How Educational Assessment Can Help You Learn
When you hear "assessment," you might immediately think of high-stakes tests. But really, assessment is far more flexible—and far more useful—than just a grade at the end of the year. At its core, educational assessment is simply the process of gathering information about what someone knows or can do, so both teachers and learners can make smarter decisions.
Whether you're returning to school, shifting careers, or just curious about how learning is measured, understanding assessment can help you take more control of your educational journey. Let's explore five common types of assessment you're likely to encounter—not just as a student, but as an engaged adult learner.
- Diagnostic Assessment
Diagnostic assessments are given at the start of a unit or an academic term or year. This type of student assessment can take many forms and include elements used in both summative and formative assessments. The purpose of a diagnostic assessment is to provide you with insights about how well your students have mastered a topic or skill before you teach it. For example, if you teach language arts, you might ask students to write essays early in the school year. Evaluation of the essays will show you how well your students understand how to structure an essay, how to develop a topic, and how to proofread for spelling, grammar and punctuation. The information you uncover during this process can help inform instruction so you can tailor your lessons to what your students need.
- Formative Assessment
The focus of a formative assessment is feedback for the student and teacher. Asking your students to complete a formative assessment, such as a quiz or written reflection, will show you how well your students have grasped what you're teaching. Because this type of educational assessment is intended to support the learning process rather than measure an outcome, it can be graded but doesn't need to be.
- Summative Assessment
Summative assessments are always graded and tend to have a broader scope. Summative assessments tend to cover a wide body of skills and knowledge, and are not administered as often as formative assessments. While formative assessments are given on an as-needed basis, summative assessments come at the end of a unit of study or at the end of an academic term or year. Summative assessments are comprised of any combination of multiple choice, short answer and written responses.
- Norm-Referenced Assessment
Norm-referenced exams compare students of similar ages and grade levels to a hypothetical average student. This type of educational assessment involves heavy scientific involvement as the process of creating the norms by which the students will be measured is complex. Scores on norm-referenced exams are usually reported in percentiles. For example, a student in the 80th percentile performed better than 80 percent of the students who took the same exam. Norm-referenced exams rely heavily on multiple choice, with some short-written responses, and tend to be based on national standards as opposed to state and local standards. The SAT and ACT are a few well-known norm-referenced assessments.
- Criterion-Referenced Assessment
Criterion-referenced assessments measure how well you've mastered a specific body of knowledge or set of skills, rather than comparing you to other learners. These tests are designed around what students are expected to learn — for example, an exam might only cover the algebra curriculum taught in a particular course, without including unrelated topics like geometry.1 This makes criterion-referenced assessment especially meaningful for adult learners who are focused on mastering defined learning goals, rather than competing for relative ranking.
How This Applies to Your Journey as an Adult Learner
If you're looking to return to school, finish a degree, or start a new program, understanding how assessments work can make a big difference. Early diagnostic assessments can identify your strengths and areas for growth, formative assessments keep you on track with regular feedback, and summative and criterion-referenced assessments highlight your progress and achievements. While norm-referenced assessments may appear in certain standardized contexts, most adult-learning environments focus on your individual improvement rather than competition. Ultimately, assessments aren’t just tests—they’re tools designed to help you learn smarter, stay engaged, and see tangible growth throughout your education.
If you're ready to deepen your understanding or explore how adult learners navigate assessment and advance their education, consider looking into our Master of Education programs at American InterContinental University.
1 FairTest. Criterion- and Standards-Referenced Tests. Retrieved from https://fairtest.org/facts-csrtests-html/
REQ2176017 11/2025