Which type of assessment is used to measure student progress over time?

The correct answer is diagnostic assessment. This type of assessment is specifically designed to measure student knowledge, skills, and understanding at a particular point in time, allowing educators to identify learners’ strengths and weaknesses as they progress. By implementing diagnostic assessments, teachers can gather valuable insights into their students' current levels of understanding, which informs targeted instruction and helps in tracking progress over time.

In contrast to diagnostic assessment, formative assessments are ongoing and typically conducted during the learning process to monitor student understanding and provide feedback that can enhance learning. Summative assessments are usually given at the end of an instructional period to evaluate the overall learning outcomes and are less focused on tracking progress over time. Norm-referenced assessments compare a student's performance to that of a larger group but do not specifically track individual progress over time in the same way that diagnostic assessments do. Hence, diagnostic assessment is the most appropriate choice for measuring progress over time.