Formative vs. Summative

"The problem with making an extrinsic reward the only destination that matters

is that some people will choose the quickest route there,

even if it means taking the low road." Daniel Pink, Drive

Formative assessments are pieces in the classroom that “form” or build your knowledge. Some of the pieces include frequent ongoing practice, assignments, and assessments that are considered “check points” for student progress and the foundation for feedback. These pieces let teachers know whether students are ready for the summative assessment, need more practice, or need to be re-taught.

Because formative assessment is about practice, it does not play a huge part in your grade. HOWEVER, it does play a huge part in the learning. Examples of formative assessments may include daily practice, homework, work in class, quizzes, class discussions, projects, self evaluations, etc.

Importance of Homework - In order for students to excel on the summative assessments, it is critical they complete the formative assessments such as homework. Beatrice Public Schools believes homework is a strong component to learning and is absolutely vital to success.

Homework has three key purposes: to provide opportunities to practice skills, to prepare students for new topics, and to expand on introduced material. First, it provides extra practice. In order to perform at a high level with a skill, students must reach a level where it becomes automatic. Students must complete the material with speed and mastery in their practice to reach the goals on the summative assessment. Second, it prepares students for new topics. This asks students to use their prior knowledge to begin to help them to understand the new topic. Students need to reflect on prior learning to move forward with the new learning. Third, it helps students to elaborate on new material. In order to understand the new material, students need to extend and enrich their learning of the concepts. Homework allows students to really build their understanding of a particular concept.

Homework is only one formative assessment piece; however, it is a crucial piece to student development. Homework provides students with the opportunities to really practice and reflect on their learning.

Summative assessments are completed after the learning experiences which include several formative assessments. Summative assessments “sum up” the learning. They usually require students to demonstrate mastery of all the essential learnings (content, concept, skills).

Examples of summative assessments may include: projects, presentations, unit tests, essays, performances, etc.