Assessments

The Great Valley School District uses various means of assessment that gather data and evidence of students' learning. There are three types of assessments used in Great Valley:

Diagnostic assessments: These help us identify your child’s current knowledge, any possible misconceptions about an area or topic before instruction occurs, or their skills and capabilities. Diagnostic assessments help Great Valley educators know your child’s strengths and areas for growth to help plan instruction.  

Formative assessments: The primary focus of formative assessment is to identify areas that may need improvement. These assessments typically are not graded and act as a gauge of students’ learning progress and to determine teaching effectiveness. 

Summative assessments: Summative assessment is more product-oriented and assesses the final product, whereas formative assessment focuses on the process toward completing the product.

Within Great Valley School District, our educators use a balanced approach to assessments to measure student learning.