Summative Classroom Assessment

Summative assessments are designed to measure student understanding following a sustained

period of instruction with the focus on identifying the level of student mastery and the
effectiveness of instruction. As such, summative assessments are outcome measures that
emphasize student achievement rather than aptitude or effort.

Summative Assessments Provide:

 Information concerning a student's mastery of specific course material

 A basis for comparing student achievement to reference groups and/or external
performance criteria
 A means of determining the effectiveness of instructional activities
 Objective information for assigning course grades
 Comparative data to determine student placement
 A means of holding teachers and schools accountable for student learning
 Content-specific information to inform parents and future teachers
 Diagnostic information about strengths and weaknesses in student performance
 Data to determine achievement of departmental or curriculum performance standards

Advantages
 Necessary for determining
students' grades and placement
 Promotes teacher and school
accountability
 Provides a means of evaluating
instructional activities
 Encourages students' active
engagement with course material
Disadvantages
 Tendency for over-reliance on
summative measures
 May promote cheating due to high
stakes nature of assessment
 Has been criticized for promoting
"teaching to the test"
 Does not provide information for
correcting errors

Test writing process:

1. planning the test – content blueprint (learning outcomes, weight) and length (types and number of
items)
2. Writing test items – simple and direct wording, avoid jargon, avoid trivia items, match items to
learning outcomes, each tem has an agreed upon correct answer, write more questions than you
will need)
3. Selecting test items – outcome weight, questions by type, questions for each type of outcome
4. Formatting the test – group items by type, sort items by increasing difficulty, add instructions,
review layout and pagination, write answer key
5. Assessing the test
6. Revising the test
7. Using the test
8. After the test – item analysis, areas for review, test revisions
Formative Assessment in the Classroom

Formative assessments are ongoing, repetitive measures designed to provide information to both
the instructor and students concerning students' understanding of small segments of course
material. As an integrated approach to assessment and instruction, formative assessments
emphasize mastery of course material as opposed to evaluation of performance or assignment of
grades.

Formative Assessments Provide:

 Insight on students' strengths and conceptual errors in relation to specific course concepts
 Guidance to improve student understanding
 A means of monitoring progress in learning
 Diagnostic information concerning students' errors in understanding
 A non-threatening environment to identify and correct problems in learning and
instruction
 Feedback to the instructor concerning the effectiveness of instructional activities

Advantages Disadvantages
Allows for the identification of conceptual
errors May be difficult to motivate students'
performance on low stake assignment

Promotes active reflection on the effectiveness Time consuming for instructor to provide
of instruction effective feedback

Encourages feedback that enhances learning Intensive dedication required to continue

ongoing assessment

Low stake nature prevents motivation for May not be practical for large enrollment
student cheating classes