Dr. Shana Burnett 
Table of Contents
Testing and assessment are critical to monitoring and understanding student progress. However, what is equally essential is how educators use these results to inform instruction. There are two major types of assessments that give educators and families information on how students are developing. These types of assessments types can either inform or summarize how students are progressing. Formative and summative assessments provide a meaningful understanding of how students are progressing. If educators use them correctly, assessments can support student growth, so students and educators can make improvements.
Applying Formative and Summative Assessments
Teachers use formative assessment results to inform instructional practices in order to build up and monitor students’ ability levels. Meanwhile, educators gear summative assessment results to provide proficiency-level results generated from state assessments. State assessments are usually administered toward the end of the school year; hence why they would be considered summative.
According to the Center for Standards, Assessment, and Accountability, 2023, “implementing formative assessment and supporting teacher and leader learning in order to guide new ways for teachers and students to engage in evidence” is what was learned.
Having worked in education for over twenty-eight years, I have seen firsthand the importance of using assessment results when planning lessons. Having served as a school testing coordinator (STC) afforded me opportunities to see firsthand the impact of high-stakes summative assessments and the stresses these results can cause on students, families, schools, and districts.
Ensure Communications on Testing and Assessment Plans
Testing and assessment should be a united process, and results shared with educational teams, students, and families. When parents and students understand what performance levels on assessments epitomize, they can become partners in tracking and monitoring student progress. According to the NJ State Department of Education, the importance of schools ensuring that “… a high-quality assessment including its alignment to standards, and how assessments should be used as part of a monitoring cycle to ensure students are on track and receiving the appropriate instruction.”
Once students complete the assessment, results should lead to a prescription based on test outcomes. Teachers should follow up on assessment results with a treatment that will increase proficiency levels. Assessments should be tied to curricula that measure student performance.
Measuring student performance means understanding strengths and deficiencies. It is imperative to understand deficiencies in assessment results. Then, the next steps would be to find solutions to address achievement gaps. It is essential for educators to plan solutions to any deficiencies and track student performance using formative and summative assessments.
Understanding Student Progress Through Testing and Assessment
In conclusion, once you administer assessments, it is important to recognize how results evaluate, share, and identify a plan of action based on the outcomes. Understanding student progress becomes ideal for educators to use when informing instruction.
Formative assessment results inform instructional practices in order to build proficiency levels. Summative assessment results summarize how students are progressing and are usually provided by the state, such as New Jersey Student Learning Assessment (NJSLA). According to the NJ Department of Education 2023, the assessment administered to students in grades 3rd-8th “…. measures student proficiency with grade level skills, knowledge, and concepts that are critical to college and career readiness.”
