What type of assessment helps identify student learning progress during the learning process?

Formative assessments play a crucial role in identifying student learning progress throughout the learning process. These assessments are typically conducted during the instructional period rather than at the end of a unit or course. They include a variety of methods such as quizzes, discussions, observation, and feedback to monitor student understanding and skill acquisition as learning unfolds.

By utilizing formative assessments, educators can gather real-time data on student comprehension and engagement. This allows them to adjust their teaching strategies and provide targeted support when necessary, ensuring that all students are progressing towards the learning objectives. Formative assessments are more focused on fostering improvement and learning, rather than merely evaluating performance at a specific point in time.

In contrast, summative assessments are designed to evaluate student learning at the end of an instructional period, and diagnostic assessments aim to identify students' strengths and weaknesses before instruction begins. Standardized assessments typically assess students' knowledge and skills against a common standard, often used for comparing performance across a larger population. Formative assessments, specifically, serve the purpose of continuous improvement during the instructional process, emphasizing an ongoing dialogue about learning and mastery.