From National Exams to Formative Feedback: broadening your assessment toolkit

By Dr. Claudia Rademaker, Co-founder, Dugga Assessment

Why diversify assessment?
In today’s classrooms, assessment is not just about the final grade. Educators are increasingly encouraged to view assessment as an ongoing process, using a variety of methods to support and monitor student learning. As research shows, diverse assessment approaches, ranging from traditional national exams to regular formative feedback, are essential for fostering deeper understanding, promoting equality and improving student wellbeing.

1. The power of varied assessment

No single method can suit every learner or objective. National exams provide important summaries of learning and maintain standards, but daily learning thrives on formative assessments; activities that give students timely feedback and allow teachers to adapt their instruction.

• Summative assessment (e.g. final exams) evaluates what students have learned at the end of a period.
• Formative assessment (e.g. quizzes, tests, open-ended questions) offers insights along the way and helps identify knowledge gaps early.

Research highlights that classrooms integrating both types can lead to:

• Higher student motivation and engagement
• Increased retention and understanding
• Fairer outcomes, as all students can show progress in different ways

2. Practical tips: expanding your assessment toolkit

By re-thinking the function of assessment i.e., not just for final exams but also for regular, low-stakes quizzes and tests, teachers can track progress and adjust their teaching more effectively. It is not only about what students know at the end of the term, but how they improve week to week.

Dugga’s assessment platform is designed to support a wide variety of assessment formats, enabling teachers to easily combine different strategies to support all learners. Here’s how you can broaden your assessment toolkit:

• Mix summative with formative:
  Use Dugga for both major standardized tests and small, frequent check-ins like quick quizzes, tests or reflective questions.
• Leverage automated and manual feedback:
  Combine instant, system-generated feedback after different auto-graded questions with personal, qualitative comments on written assignments.
• Promote student self-assessment:
  Encourage students to reflect on their performance using Dugga’s built-in tools, which fosters metacognition and responsibility for learning.
• Encourage peer collaboration:
  Use group tasks to allow students to learn from one another’s strengths and perspectives.

3. The impact: better learning and wellbeing

By integrating both summative and formative assessments, teachers can address a broader range of learning needs. This diversity in assessment can:

• Reduce test anxiety, as students don’t feel judged only by one high-stakes event
• Improve inclusion, making it easier for different learning styles and needs to be met
• Support equality, providing multiple opportunities for students to succeed

Conclusion: take the next step

Expanding your assessment practices does not have to be complicated. By making use of research-based digital assessment solutions such as Dugga, you can easily blend national exams with ongoing feedback and learning activities and thereby helping every student to thrive.

How are you diversifying assessment in your own teaching practice? Are there new methods you’re curious to try? Share your thoughts or questions below. I would love to hear your perspective!