Ideally, assessment is ongoing and occurs during the learning process so that it is unnecessary to wait until a student has failed to treat a problem. (dreambox.com)
Through formal and informal procedures, formative assessments can provide teachers with information during the learning process in order to modify teaching and learning activities to improve student attainment. (soundout.org)
In short, formative assessment examines the construction of knowledge and understanding during the learning process; think of it as present tense. (elearningindustry.com)