Formative Assessment

What is formative assessment?

Summative assessment is:

• used for judgement
• assessment of learning

Formative assessment is:

• used for improvement
• assessment for learning

There are many definitions of formative assessment in the literature; for convenience and brevity, we will use this one: 

The key point is the importance of feedback in forming the students' learning.

Feedback is most effective when it is detailed and happens as soon as possible after the event. Talking to students, individually or in small groups, about their work is very effective.

'Work' does not necessarily mean a written assignment which is handed in and marked and graded (this is generally regarded as summative assessment). It can be, for example, discussions in a tutorial or seminar, or immediate discussion of and feedback on a group task in a lecture or other learning session.

What formative assessment is not:

• Separate from learning and teaching
• Extra work for lecturers (or it shouldn't be)
• Graded
• 'Staged' assessment (although reading and discussing drafts can be formative)
• 'High stakes'

Formative assessment or formative 'activities'?

Properly understood and used, formative assessment is an integral part of teaching and learning. In many cases, formative assessment is indistinguishable from teaching and learning. We could argue that all elements of a programme of study should be formative, not just the assessment, otherwise it's probably not worth doing.

It is probably more appropriate to talk of formative 'activities', rather than formative assessment. For example, a tutorial is one of the best examples of a formative activity.

Helpful information

You can view the above webpage, with extra details in this Word document.