Formative vs. Summative Assessments

Formative vs. Summative Assessments

Formative Assessment

Formative assessment includes a variety of procedures such as observation, feedback, and journaling.  When incorporated into classroom practice, it provides the information needed to adjust teaching and learning while they are happening. In this sense, formative assessment informs both teachers and students about student understanding at a point when timely adjustments can be made. These adjustments help to ensure students achieve targeted standards-based learning goals within a set time frame. Although formative assessment strategies appear in a variety of formats, there are some distinct ways to distinguish them from summative assessments. One way to think of formative assessments is that it is “practice”.

Examples of Formative assessments:

·         Feedback from the teacher

·         Curriculum-based measurement (CBM)

·         Self-assessment

·         Observation

The benefits of formative assessment would be able to use on a daily bases and can be changed on a last minute note. This is a very flexible way of assessing the students.

Summative Assessment

Summative assessments are given periodically to determine at a particular point in time what students know and do not know. Many associate summative assessments only with standardized tests such as state assessments, but they are also used at and are an important part of district and classroom programs. Summative assessment at the district/classroom level is an accountability measure that is generally used as part of the grading process.

The list is long, but here are some examples of summative assessments:

·         State assessments

·         District benchmark or interim assessments

·         End-of-unit or chapter tests

·         End-of-term or semester exams

·         Scores that are used for accountability for schools (AYP) and students (report card grades)

The benefits of summative assessments overall learning as well as an indication of the quality of classroom instruction, especially when they are accompanied by other sources of information and are used to inform practice rather than to reward or sanction.

Assessment Example:

Arizona’s Common Core Standards

1.MD

Measure lengths indirectly and by iterating units.

Tell and write time.

Summative Assessment

Formative Assessment

The teacher will have clocks put up on the board and the students will come up and write the time or tell what time is on the clocks. The teacher will check this will a check sheet.