Essay

Advantages and disadvantages of informal and formal assessment

María Marcela Zúñiga Ruiz

Fundación Universitaria Colombo Internacional

Second language assessment

Lic. María Angélica Herrera Rivera

March 12th, 2021

 Advantages and disadvantages of informal and formal

assessment.

To illustrate the main idea for this argumentative essay it first needs to be defined and
compared both informal and formal assessment. Informal assessment can be defined as a
spontaneous characteristic a teacher uses to his favor in order to help students’ learning
process. The common way that informal assessment is measured is by verbal feedback given
to a student, comments to the class from the teacher’s perspective and it also could include
correction on words or grammar-wise. Whereas formal assessment is considered to be a
systematic, pre-existing process where the teacher provides the material which is going to be
the core that will evaluate the student. Formal assessment is planned and holistic, it can
evaluate a portfolio and require scrutinized observations of homework and even tests at the
end of a class. That being said, there is a variable to be considered when arguing about these
two procedures, one could not help but wonder if one can aid the other or they make the
learning of a student and the teacher’s profession as a guide deviate.

1. Informal Assessment
According to Cecilia (1990) "Informal assessment is defined as techniques that can
easily be incorporated into classroom routines and learning activities, and are identified as
unstructured (e.g., writing samples, homework, journals, games, debates)". With that idea in
mind, the teacher whose role is to guide students and enhance their learning process to get
better results can easily implement these types of interactive tasks to quickly assess and
correct errors that students may be making. If done correctly, students will internalize the
corrections that were made by the teacher and this will produce a meaningful learning
experience for the students.

2. Formal Assessment
Evaluating what students learned during a period of time in a scholarly environment
has and to this day still is the cornerstone of all learning and the method most used by far to
track the progress of students. A formal assessment can take the form of midterms at the end
of a semester, exams done at the end of a class, or the revision of a pending homework
assignment. The main intention of formal assessment is to specifically measure how well
students are understanding a topic through the use of material that is provided by the teacher.
 3. Correlation between both
The correct use in a classroom by the teacher of informal assessment and formal
assessment would make the perfect combination because it allows students to be assessed in
an interactive manner to ultimately assess their knowledge at the end of the class. Siegel
described the best language evaluation instrument as an informed clinician or teacher, who
applies current theoretical knowledge to the analysis of behaviors, skills, knowledge, and
modifications of established procedures (Mary Pat Moeller, 1988, p. 73). Formal and
informal assessments are a must to the teaching planning, as well. With that being said, the
outcome of both formal and informal assessment is the key to class preparation and material
selection. It is an ongoing process that encompasses a much wider field than just a test or an
exam. Assessment is the core of the class. Evaluation materials (whether formal or informal)
should be selected in response to theoretically motivated diagnostic questions during class.
Diagnostic questions are formulated on the basis. of pre-assessment observations or
questionnaires. Without students being actively engaged in the class and their responses,
there is no ongoing process. Last but not least, materials should be properly and purposely
chosen for the class’s assessment, so students do not get lost in the learning process.
In brief, formal assessment is knowledge-measuring and informal, process-measuring,
but both are needed in the classroom. Needless to say that formal assessment can be
sometimes scary for the students, so that can be a disadvantage, indeed. But based on that, we
can continue to assess students and give them feedback. On the other hand, informal
assessment gives the students more freedom and opportunities to create their own knowledge
and also express themselves. But, informal assessment alone is just not enough to reach
conclusions about the students’ learning. So both formal and informal assessments are a must
and they are much needed in the classroom.

REFERENCES:
Navarrete, C. (1990) Informal Assessment in Educational Evaluation:
Implications for Bilingual Education Programs.
https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED337041.pdf

Moeller, M. (1988). Combining Formal and Informal Strategies for Language

Assessment of Hearing-Impaired Children. http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?
doi=10.1.1.963.788&rep=rep1&type=pdf#page=72