Classroom tests - how parents can utilize them to help their students

After graded homework, classroom tests offer the next best piece of information for a parent to use to assess how well their child is doing in a particular classroom, with particular content, and with a particular teacher.

We have all had personal experience with this type of test.  They are either developed by the classroom teacher or the publisher/author of the particular curriculum/textbook being used, and administered throughout the year.  They are composed of a variety of types of questions: multiple choice, fill-in-the-blank, true-false, matching, definitions, and the dreaded - essay question.  Their purpose is to assess understanding and mastery of content in a particular subject content as of a particular point in time.  Tests may be chapter specific, or  cumulative for the mid-term or semester.  When used in a conventional school setting, the test scores serve as a basis for computing a class grade for each student.