Summative v Formative Assessment
Summative Assessment
- makes judgments about how well pupils have learned what they should have been taught
- judgements made by examiners ( which may be teachers )
- function is to maintain standards and report results
- usually no feedback to teachers or students
- performance is the object
- treats abilities as though they were finite and absolute: it tries to hold them still
Formative Assessment
- main function is not to report results but to improve the processes and outcomes of learning
- seeks and interprets evidence for use by learners and their teachers to decide where the learners are in their learning, where they need to go, and how best to get there
- feedback is part of the process
- accepts that abilities can develop and change: it expects them to change