What role does formative assessment play in the instructional process?

Prepare for the Minnesota Pedagogy Test. Study with flashcards and multiple-choice questions, each with hints and explanations. Get ready for your exam!

Formative assessment plays a crucial role in the instructional process by providing real-time feedback on student understanding and performance. It allows educators to gauge how well students are grasping the material as it is being taught, which in turn informs instructional decisions. When teachers use formative assessments, they can adjust their teaching strategies, provide targeted support, and address any misconceptions or gaps in knowledge immediately. This proactive approach helps to create a more responsive learning environment tailored to the needs of the students.

Summative assessments, on the other hand, focus on summarizing overall knowledge at the end of an instructional period and serve a different purpose in evaluation. Standardized evaluations are intended to measure student performance against a predefined standard, often minimizing the individualized approach that formative assessments enable. High-stakes testing typically assesses cumulative knowledge and can carry significant consequences for students, which differs from the ongoing, process-focused nature of formative assessment.

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