Summative and Formative Assessments

Formative and summative assessments are just that, assessments to assess knowledge gained by students. Summative assessments are the less used of the two kinds. It is to test knowledge in a broad sense; how a student did on a unit, chapter, or the whole year in a subject area. It is not a good assessment for daily use. Formative assessments are good for daily use if necessary. They can help a teacher know if it is time to move on or reteach. Formative is a brief assessment while summative is a long test.

 Educators can use either one of these to reflect teaching strategies. Formative assessments are good for giving at the end of a lesson to make sure that all students have grasped the intended idea or at the end of the week to help plan for the following week. Summative assessments are good for assessing overall learning.