Which term describes checks conducted during a unit to gather information about student understanding and to guide future instruction?

• A. Formal assessment
• B. Informal assessment
• C. Formative assessments
• D. Theories and lesson plans

Answer: (C)

Checks conducted during a unit to see what students understand and to decide what to teach next are formative assessments. They’re ongoing, happening as instruction unfolds, and their main purpose is to provide feedback that teachers can use to adjust lessons, reteach or extend ideas, and move students toward the learning goals. In a Spanish class, this could be quick exit tickets asking students to translate a sentence, a short oral check of pronunciation and grammar, or a think-pair-share discussion to reveal misunderstandings.

Formal assessment refers to planned, often graded, evaluations like unit tests or standardized measures that sum up learning after a period of instruction. Informal assessment describes casual, everyday checks of understanding, but the hallmark of formative assessment is its deliberate use during instruction to guide the next steps. Theories and lesson plans are about how teaching should be organized, not about measuring what students know during the unit.