Looking back to when I was a student, I would say we were most exposed with the formative assessment or assessment FOR learning. Ideally given in everyday lessons, it is in forms of discussions, recitations, seatworks and quizzes. I would also say that it is the one we anticipated and prepared for most frequently, at the same time, complacently. Knowing that there are multiple sources for this assessment, half the time I took this for granted as a student.
Meanwhile, assessment OF learning or summative assessment was usually every subject’s “The Dreaded, Major, and Most Challenging Test”, the type we spend our all-nighters studying for. This was the make-it-or-break it, often given for a big bulk of coverage. Being a crammer, I am guilty of being one of those students who would try to make up for my class standing with the periodical exam.
Now, learning the purposes of assessment, I realize that assessment AS learning was overlooked a lot in my younger years. Being a student, I can hardly recall my teachers making us evaluate ourselves to reflect our own learning. Not until I got my first job where I started to actually rate my skills to track my progress; not to mention even as a trainee on my next job, I would perform a self-assessment everyday. I believe it is equally important to have a check-in of yourself, again, to keep your improvements or difficulties you handled in black and white.
Although commonly neglected, self-assessment might be my favorite one. Not only because it encourages learners to reflect on their self- as well as their peer-assessment, perhaps the best thing about this is that it does not put pressure on the grades of the students. It serves as a feedback of their learnings–to identify which transpired and what gaps need to be addressed. As students are also motivated to ask questions to clarify their concerns, together with the teachers, they create learning goals that promote growth.
Roenne 