Stages of assessment
There are three stages in the assessment process viz.:
- Before learning = diagnostic assessment (aka pre-test)
- This assessment determines a learner's baseline skill and knowledge prior to the commencement of the learning
- During learning = formative assessment
- This assessment takes place during the learning process to modify learning activities and improve the learner's achievement
- After learning = summative assessment
- This assessment takes place after the learning process has been completed. It evaluates whether the learner has mastered the learning objective / outcome.
You might have noticed we used an example of diagnostic testing on the previous page when we asked you to rank your assessment proficiencies using a survey. Let's delve into a little more detail for each stage.