Assessment

3. Diagnostic Assessment

Diagnostic assessment is conducted to determine the quality and level of students’ knowledge and skills prior to the start of the teaching and learning process. Teachers adapt and plan teaching and learning activities based on the results of diagnostic assessment. It serves as a basis for designing an individualised approach aimed at determining appropriate forms of student support.

For example, at the beginning of a course, a teacher may assign a short online test to assess students’ basic knowledge of programming in Python. The results help determine whether it is necessary to revise fundamental concepts or proceed directly to more complex tasks. In a foreign language for specific purposes course, students may write a short essay or translate a professional text to allow the teacher to assess language competence and organise work in smaller groups according to needs. In a statistics course, diagnostic assessment may include solving several basic mathematical tasks to determine whether algebraic foundations need to be revised before introducing statistical concepts.