Activity: Descriptive or Evaluative Feedback?

Taken from
http://www.plpsd.mb.ca/Assessment/Descriptive%20or%20Evaluative%20Feedback%20Activity.pdf

Directions
• Read the descriptive feedback and evaluative feedback definitions below.
• Read each statement on the chart below.
• Identify each statement as descriptive feedback or evaluative feedback.

Descriptive Feedback is specific information in the form of written comments or

conversations that help the learner understand what he or she needs to do in order
to improve.

Evaluative Feedback is a summary for the learner of how well he or she has
performed on a particular task. This feedback is often in the form of letter grades,
numbers, check marks, symbols and/or general comments such as “good,”
“excellent,” or “needs help.”

Feedback Evaluative or
Descriptive?

1 Try harder next time.

2 You maintained eye contact throughout your entire Speech;

now you might work on your enunciation.

3 You solved the equation; however, you need to include a

written or visual explanation.

4 You made some simple mistakes on your timeline. Make

sure that your time intervals are all the same length.

5 Your writing has definitely improved.

6 You made some errors on your graph. Go back and check

the names of your title, x-axis, and y-axis.

7 89%! B+! Good work! I am proud of you. You should be

thrilled with your progress.

8 You are so close to proficiency. With a little more work, you

should be at a level 3.

On the next page, I have included my ‘answers’. I do not claim that they are
definitive!
 Feedback Evaluative or Descriptive?

1 Try harder next time. Evaluative and judgemental!

2 You maintained eye contact Descriptive, though the student might

throughout your entire Speech; need to ask what is wrong with their
now you might work on your enunciation.
enunciation.

3 You solved the equation; however, Descriptive.

you need to include a written or
visual explanation.

4 You made some simple mistakes Descriptive.

on your timeline. Make sure that
your time intervals are all the same
length.

5 Your writing has definitely Evaluative.

improved.

6 This sits half way between evaluative

You made some errors on your
and descriptive. Going back might help
graph. Go back and check the
the student to work out where they went
names of your title, x-axis, and y-
wrong and avoid the same mistakes in
axis.
the future.

7 89%! B+! Good work! I am proud of Descriptive. Why did the student do so
you. You should be thrilled with well and how can they repeat it? How
your progress. can they get the final 11%?

8 This sits on the borderline between

You are so close to proficiency.
With a little more work, you should
be at a level 3.
evaluative and descriptive. The second
sentence is implicitly judgemental. The
teacher does not know how much work
the student put in. They may have
already tried their very best and such a
comment would be demoralising.