple and painless way, but the paper trail that it leaves behind can be burdensome when it comes to checking and recording grades. The best things about class work and homework assignments are that they are easy to produce, they are easy to create and they are something that can be used every day, for every lesson, at any time. During or after a lesson, a class assignment can be given and reviewed in class, prompting further discussions and explanations of the subject to reinforce and insure the student's grasp on the topic. The class work can be independent, group, partner, or whole class. The homework is the same, only this one is more independent and could possibly be the best judge of the student's level of comprehension. The concerns of this type of Informal testing are that the class and homework assignments are not always the best judge of character. There are no guarantees that the homework is done by the student, much less done at all. There could be a "tutor," a friend or even a parent that is doing the homework for the student. Once the student leaves the class room, the teacher has no supervision over how the homework is being completed. Plus, as mentioned earlier, the burden of the paper work can be harsh. If class work and homework is assigned for each lesson, then there will be a lot of papers to be graded and recorded to assess the abilities of the students. With the amount of work that teachers are required to do under the new federal guidelines, the grading and recording of all those assignments will be an additional task to add to the never ending pile of things to do and could cause lengthy delays in identifying problem areas.

Games can prove to be helpful in the assessment of the students, while once again, not allowing the students the opportunity to know that they are being evaluated. Students love to play games, when they get to play games in school, they are excited. They know that they are reviewing information from the current lessons, or even previous lessons, when they play these games, but many do not care, they are playing a game. This method is especially helpful for evaluating students when there is a test that needs to be reviewed for. Many of the games played in class will require certain amount of knowledge of specific skills and information. There are advantages to including games as part of the classroom assessment process is that the students get excited and enjoy playing these games and are enthusiastic about them.

They students are having fun while they learn. The teacher is able to notice the strengths and weaknesses in the students easier because they are relaxed and comfortable. The students are able to let their guard down, be themselves and relax. Although, there are some problems with using games in the classroom too. Some styles of games can cause an unhealthy competition within the class or between students in the attempt to win the game; not realizing that everyone wins because they are learning something, but that is not what the kids are looking at. The other disadvantage to using games in the classroom as a means of evaluating students is that it can lead to false impressions as well. The games can relax the students, but sometimes it could relax the students too much and cause them to be silly and show off. The students could be playing around and answer wrong just for the giggles and comedy for their classmates. The teacher will not be able to always tell if the student is pretending not to know the answer or if they really do not. Students that know the answers may pretend not to and those that really do not know the answers give the wrong answers to be funny. There are plenty of students that will pretend that they do not understand, just so others do not know that they really do not understand.

Whether a teacher uses Formal or Informal Assessments to evaluate their students understanding and comprehension of the tasks and lessons, the purpose is still the same. The purpose is to make sure that the students are learning, understanding, comprehending and retaining the information that the teachers are trying so hard to get across to the students in the schools of today. There are many factors outside of the school that cause problems for many of our students, education inside the school should not cause problems too. Assessing and evaluating the students on what they are being taught in the classrooms is the only true measure that what is being done in the classroom is being done correctly and effectively for everyone.

REFERENCES:

Bond, L. (1998). Norm- and Criterion Referenced Testing. Retrieved June 24, 2007, from Practical Assessment, Research
& Evaluation Web site: http://pareonline.net/getvn.asp?v=5&n=2

Navarete, C. (1990). NCBE Program Information Guide Series. Retrieved July 25, 2007, from Informal Assessment in Educational Evaluations: Implications for Bilingual Education Programs Web site: http://www.ncela.gwu.edu