Public school systems administer two basic types of assessments to students: formative assessments, designed to guide classroom instruction and monitor student learning, and the better-known summative assessments, which measure academic achievement levels.

Function

Formative assessments help educators monitor student learning and identify gaps. They also help ensure teachers follow their schools' curriculum. Summative assessments, by contrast, summarize student academic performance.

Types

Summative assessments include standardized achievement tests used by many states. Examples of formative assessments include informal ones, such as teachers asking questions in class, and formal ones, such as benchmark and diagnostic tests.

Benefits

Based on formative assessments, educators can guide instruction and identify students who need academic interventions. States use summative assessment results as measures of school accountability.

Time Frame

Educators give formative assessments on an ongoing basis, while summative tests are given at set times, such as late in an academic year or at the end of a course.

Misconceptions

Formative assessments should not be used as measures of student achievement, and summative tests do not reflect the quality of classroom instruction.

History

Schools began placing greater emphasis on summative tests in the 1980s after a national report warned of low achievement levels in U.S. schools.

Source:

National Middle School Association: Formative and summative assessment

More Information:

Florida Center for Instructional Technology: Basics of Classroom Assessment