What is the main goal of ‘assessment for learning’ ?
2023
What is the main goal of ‘assessment for learning’ ?
- A.
To identify students who can be categorised as ‘slow learners’
- B.
To evaluate student performance and assign grades
- C.
To provide feedback to students that can be used to improve their learning
- D.
To compare student performance to a standard or benchmark
Show answer & explanation
Correct answer: C
Educational assessment serves two distinct purposes: assessment 'for' learning is a formative process carried out during instruction to guide and improve a student's ongoing learning, while assessment 'of' learning is a summative process carried out after instruction to measure, grade, or certify how much a student has achieved.
Because assessment for learning is formative, its defining purpose is to generate feedback about what a student currently understands and what still needs work, so that the student and teacher can act on it to improve the learning that is still in progress — not to sort students, assign a final grade, or benchmark performance after the fact.
Sorting students into ability categories such as 'slow learners' treats assessment as a one-time diagnostic label, not as an ongoing process feeding back into instruction, so it does not describe this assessment purpose.
Assigning grades based on performance is the hallmark of assessment of learning: a summative judgement made after instruction to certify achievement, not a formative purpose.
Comparing a student's performance against a fixed standard or benchmark is a criterion-referenced way of measuring where they currently stand relative to that standard, but that measurement on its own does not constitute the formative, next-step guidance that defines this assessment purpose.
This formative, improvement-oriented purpose is the standard definition used in teacher-training and NCERT/NCTE pedagogy frameworks, and it is confirmed by CTET's own official answer key for this question.