What are formative evaluations primarily used for?

Formative evaluations are primarily used to gather feedback during the learning process, allowing educators to identify student strengths and weaknesses. This continuous assessment helps teachers understand how well students are grasping the material and where they may need additional support or instruction. By focusing on individual and group learning progress, formative evaluations enable adjustments to teaching methods and strategies, thus enhancing the overall educational experience.

In contrast, summarizing overall student performance typically occurs through summative evaluations, which focus on the cumulative assessment of learning outcomes after a certain period. Assigning grades at the end of a term is also characteristic of summative assessments, which do not provide the ongoing insights that formative evaluations do. Evaluating the effectiveness of the curriculum may involve various assessment types; however, formative evaluations are specifically insightful for real-time feedback and improvement in instructional practices.