FTCE Professional Education Practice Exam

Which assessment tool can a teacher use to evaluate students' readiness for a summative end-of-unit test?

1. Formative assessment

2. Diagnostic assessment

3. Norm-referenced assessment

4. Criterion-referenced assessment

The correct answer is: Diagnostic assessment

A diagnostic assessment is an effective tool for evaluating students' readiness for a summative end-of-unit test. This type of assessment is designed to identify students' current knowledge, skills, and misconceptions before the instruction or at the beginning stages of a learning unit. By conducting a diagnostic assessment, a teacher can gather specific information on students' strengths and weaknesses, allowing for targeted instruction that addresses individual needs. This information is essential for understanding how ready the students are for the upcoming summative assessment. While formative assessments, which monitor student learning during the instructional process, are useful for ongoing feedback and adjustments, they may not provide a comprehensive readiness evaluation for a summative test. Norm-referenced assessments compare a student's performance against a national sample rather than focusing on individual readiness. Criterion-referenced assessments measure student performance against a defined set of criteria or standards, but they typically occur after the learning has taken place rather than before assessing readiness. In contrast, diagnostic assessments are specifically aimed at determining what students know before instruction and assessing their readiness for future evaluations.