What type of assessment is conducted to monitor progress during learning?

Formative assessment is conducted during the learning process to monitor student progress and understanding. This type of assessment occurs while instruction is taking place, allowing educators to gather feedback on how well students are grasping the material. The main goal of formative assessment is to identify areas where students may be struggling, so that teachers can adjust their instruction and provide targeted support to enhance student learning.

By using techniques such as quizzes, observations, discussions, and class activities, formative assessments help educators make informed decisions about their teaching strategies and provide real-time feedback to students. This ongoing assessment enables a continuous loop of improvement, enhancing both teaching and learning outcomes.

In contrast, other types of assessments serve different purposes. For instance, benchmark assessments are typically used to evaluate student performance against certain standards or benchmarks, summative assessments measure student learning outcomes after instruction (such as final exams), and diagnostic assessments are conducted before instruction begins to identify students' prior knowledge and skills. Each serves its unique purpose but does not focus on monitoring progress during learning in the same active and responsive way that formative assessments do.