What are Formative and Summative Assessments?
Assessments are activities that students complete, so that teachers can try to determine where each student is in the learning process. In my classes, I evaluate student understanding using two types of assessments: formative and summative.
Formative Assessments
Formative assessments take place during the learning process when students are taking in new information or working on developing their skills. They are assessment for learning, which means they help both me and my students understand what they know, what they can do and what they need to keep working on. Generally, these types of assessments:
Examples of Formative Assessments: in-class activities, exit slips, drafts
- Take place frequently
- Give students opportunities to practice skills that they need to develop be be successful on summative assessment
- Evaluate students' understanding of specific material and/or their ability to demonstrate a specific skill
- Help me see which students understand the material and which students need more help or practice
- Offer students specific feedback, so they can grow and improve
Examples of Formative Assessments: in-class activities, exit slips, drafts
Summative Assessments
Summative assessments take place at the end of a period of learning. They are usually connected to a deadline, like the end of a unit or semester. They are assessment of learning, which means they help both me and my students understand what skills and understanding they have been able to develop within a given time period. Generally, these types of assessments:
Examples of Summative Assessments: projects, tests
- Take place less frequently
- Evaluate students' ability to make connections between different topics and themes and/or their ability to demonstrate multiple skills
- Help me to determine which students are ready to move on to the next level, which students need extra support and which students may need to opportunities to re-do some of the learning
- Offer students generalized feedback on their strengths and on their areas for improvement, so they can set goals for the future
Examples of Summative Assessments: projects, tests
Calculating Overall Proficiency and/or Letter Grades:
Generally, formative assessments will not be used to calculate students' overall proficiency levels or course grades. Formative assessments take place during the learning process and do not usually reflect students best understandings or work. They are opportunities to practice, make mistakes, learn and improve. It is not fair for them to have a significant impact on a student's final grade. Formative assessments will only be used to help calculate a student's overall mark when summative assessment evidence is missing perhaps due to illness or other extenuating circumstance.
By the time students are completing summative assessments, they will have had a lot of exposure to the content, a lot of practice with the skills, and a lot of feedback on how to improve; this should allow them to do their best work. For this reason, overall proficiency levels and grades are primarily determined using summative evidence.
By the time students are completing summative assessments, they will have had a lot of exposure to the content, a lot of practice with the skills, and a lot of feedback on how to improve; this should allow them to do their best work. For this reason, overall proficiency levels and grades are primarily determined using summative evidence.
