After further research, I was informed that there are more assessments than summative and formative. Two other common assessment types are diagnostic and benchmarks (O’Malley, 2015). Diagnostic testing assesses the student’s knowledge (O’Malley, 2015). This assessment is performed at the beginning of the material (O’Malley, 2015). The diagnostic assessment allows the instructor to know where the student stands before starting to give the material (O’Malley, 2015). Extra attention can be allocated to certain areas depending on the diagnostic testing (O’Malley, 2015). Benchmark assessment is used at certain points in the material (O’Malley, 2015). Instructors can see how well students are understanding the given material and if any areas require further attention (O’Malley, 2015). Contrary to diagnostic assessment, students have had the chance to learn and understand the given material (O’Malley, 2015).

The best outcome will occur when using all four of the assessment types; summative, formative, diagnostic, and benchmark (O’Malley, 2015). Instructors can get a full understanding of what their students need to understand the material. Each assessment can be given at a different time period throughout the learning journey (O’Malley, 2015). To add, the different assessments provide a different view of what the student requires. 

O’Malley, K. (2015, October 27). Noodle. Retrieved November 24, 2021, from https://www.noodle.com/articles/4-types-of-tests-teachers-give-and-why.