Formal assessments are those tests that are given to students and the results of which are weighed against a collection of data, or a control group of test scores. Standardized tests, or any type of test that is scored against a sample is considered to be a formal assessment. These types of tests offer information that tells educators where students stand in regard to averages. For example, a formal math test can tell if a student is above, at or below her grade level in math.
Observations are an informal type of assessment that relies on assessing a student's skills and knowledge based on observing him during normal, everyday classroom routines. For example, a teacher may determine a student's ability to sort based on observing him sort a different types of items based on their attributes. During this type of assessment, a teacher may take notes to document what she observes and compare them to previous notes to determine the progress the student is making.
A portfolio consists of collections of students work over a period of time, typically a marking period or the entire school year. This type of long-term assessment allows the teacher to determine the progress students have made over the course of a period of time. For example, students' writing may be collected, and the writing from the beginning of the year to the end of the year may be compared to determine the progress they have made in this area over a period of time.
As the name suggests, performance assessments refer to asking elementary student to perform a specific task, and their progress is assessed based on the performance. With this type of assessment, students may be asked to make a presentation or write a report based on a particular topic. The teacher analyzes the information presented in the presentations or reports and makes an assessment of students' knowledge based on such information. For example, students may be asked to write reports about explorers for a Social Studies assessment, and they may be asked to make a presentation with visual aids for a Language Arts assessment.