In order to accurately understand if a student has understood the concept, authentic assessment is key in understanding if students are able to take the skill and apply it to a real world context. Sometimes just giving out a test isn't enough. There are a lot of students who have test anxiety and their best work isn't captured in a unit test. Students need ongoing assessment so that teachers gave give them the most accurate mark that they deserve.

This week we were asked what were some effective assessment strategies in math. 

One form of assessment I like is called informal assessments. Informal assessments allow teachers to track the ongoing progress of their students. These assessments determine if students are learning what is being taught. Teachers can target specific problem areas and adapt their instruction. 

Some examples are:

- Anecdotal Records

- Blogs

- Exit Cards

- Gallery Walks

Formal Assessments focus on the data to support the answers from the students test or summative assignments. They have a pre-decided criteria for evaluation. With formal assessments teachers aren't able to gradually understand if the student has understood the concept overtime. They see the results at the end of the assessment and then have to start all over again to help the student based on their scores.

If you want to see a teacher in action displaying formal and informal assessment, I have found an amazing video you can watch here 

A great article that talks about authentic assessment can be found here