What does informal assessment aim to achieve?

Informal assessment is designed to provide educators with a deeper understanding of students' individual needs, strengths, weaknesses, and learning styles. It is often characterized by its flexible nature, allowing teachers to gather information through various means such as observations, discussions, and unstructured assessments. This approach enables teachers to tailor their instruction to suit the unique requirements of each student, helping to foster a supportive learning environment.

While standardized comparisons and numeric scores are valuable in certain contexts, they do not capture the nuanced understanding of a student's learning journey that informal assessments provide. Additionally, formal documentation of progress typically stems from more structured assessment methods rather than the informal techniques that prioritize understanding over mere measurement. Thus, the goal of informal assessment is fundamentally about gaining insight into how to best support and promote student learning.