What is the point of an formative assessment?

When I was in high school, I remember always dreading any kind of test. I had fears I was going to fail it. I also was afraid of forgetting the information. I always saw tests as a grade that gets put into the grade book. As I got older, I understood the point of a formative assessment. In the video Formative assessments: Using Feedback to Guide Instruction, Randy Clyde describes formative assessment as a test that helps the teacher to change their lesson. It is a way to show the teacher what their student does know and what the students do need to work on. Clyde's first step is having his students take a pre-assessment. He uses this information to help plan for his lessons. He then sees if the students do know how to look at a graph. Clyde then gives his students an assessment to see if they are able to construct their own graph. After seeing these results, he plans for the lab. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ecp5tFwXA_M

Tech Tips for Teachers: Formative Assessment apps talks about apps you can use for assessment. Emily believes in technology because she is able to communicate with her co-workers about what she is doing in the classroom and how her students are doing. She then talks about formative assessment being important because it helps her plan her lessons and sees if her students are understanding. The most important point for an app for a teacher is it needs to be manageable and be able to put in, have a great reporting system, and also creates discussion. The apps that are discussed are Socrative, Exit Ticket, and Verso. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cf6e9TkN3e8

Edpuzzle is also very good. You can create videos and see how your student is doing. You can see who has watched the video, their progress, and assign videos.
Edpuzzle link:  https://support.edpuzzle.com/hc/en-us/categories/360000701132-For-Teachers