Assessment is the driving force behind instruction. It has the uncanny ability to follow a student through the goals and objectives set forth in the curriculum. The summative assessment shows a summary of the student learning, and is usually in the form of a standardized test taken near the end of a unit or school year. It is important to see this data for accountability reasons and for analyzing student achievement (Laureate Education, 2001).
Although the summary is important, the process is equally important. The processes students use to meet a larger and broader goal can be monitored with formative assessment. This type of assessment is ongoing and can be obtained in a variety of formal and informal ways. This assessment follows a student to his goal (Laureate Education, 2001).
The collaboration between summative and formative assessment paints a clear picture of what a student knows, and how the student knows it. The two forms are necessary in accurately assessing all students (Laureate Education, 2001).
Performance assessments are a great way of determining student competencies and strategies used in the literacy classroom. They are particularly useful when monitoring the various and vast amount of strategies used when decoding and comprehending text. They are often an extension of a mini-lesson, and can be done in a variety of grouping structures.
A portfolio is reasonable way to show growth in the literacy life of a student. It can be updated when certain milestones are surpassed, and strategies mastered. A portfolio is a concrete and tangible body of evidence that the student is progressing, achieving, and working towards an ultimate goal while trudging through small obtainable ones.