Monday 28 November 2011

Formative and Summative Assessments



A wide range of options are available for classroom assessments during administration of standardized tests to students. The two main categories that they can be divided into are summative assessments and formative assessments. Sample assessments can be obtained by browsing through the Internet.
Formative assessments consist of continuous assessments and observation in the class as well as reviews. This assessment along with student feedback is useful to teachers for they help in improving teaching methods during the teaching as well as learning process. Basically, this means that in the event of some students being unable to grasp the subject taught, the teacher can work out a method to enable these students to be able to grasp what is being taught. Similarly, it helps student monitor the progress they make through performance tasks and periodical quizzes.

Summative assessments, on the other hand, are used to assess how effective the instructional programs have been. It is normally conducted at the completion of an academic session. The aim of summative assessment is to judge the level of competency of a student after completion of a phase of instruction. The use of summative assessment lies in the fact that it enables the teachers to know whether the student has been able to master specific competencies and then determine the areas that may require more attention.

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