Formative Assessment:
Formative assessment involves the use of a range of formal and
informal assessment procedures that are employed by teachers
during the learning process in order to modify teaching and learning
activities to improve student attainment. It has been termed by some
as “all those activities undertaken by teachers, and by students,
which provide information to be used as feedback to modify the
teaching and learning activities in which they are engaged”(William
and Black). Similarly, Cowie and Bell argue that formative assessment
is “the process used by teachers and students to recognize and
respond to student learning in order to enhance that learning, during
the learning”. Formative assessment furthermore aids learning by
generating feedback information that is of benefit to students and to
teachers, because it enables students to restructure their
understanding/ skills and build more powerful ideas and capabilities.
Summative Assessment:
Summative assessment refers to the assessment of the learning that
summarises the development of learners at a particular time. For
example, at the end of a unit of work, a teacher may set a test for
students to assess whether students have learned what was taught in
the unit. The test aims to summarize learning up to that point, any
may also be used to identify any weaknesses and then build upon
them.
Summative assessments is meant to meet the school or district’s
needs for teacher accountability and looks to provide remediation for
sub-standard performance and also provides grounds for dismissal if
necessary.
- Summative assessment is characterized as assessment of learning
and is contrasted with formative assessment, which is assessment for
learning.