The Difference Between Formative and Summative Assessment

Whenever the word test or assessment is mentioned to a group of students stress and anxiety happen automatically. After reading the articles on formative and summative assessments I was able to distinguish the purpose behind them. Formative assessment is an on-going review on how your students are performing in class. It is teacher driven and it is done through observations, questioning, assignment review and reflection of student’s behavior and work. Through this assessment the teacher should be able pace and refine their instructional practices in order to help their students. Formative assessments should tell a teacher which students are struggling and need small group instruction and it should also tell them which students will benefit from an extension lesson that is more challenging. Formative assessment is the key to differentiating instruction for students. Formative assessment gives you an accurate view of how your students are performing on any given day. I believe formative assessment is a powerful tool and is the key to summative success. Summative assessment is the test that is given at the end of a unit. It tests what the students have learned in a particular concept, unit or lesson. If teachers consistently practice formative assessment, students should benefit from this and in turn perform well on their summative assessment. The two truly go hand in hand and a student’s overall grade should be a reflection of both types of assessment.