9 types of assessment and when to use them

You probably hear “assessments” and think back to tests in the classroom. And while assessments are an important part of education, they're also relevant in the workplace. In fact, assessments are critical to understanding employees’ mastery of knowledge and skills, as well as their overall progress against your learning and development (L&D) strategy. These types of assessments also let you check on employee performance and ensure it aligns with organizational goals, a major part of continuous improvement initiatives. 

This article explores the three most common types of assessment — diagnostic, formative, and summative — as well as several other types that apply to corporate environments. We’ll explain each assessment and how to use them, then share advice on developing your own. 

1: Diagnostic assessment 

Diagnostic assessments aim to identify gaps in knowledge before a student begins a learning program. They let educators evaluate learners’ existing knowledge, understanding, and skill set prior to beginning instruction without counting toward a grade or score. 

There are plenty of benefits to using a diagnostic assessment. One is that it allows teachers to identify which students may already be proficient and ready for advanced material. On the flip side, it can help teachers determine where other students may be struggling or need additional support. Ultimately, teachers can use these assessments to decide how to personalize and guide instruction. 

Typically, diagnostic assessments take place at the beginning of a course or lesson and can take various forms. Here are a few examples:

• An oral assessment, such as an interview conducted at the start of a training program
• A skills assessment survey
• A multiple-choice test or quiz

2: Formative assessment 

You’ll use a formative assessment during the education process to assess ongoing progress and offer feedback for improvement. They provide an opportunity to course-correct in real time; for instance, if it becomes apparent that a student is struggling with a particular concept, the educator can update their teaching methods as needed. 

Formative assessments are part of a continuous development process, so they’re often low-stakes (as opposed to having a major impact on a student's final grade or course completion). Instead, they give everyone a glimpse into areas that need more support or attention. They should also be ongoing, rather than a one-time assessment. 

Here are a few types of formative assessments:

• Interim assessments, which are small tests conducted at specific training stages to gauge progress
• Gamified quizzes and interactive challenges, often made more fun with points and badges
• Observations of student work 
• Classroom or group discussions 

Formative assessment with open questions

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3: Summative assessment 

Educators use summative assessments at the end of a training or learning module to assess the learner’s mastery and the program's overall success in meeting learning outcomes. More structured and formal than diagnostic or formative assessments, summative assessments usually involve a grade and hold significant weight in the student’s final certification or achievement.

In other words, a summative assessment is what most people consider classroom or educational assessments: a final exam or a test you must pass to gain a certificate or complete a course. Here are a few types of summative assessment:

• Benchmark assessments, which compare learners’ performance against a specific standard
• Oral exams or presentations 
• Final projects or essays 

4: Performance and skill-based assessment 

Educators use performance and skill-based assessments to evaluate learners’ applications of skills, particularly in real-life scenarios. These assessments offer insight into how well employees or students can apply their knowledge outside of theory or academics. 

For instance, instructors at a coding bootcamp might want to see how a student can create code to develop a product, rather than just understanding coding language syntax. Educators often use a specific rubric to assess performance, allowing them to give individualized feedback to students. Examples include:

• Scenario-based assessments, such as a simulated customer service call
• Role-playing exercises
• Practical presentations or demonstrations, such as showing the effective use of a particular tool or software
• Creation of a portfolio

5: Ipsative assessment 

Ipsative assessments measure progress by comparing a learner's current performance against their previous performance. In a sense, an ipsative assessment is a form of benchmarking a learner against themselves instead of a specific standard or other students. 

These assessments encourage continuous improvement and self-reflection among learners, allowing them to see their progress and consider future growth opportunities. The benefit of this is that it’s very personalized and tailored to each individual’s knowledge. Plus, it taps into intrinsic motivation. 

Examples of ipsative assessments include:

• Self-assessments
• Reflection journaling
• Progress tracking logs 

6: Norm-referenced assessment 

Norm-referenced assessments compare a student’s performance to the performance of others (the “norm group”), often ranking students. This type of assessment helps identify top performers or understand how learners compare against a larger group, whether national, regional, or a specific population. 

Rather than assess students solely against a specific standard, these assessments measure them against a group of other learners. Often, norm-referenced assessments show scores as a percentile, indicating the percentage of norm group students who scored below the assessed student. For instance, if a student scores in the 90th percentile, they scored higher than 90% of students in the norm group. 

Example formats include:

• Standardized testing
• SAT or ACT tests
• Competitive assessments

7: Criterion-referenced assessment 

A criterion-referenced assessment measures a student’s performance against specific standards or criteria, rather than against other learners. The purpose is to understand whether a learner has specific skills or knowledge, which offers insight into instructional effectiveness and learning progress. 

Unlike norm-referenced assessments, criterion-referenced assessments don’t rank students against each other. Instead, they allow you to compare students' mastery to a rubric or performance standards.

Examples include: 

• State-level standardized tests that assess how well students meet state educational standards
• Professional license or certification exams

8: Self-assessment

Self-assessments give learners the chance to reflect on their own strengths, weaknesses, and overall performance. Students can conduct a self-assessment for a particular topic or module or to analyze overall learning and development. 

By letting students assess their mastery and knowledge, you foster better self-awareness and empower learners to own their educational journey. Plus, there is no external ranking against other students or specific standards, making it feel less high-stakes. 

A few examples of self-assessments include:

• Self-rating questionnaires or surveys
• Reflective journals or essays
• Skill- or behavior-based self-assessments

9: Peer assessment

A peer assessment lets students evaluate each other’s work against specified criteria, whether for a formal grade or as part of ongoing learning activities that help students improve over time. 

Peer assessments typically follow a set structure that includes defined assessment criteria and work well for individual assignments or group work. When students evaluate each other’s performance, it provides a new perspective and enhances teamwork and collaboration. Plus, it allows students to learn from each other rather than solely from the instructor. 

Here are some examples of peer assessments:

• Group project evaluations
• 360-degree feedback, which gathers input from managers, direct reports, and peers
• Peer-reviewed presentations or essays

How to create effective assessments

To determine whether an assessment is effective, follow these steps:

1. Align your assessment with learning and development goals: Be clear on your desired outcome and make sure your assessment focuses on those objectives.
2. Cater to different learning styles: Use multiple assessment types to make sure you appeal to every learner.
3. Be clear, fair, and unbiased: Learners should easily understand how you’ll measure them, and the assessment should relate to the material and avoid undue bias.
4. Use real-world scenarios where possible: Showing how the material applies to real-life situations enhances relevance and leads to better employee engagement.
5. Provide specific, timely feedback: An assessment will only lead to continuous learning if it has detailed, timely feedback.
6. Be mindful of time and resources: Don’t overload your learners or yourself with unwieldy or overly lengthy assessments.

There are a few frameworks that may help as you consider the effectiveness of your assessments. 

The four C's of assessment

The four C’s of assessment are critical skills you should integrate into your assessments and evaluations. They go beyond technical knowledge or mastery, and are essential skills that help people navigate challenges, brainstorm innovative ideas, and work well together. Assessing them helps your program foster important skills required for high performance. 

Here’s what each C stands for and why it matters:

1. Critical thinking: The ability to understand, evaluate, and analyze information to make decisions or dig deeper. You can evaluate this through problem-solving scenarios, essays, or case studies.
2. Creativity: The ability to come up with new approaches or ideas. Assess this with design thinking challenges, innovation brainstorming exercises, or pitch presentations. 
3. Communication: The ability to express oneself clearly and effectively engage with others. Evaluate this through written documents, presentations, or peer feedback activities.
4. Collaboration: The ability to partner well with others and work toward a common goal. You can assess this through group projects, peer assessments, or role-playing.

The four pillars of assessment

Another way to think about assessments is with the four pillars. These foundational principles ensure assessments are fair, effective, and aligned with organizational goals. By focusing on these four pillars, you can make sure your assessments measure what matters and deliver meaningful insights for learners and leaders.

1. Purpose: Assessments should have a clear objective, whether measuring knowledge retention, evaluating the application of skills, or providing information about future learning. 
2. Validity: Assessments should adequately measure what they set out to measure. If you want to evaluate learners’ problem-solving skills, you may not want to use a multiple-choice test. 
3. Reliability: Assessments should remain consistent over time and between groups. Create standard instructions and rubrics, and be sure all instructors and assessors receive the same training. 
4. Value: Assessments should provide useful insight to learners, the organization, or both. This may be in the form of feedback to the learner or insights to help the organization improve training.

How to choose the right assessment type

With so many types of assessments, it can be tricky to know when to use which one. Start with a well-defined assessment strategy: Identify your learning objectives, understand which skills or behaviors you want to evaluate, then select the type of assessment that best aligns. This helps ensure the assessments are meaningful and tie learning to performance.

Regardless of which assessment type you choose, have a clear, defined rubric. This will help you consistently measure results and give clarity and fairness in the evaluation process. 

You don’t have to stick to the same format, either — you may find that certain types of assessments work better than others, or you see more benefits to using a mix of assessment types. Here are some examples of when you might use different types of assessments:

• If you’re assessing soft skills in leadership training, consider peer- or self-assessments.
• If you’re onboarding a sales team, start with diagnostic assessments to gauge their knowledge, then use scenario-based assessments to evaluate their understanding over time.
• If you’re running an ongoing training program, try formative assessments to check knowledge gains in real time.
• If you’re assessing someone for a promotion or certification, use summative assessments like benchmark tests.

Challenges and solutions with assessments

Assessments offer valuable insight and can create meaningful change, but challenges can pop up. Whether time constraints, learner differences, or unconscious bias, such challenges can impact the assessment’s effectiveness. Luckily, you can mitigate many of these issues with thoughtful planning, clear communication, and inclusive assessment design. 

Below is a table outlining some of the most common assessment challenges, plus practical solutions to help you overcome them.

Importance of assessing learning

Assessments are essential for progress measurement, skill gap identification, and tailoring learning experiences to individual and organizational needs. They can help determine how effective your training programs are, inform employee development plans, and provide useful data to L&D teams and stakeholders to foster continuous improvement. Plus, they help keep learners motivated with achievements and feedback along the way. 

To make an even bigger organizational impact, L&D teams can leverage the 70/20/10 model: 

• 70% of learning comes from on-the-job experience
• 20% comes from interactions with colleagues
• 10% comes from formal training

Using this framework, you can create assessments that reinforce learning in every context, not just formal teaching. For instance, a team meeting can become a learning moment if you embed a peer review activity or a reflective self-assessment. 

Additionally, it helps to understand three key assessment concepts:

• Assessment of learning evaluates what an individual has learned (often a summative assessment)
• Assessment for learning supports ongoing learning opportunities (this may include formative, reflective, or diagnostic assessments)
• Assessment as learning promotes learner-driven growth (such as self- or peer-assessments)

Make assessment more engaging with Mentimeter 

Being thoughtful about how and when you use assessments and incorporating the best assessment tools can make assessments a helpful part of a strong learning and development strategy. Instead of relying on one-size-fits-all methods, find the right types of assessments for your learning objectives, development stages, and job roles. You’ll help learners feel engaged and empowered, and your L&D team will be more impactful than ever.

The right tools can make it even easier. While a standard LMS can track course completion and provide content, it often falls short regarding assessments. That’s where Mentimeter comes in. Mentimeter enables interactive, flexible, inclusive assessments that fit perfectly into any environment. Whether you’re running a team meeting, facilitating a workshop, or onboarding new hires, you can transform assessments from passive evaluations into interactive, engaging learning experiences.