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How Testing in Real-time Can Help Improve Student Performance

Improving Student Performance through Real-time Evaluation. 

At the end of each semester, educators use exams to evaluate students. Exams serve as a summative way to gauge how much knowledge each student has acquired. It is possible to measure student performance and store the results for future reference. 

Many institutions prefer summative tests since it simplifies the tracking of student progress. You can see the areas where learners need improvement. However, in recent years there is a push for the use of formative assessment methods.

Formative evaluation utilizes informal tests to identify if learners have acquired the key points in a given lesson. This approach uses tests such as multi-choice quizzes and oral tests during or immediately after a class. Formative tests aim at providing real-time information on the learning progress of a student.

These assessments provide teachers with useful data on how to improve their lessons. It gives clues on how well students understand certain topics. It identifies strong and weak areas within the learning process.

At the end of the day, teachers want all learners to excel. They must have gained sufficient knowledge to attain the minimum passing grade. 

If learners can acquire enough knowledge during lessons, performance can improve significantly. 

Formative vs. Summative Methods

Formative assessment provides teachers with useful data on how to improve their lessons. It gives clues on how well students understand certain topics. It identifies strong and weak areas within the learning process.

Summative assessment techniques work by evaluating a learner after completing a course. The evaluation is done through administering formal exams such as the end-of-term and mid-term exams.

Formative assessments may work wonders in students from time to time. They are versatile and can apply in many learning situations.

Summative assessments aim to test the memory as well as critical thinking. They evaluate what has been taught as well as the knowledge level of a student.

Both of these tests are critical in deciding if a learner is ready for the upcoming level of learning.

How to Blend the two Together. 

When choosing an assessment tool, the instructor must understand these two types of assessments.

The summative and formative assessment methods have an almost similar organization. Summative tests uses group assignments, midterm, and final tests to assess students.

 Formative evaluation, on the other hand, utilizes informal quizzes and discussions. That is to say; they serve the same purpose; to assess the level of knowledge attained by a student.

Recent studies have sought to determine which of the two forms of assessment can help students excel in the other. It is now a known fact that formative assessment helps a learner measure academic progress and encourages them to plan and prepare for summative assessments.

Performance beyond Numbers

Every institution strives to ensure optimal student performance. 

The acquisition and mastery ofknowledge helps students attain their future career goals. However, teachers must use the right techniques to assess learner understanding accurately.

First, educators must ensure as many students as possible reach the passing grade during evaluation. Second, teachers must strive to reduce the number of learners who do not attain the minimum pass grade.

In short, schools search for ways to improve the learning process for students. Theyleverage formative tools see to it that learners get plenty of relevant information and summative evaluation, test learner understanding. 

How Formative Evaluation Can Help Improve Learner Performance.

Formative tests act as a real-time assessment. Teachers can identify how much each student understands during or after a class. It serves as a measure of how much learners know in a specific topic.

Formative assessment methods allow for easy identification of strong and weak areas. When teachers learn to apply formative techniques in teaching, they help students improve. 

With time, you will notice that improvement on weak areas and betteroverall student performance. Student pass rates will also be higher that will help in reducing the attainment gap.

Formative tests that include polls and surveys assist learners in remembering key lesson milestones. Students can comprehend new topics with ease. During exams, they can comfortably answer questions and pass.

How Learning Institutions Can Implement Formative Assessment. 

Formative evaluation can assist both students and teachers. For the best results, schools must implement a robust, reliable, and manageable formative system of teaching. Discover twoways schools can implement formative evaluation methods.

1.Switching from traditional methods. 

Institutions can start using formative evaluation by moving away from the traditional teaching norm. Teachers should start by instilling a development mindset in their students. 

In simple terms, educators should allow students to make mistakes and teach them how to correct them. The learnermust have the chance to fix their own errors and gain knowledge from them.

           2. Using interactive systems. 

Learning institutions should invest in an interactive learning system as one of the primary steps towards effective formative evaluation. Interactive courses allow teachers to carry out real-time assessments quickly and efficiently. 

Ten Examples of Formative Assessment and to Use Them in Course.

Formative assessment methods improve student performanceand makes lessons fun and lively. Below are ten formative assessment strategies you can use in a classroom.

1. Classroom polling tools. 

Polling tools are gadgets that enable learners to answer multiple-choice questions. Polls encourage accurate and fast responses. Such formative assessment methods are the best way of evaluating shy students who cannot speak up in a classroom setting.

            2. Collaborative learning. 

Collaborative learning promotes teamwork, communication skills, and creative thinking. You can facilitate collaborative learning remotely by establishing discussion groups.

            3. In-class tasks. 

In-class tasks should be simple and efficient. For instance, you can ask learners a question after a lesson to see if they have understood the key concepts. Online evaluation tools help to give exact time limits and correct answers to a test.

            4. Entry or Exit tickets. 

Entry or exit tickets are small papers or cards which students give when a class starts or ends, respectively. Learners write answers to these papers and hand them to teachers. It might be either an assignment, homework, or a summary of the lesson.

You can assess how quick students respond to questions and using online evaluation tools.

            5. Video assessments. 

Video assessments are a trending evaluation method. Students can make their content from videos using this form of evaluation. All you have to do is to introduce the concept and give them guidelines.

Studies show videos provide more information and help improve student performance.

             6.Making summaries. 

Word count for these summaries should be as follows; between 10-15 words, 30-50 words, and 75-100 words. Variation in summary lengths improves students' understanding. Thereafter, collection and review of the summaries help to gauge their level of understanding.

            7.Highlighting texts. 

Highlighting texts helps to determine the comprehension levels of learners. You give students the same text to read, each highlighting a point he/she thinks is important. After this happens, learners share their highlights in groups or as a class and try to come up with the most probable theme.

            8.Online portfolios.

E-portfolios are a form of formative assessment methods that can create, modify, and store data. Such data can be in the form of documents, hyperlinks, or pictures. Parents can visit their children's portfolios, check progress, and comment on them, hence motivating them.

            9.Call-to-mind technique.

In this method, the instructor asks the learners to visualize the main idea within a lesson. If a student can create something out of imagination, then they can easily remember topics during exams. Those students who cannot draw can use software tools to create a representation of their thoughts.

            10.Learning games. 

It is no secret that most people enjoy playing a video game rather than reading a book. Learning games not only alleviates boredom but also increases learners' concentration. Such games help students get knowledge and cooperation skills.

Parting Shot

Summative evaluation, such as the end of semester evaluation, may not help improve student performance. Schools must implement formative evaluation tools. Such tools assist in ensuring that students understand the key lesson points. Leaners can gain skills on how to find solutions to their problem. 

Formative assessment provides teachers with useful data on how to improve their lessons. It gives clues on how well students understand certain topics. It identifies strong and weak areas within the learning process.

These assessments can help increase the pass rate among students. Leveraging digital formative tools can help automate the whole process making it more effective.