Formative evaluation main purpose – UGC NET Question

Formative evaluation is conducted during the teaching–learning process to gather information about students’ progress. Its main goal is to provide feedback to both learners and teachers so that strengths can be built upon and weaknesses addressed promptly. This feedback enables teachers to modify instruction and students to adjust their study strategies before final grading. Therefore, the immediate purpose mentioned in the stem is best described as feedback.

Option A:
Certification is typically associated with summative evaluation at the end of a course, where final grades or qualifications are awarded. It does not directly support improvement while learning is still taking place. Since the stem focuses on ongoing learning, certification cannot be the correct answer.

Option B:
Ranking involves ordering students according to performance, often in norm-referenced assessments. While ranks may satisfy administrative requirements, they rarely provide detailed guidance on how to improve. Hence, ranking is not the central purpose of formative evaluation as described here.

Option C:
Feedback in formative evaluation highlights what learners are doing well and where they need more practice or different strategies. It also informs teachers about which concepts require reteaching or alternative explanation. Because the stem explicitly mentions improvement of ongoing learning, feedback is the accurate term.

Option D:
Strict punishment may sometimes accompany poor performance, but it does not describe the core aim of formative evaluation and can even discourage learners. Formative assessment seeks to support and improve learning rather than penalise it. Therefore, punishment is not an appropriate completion.