Summative Assessment

What is Summative Assessment?

Summative assessment involves collecting evidence of student understanding in relation to curricular outcomes and assigning a grade to work. Often, teachers use tests, assignments, projects, presentations, and/or performance tasks as part of their summative assessment. For each piece of evidence, teachers use their professional judgement and established criteria to assign a numeric or letter grade to students' work. Summative assessment is assessment of learning and therefore, grades are assigned after students have learned the content and/or skills. During the learning process, teachers often use formative assessment (non-graded work) to move teaching and learning forward. Progress reports provide a snapshot of summative assessments, outlining where students are at, at a particular point in time.

District Priority - Student Success

One of the district priorities is Student Success. Summative assessment contributes to student-centred learning and assessment.

Triangulating Assessments

Triangulating assessment is a model for collecting evidence from multiple sources, which typically fall under three categories: products, conversations, and observations. This collection of evidence happens over time and involves a comparison of the three sources. Teachers can collect evidence in many different ways, using many different methods.

Balancing Assessments

There are many types of valid assessments that teachers use in the classroom. It is important to know that while tests and quizzes are important assessment tools, depending on the content or skills to be assessed, alternative assessment tools may be more appropriate. Balancing assessment means teachers use multiple methods of assessment to evaluate students’ understanding over time. The number and type of assessments does not need to be the same for every student.

Assessments must be Aligned to Outcomes

Whether teachers collect formative (non-graded work) or summative (graded work), these assessments must be linked to curricular outcomes. Participation and effort, not directly linked to a specific outcome, should not be graded and used as part of summative assessment. In grades K-9, teachers evaluate student behaviour using a Work Habits rubric. To learn more about Work Habits, please view the "Parent and Guardian Support Documents" for progress reports, found on the CCSD website.

Click to Learn about: Informed Zeros, Homework, and Group Work

Informed Zeros

An informed zero means a grade of zero is accompanied by a comment informing parents/guardians about the incomplete assessment, why a zero was assigned and how the student can rectify the grade. Comments may include information about supports the teacher may have already provided to the student, such as, an extension on the deadline or an alternative assignment. If a zero is entered into the gradebook, it is entered only as a last resort.
If a student receives a zero; students, teachers and parents should work collaboratively to determine how the missing or incomplete assessment(s) can be addressed.
Students, parents/guardians, and the teacher should work together to create a plan of action. This often means the student will need to complete the missed work or an alternative assignment to recover the grade.
Mathematically, it can be very difficult for a student to recover from a zero, therefore it is important that the student works with the teacher to learn how to make-up the grade.

Homework

Typically homework is for students to practice at home, the content they learned at school. The following are the recommended amounts of time each grade level should spend on homework:

Kindergarten to Grade 3 - Occasional 5-10 minutes of homework per week.
Grades 4 to 6 - Maximum of 30 minutes of homework per school night.

Grades 7 to 9 - Maximum of 60 minutes of homework per school night.

Grades 10 to 12 - Maximum of 120 minutes of homework per school night.

If your child is spending significantly more time on homework than the recommendations listed above, it is important that you inform the teacher so that a plan can be created to support the student.

Group Work

Group work is an important part of learning how to work and communicate with other people, learn leadership skills, and for students to learn from one another.

Due to the nature of group work, student grades for group work should be independent of each other and assessed based on established criteria. If you are concerned about the amount of time your child is spending on group work, discuss your concerns with the teacher to determine supports available for the student.

What is the Parent/Guardian's Role in Summative Assessment?

Support your child in understanding their grade and where they may need extra support or help.
Encourage your child to seek extra support from the teacher when needed. Many teachers offer tutorials or support sessions outside of regular classes.
Use teacher feedback to help your child strengthen the areas they may be still developing.
Work with the teacher/school to support your child. Reach out to the teacher if you have questions about their learning.
Remember, learning is a journey and many students need to continue to develop their knowledge and understanding over time. Parents/guardians should encourage a growth mindset.

Questions to ask your Child's Teacher

What additional supports are available to support student success?
Is there is a possibility for reassessment?

Page updated

Report abuse