Which type of assessment would best capture student learning progress during a unit?

The best choice for capturing student learning progress during a unit is formative assessment. This type of assessment is designed specifically to monitor student learning and provide ongoing feedback that can be used by instructors to improve their teaching and by students to enhance their learning.

Formative assessments occur throughout the educational process, allowing teachers to identify areas where students are struggling and adjust instruction accordingly. These assessments can take various forms, such as quizzes, discussions, observations, or projects, and are focused on the learning process rather than the final outcome.

In contrast, standardized testing typically evaluates student performance against a uniform set of criteria, making it less effective for tracking individual progress within a specific unit. Summative assessment occurs at the end of an instructional period and measures what students have learned, rather than ongoing progress. Criterion-referenced assessment measures student performance against a fixed set of criteria or learning standards, rather than tracking improvements over time in a more dynamic learning context. Thus, formative assessment is uniquely suited for real-time monitoring of student understanding and guiding instruction.