Comparing Formative and Summative Assessments

Welcome And Episode Focus

Hello and welcome to the Designing with Love Podcast. I am your host, Jackie Pellegrin, where my goal is to bring you information, tips, and tricks as an instructional designer. Hello, instructional designers and educators. Welcome to episode 23 of the Designing with Love Podcast.

What Formative Assessment Is

In this episode, we'll compare the differences between formative and summative assessments when designing and delivering learning experiences. For each type of assessment, I'll describe the nuts and bolts, provide three examples of how you can utilize them, and how you can effectively track them. So, grab your notebook, a cup of coffee, and settle in as we explore this topic together. Before we dive into formative assessments, let's take a few moments to understand what a formative assessment is in education and training. One of the best ways to describe them is that they are evaluations of someone's learning progress in a classroom or training environment. Some common formative assessments can include quizzes, games, projects, presentations, and group activities. However, as education and technology continues to evolve, the types of formative assessments can expand. If you have any other ideas for formative assessments, feel free to send me a text message here in the podcast or reach out to me and leave a voice message on my website. So, now that we know what formative assessment is and some common types that can be utilized with learners, let's review what makes these types of assessments a great way to assess your learners.

Why Formative Works And Tools

First, formative assessments work well when they are used on a regular basis. You can incorporate formative assessments based on a calendar system or with a set of lessons or modules. Second, formative assessments are more flexible than summative assessments, which makes them an ideal choice to assess where your learners are at with their progress. For example, you don't always need to use the traditional methods such as a piece of paper and pencil to gauge your learner's progress. Other options can include in-class games, group presentations, and hands-on activities. If you are delivering a class or session in an online format, you can incorporate online formative assessment tools such as Kahoot and group presentation software tools such as Canva to assess your learners. Third, formative assessments are a great way to keep your learners engaged in your class or session. For example, you can have a varied routine in how you assess your learners with each session or module. Then, at the end of a course or training session, you can look for patterns among different class sections or sessions.

Three Formative Examples From Hummel

Now that we have reviewed some of the nuts and bolts of formative assessments, I will share three types you can try with your learners in your course or training session. These examples are from Brad Hummel, an educator and writer who works to help teachers empower their students. The first example is to have your learners make an advertisement for a concept they have just learned. The advertisement can include visuals and text to help sell the idea. This type of assessment makes learners apply what they have learned in a creative exercise, which is key for long-term retention. The second example is to instruct your learners to lay out the main ideas of a new concept they have learned and then compare the concept to another to see where they agree or disagree. This exercise makes learners apply previous knowledge to a new format so they can recall it better in the future when needed. The third example is to introduce a popular misconception to your learners after teaching a specific concept. Then have the learners discuss why the misconception is false and where it may have started. This type of exercise makes learners think critically about what they have just learned, while also showing them how to debunk misinformation with their peers in a constructive manner. If you have any other examples for formative assessments you would like to share, feel free to reach out to me here with the podcast.

Tracking Formative Data And Insights

Alright, so now let's take a look at three different ways we can track formative assessments with our learners. Depending on the level of your learners, you can adjust these tracking mechanisms accordingly to fit the class or training session. First, you can track the assessments by a grade or a score. This provides you with a specific, concentrated view of how a learner or set of learners effectively learns information. Just keep in mind that graded assessments are a source of stress for many learners. So keep that in mind if you want to make a lesson or module fun or loose. Second, you can track the assessments by feel based on your instincts as a teacher or trainer. This allows you to select which learners need additional support based on your observations. However, one of the downsides to this type of approach is that you can't really show this information to your administrators or leadership. So this can be difficult when there are specific standards or outcomes that need to be met. Third, you can track formative assessments with learner data. This type of non-graded information may reflect how your learners are doing, such as questions they have frequently answered incorrectly, or subject areas where they are struggling. Hopefully, your district or organization has a comprehensive data management system in place, which makes tracking learner data the most effective way to measure progress.

Defining Summative Assessment

Alright, so now that we have covered formative assessments, let's take a few moments to understand what a summative assessment is in education and training. One of the best ways to distinguish summative assessments is they are evaluations of what someone has learned throughout a course or training session. Some common summative assessments can include tests, final exams, reports, essays or papers, or end-of-class projects. However, as different forms of technologies such as artificial intelligence become common for learners to utilize in classwork and training, it is important to incorporate authentic assessments to help challenge critical thinking and authenticity in the assessments. It is important to note that summative assessments always occur at the end of a course or training session, unless the teacher or instructor decides to break a course or session into manageable chunks, such as a microlearning lesson or some modules. Summative assessments are often cumulative because they are meant to evaluate a learner's long-term

Summative Examples And Authenticity

retention of information. When evaluating your learners through a formative assessment, this forces your learners to seriously reflect and think critically about the information they have learned over the course of time and to bring together the information in a cohesive manner. This can also be a helpful way to ensure your learners retain essential information from one course or training session to another. Therefore, if you teach an introductory course or session, summative assessments are a great way to set up learners for success in the next course or training session. Now that we have reviewed some of the nuts and bolts of summative assessments, let's take a look at some examples that you can utilize in your course or training session. These examples are also from Brad Hummel. First, you can include an in-depth report where learners choose a topic that resonated with them in the class or session and submit a report. These reports often showcase a learner's interest, and you can evaluate their engagement level in the class or session by how they approach the report. Second, you can have your learners select a project to complete that reflects what they have learned throughout the course or session. Third, a personal evaluation paper requires learners to apply principles from the class or session to their personal lives. This is a great way for learners to evaluate themselves through a different lens while exploring the nuances of different principles they have learned in the class or session. If you have any other examples for formative assessments you would like to share, feel free to reach out to me here on the podcast.

Tracking Summative And Consistency

Now let's take a look at a couple of different ways we can track summative assessments with our learners. Again, depending on the level of your learners, you can adjust these tracking mechanisms accordingly to fit the class or training session. One way to track formative assessments is through a presentation, which evaluates a learner's soft skills and public speaking abilities. If you are teaching an online course or training session, you can have the learners present their ideas in a synchronous format live or through an asynchronous format by recording their presentation. Another way to track formative assessments is through written exams or project-based assessments, which are an ideal way to see a learner's full scope of how they understand your class or session. In this blog post, Brad shares that whatever you choose, it is important to stick with a consistent grading skill so that you can identify your own strengths and weaknesses in the classroom. As learners complete your course or training session.

Which Matters More And Closing

Okay, so as we wrap up this podcast episode, you may be wondering what is more important, formative or summative assessments? As Brad points out in his blog post, many new teachers and instructors have this question. He mentions that in a perfect world they are equally important because formative assessments allow learners to showcase that they are learning the content, and summative assessments let them show what they have learned. However, public education values summative assessments compared to formative assessments due to standardized tests. However, it can still be beneficial to incorporate both types of assessments when they are implemented properly. I hope you have found this information about formative and summative assessments helpful as you design effective learning experiences while completing your master's program, or even while you're a novice instructional designer and beyond. Before I close, here's a quote from Carol Ann Tomlinson, an educational author about the importance of assessments. Assessment is today's means of modifying tomorrow's instruction. Thank you for joining me and keep designing with love. Thank you for taking some time to listen to this podcast episode today. Your support means the world to me. If you'd like to help keep the podcast going, you can share it with a friend or colleague, leave a heartfelt review, or offer a monetary contribution. Every act of support, big or small, makes a difference, and I'm truly thankful for you.