National Evaluation Series (NES) Assessment of Professional Knowledge Practice Test

What type of assessment is Mrs. Cotton using when she asks students to write a ticket out the door to monitor their understanding?

1. Formal

2. Diagnostic

3. Summative

4. Formative

The correct answer is: Formative

Mrs. Cotton is utilizing a formative assessment by asking students to write a ticket out the door. This type of assessment is designed to gauge student understanding and learning progress during the instructional process. Formative assessments typically occur during the learning experience and provide immediate feedback to both students and teachers. The purpose of the ticket out the door is to allow Mrs. Cotton to quickly assess how well her students have grasped the day's material before they leave the classroom. This information can then be used to inform future instruction, address any misconceptions, and provide targeted support where needed. In contrast, formal, diagnostic, and summative assessments serve different roles. Formal assessments are typically structured and standardized, diagnostic assessments help identify learners' strengths and weaknesses before instruction begins, and summative assessments evaluate student learning at the end of an instructional period. Therefore, the nature of the ticket out the door aligns perfectly with the characteristics of formative assessment.