CFI Blog #3 Assessment

Assessment
     Assessments are used to figure out how well a student is learning the information.  there are two types of assessments, formative and summative. Formative assessments are used during the education process to see if the student is learning what needs to be learned.  then based on the outcome of the assessment the student and teacher can figure out what needs to be changed to make the learning more effective. Summative assessments are at the end of a learning program and sum up what the student has learned.  this is like a final exam for a class.
     It is also important to be aware of how the assessments are interpreted. according to the article there are three ways to do this. the first is Criterion are evaluations where students are required to know specific information that experts say all people in the industry should know.  these are like the written exams that we take at the end of ground school.  the next are Norm evaluations where there are no specific answers and and students are assessed on well a student knows the material compared to the rest of the class.  Self Referenced interpretation is the third type. This is where the learner assesses them self, and decides if what they learned during the class was enough.  It seems to me that in aviation criterion is the most used assessment because it is the most measurable, and students must have a set level of knowledge, not just compared to their class or more than they expected.
     Self directed learning is someone who can form their own ideas and solve problems on their own, and want feedback on how well they have don, but also assess themselves.  i think it is important for all students to try to be like this. rather than expecting instructors to download knowledge to their brains, they take responsibility for their education and gain the deepest understanding they can get through analyzing information on their own.