Not all tests are created equal. Teachers must know when to use which assessment type. This guide explains the key differences in formative vs summative assessments and helps educators decide when each type should be used for the best learning outcomes.
Assessments are a source of collecting data and tracking where your students stand academically by leveraging various testing strategies. Both formative and summative assessments are integral to education. However, both testing methods have different goals and outcomes. In this debate for formative vs summative assessments, let’s discuss formative assessments first below:
What are Formative Assessments?
Formative assessments are the kind of tests that a tutor takes regularly to evaluate the learners. These include basic question types to help enhance the chapter-wise learning of the whole class. The tutors conduct formative assessments at the end of every lecture or on a fortnightly basis, whatever suits them best.
While creating formative assessments, a tutor doesn’t have to follow strict examination protocols. Instead, these tests can also be conducted in the shape of task-based activities.
Let’s now explore the pros and cons of formative assessments below:
Pros of Formative Assessments
Immediate Feedback
The tutors receive real-time performance of students in front of them, unlike in the case of summative assessments. Since this testing method doesn’t include strict grading or any scoring criteria, the teachers can simply go through each assessment quickly and let every student know where they stand.
Assist in Skill Development
Educators aim to enhance the skill development of young learners by conducting regular formative assessments. At times, these formative quizzes are activity-based and aid learners in improving their decision-making. A tutor can also figure out the individual challenges that their student might be facing.
Personalized Learning
As a tutor, you come to know the problem each student is facing with the help of interactive formative assessments. This understanding helps in targeting their needs and plan personalized strategies to help them overcome any individual challenge. It’s one of the core points of differentiation in formative vs summative assessments.
Cons of Formative Assessments
Time-Consuming
Conducting frequent quizzes can be frustrating. Activity-based or not, it still takes time to plan and then implement an assessment that brings favorable outcomes. Doing so can distract the tutor from focusing on what truly matters, delivering an informative instruction that is more important for student growth.
Limited to Expertise
Planning formative assessments the right way requires experience and additional qualifications. Professionally trained tutors can easily analyze and evaluate student performance through formative assessments. While it can be challenging for other tutors to fulfill the criterion of working with formative assessments.
Assessment Attitudes
Students do not take formative assessments seriously due to their activity-based nature. Even if such tests consist of grading points, the students still do not actively participate in them. A tutor has to consider student preferences before conducting formative assessments to get better learning outcomes.
Types of Formative Assessments
To dive deeper into the debate of formative vs summative assessments, we have listed formative assessment examples, and here they are:
- Activity-based, in-class activities.
- Interactive home exercises.
- Formal or informal question types, whether orally or verbally.
- Conferences between the instructors and students.
What are Summative Assessments?
Summative assessments represent the summary of the session, as these are conducted at the end of the term or semester. The sole purpose of a summative assessment is to critically evaluate students and identify whether they have done enough to move to the next grade.
Strict examination protocols should be followed before creating summative assessments. This is how people begin the formative vs summative assessment debates.
Let’s learn about the pros and cons of summative assessments below:
Pros of Summative Assessments
Measures Overall Learning
A teacher can easily carry out the final evaluation of their students at the end of an academic year with the help of summative assessments. Summative assessments give you the visibility to foresee who’s capable of doing what in the future.
Standardized Comparison
Through summative assessments, a tutor can differentiate between two or more students by comparing their overall performance for the session. Educators can encourage fair comparisons through summative assessments, which also helps in clearly identifying the high achievers and those who require additional help to advance further.
Cons of Summative Assessments
Limited Feedback
In the case of summative assessments, students receive feedback at the end of session quizzes. There is no time for them to work on the highlighted weaknesses. Therefore, a lack of immediate feedback can disturb the learning progress of students and limit their ability to make necessary adjustments.
Stressful Testing
Summative assessments are the conclusive examinations in a student’s academic journey. The grades achieved from such assessments can lead to capturing future opportunities. Therefore, the pressure to perform well in summative exams increases the stress levels among the students, leading to further complications.
Types of Summative Assessments
To further discuss formative vs summative assessments, let’s learn about the examples of summative assessments. Here they are:
- Examinations (high-stakes)
- Mid or final-term exams
- Term papers
- Student evaluation of the course
Which Assessment Type to Prefer and When?
Choosing the right assessment type as per the needs requires you to view your goals. If you aim to enhance the learning of students through various practical-like assessments, then formative assessments are the way to go.
However, if you’re looking to analyze the overall performance of each student and rank them in accordance with the session-wide performance, then summative assessments are the best fit for your needs. Keeping this valuable information in mind will assist you in understanding the formative vs summative assessments debate.
Final Thoughts
Formative vs summative assessments is a never-ending debate, which keeps the tutors interested. Selecting either of the two requires any teacher to have their assessment goals sorted.
