Assessment

 

"Assessment is the act of assessing, especially the evaluation of a student's achievement on a course (Dictionary.com, 2014)." Assessments allow the instructor to evaluate the student's performance. The two types of assessments that are significant in the instructional design process are formative assessment and summative assessment. "Assessments measures if and how students are learning and if the teaching methods are effectively relaying the intended messages (Formative and Summative Assessment)."

 

 

"The goal of formative assessment is to monitor student learning to provide ongoing feedback that can be used by instructors to improve their teaching and by students to improve their learning (Eberly, 2014)." Formative assessments generally are used to see if the learner is on the appropriate level or on the right track. Formative e assessment provides feedback and information during the instructional process, while learning is taking place and while learning is occurring (Formative and Summative Assessment)." It not only aids the learner but it also aids the instructor helping the instructor see what areas the students are having difficulty with and what areas they are thriving in.

 

"Formative assessments are generally low stakes, which means they have a low or no point value (Eberly, 2014)." Formative assessments generally occur before or during instruction. The purpose of formative assessment is to lead the instructor as they plan and improve instruction to enhance the students learning. Examples may include simple assignments such as a class discussions or homework review questions.

"The goal of summative assessment is to evaluate student learning at the end of an instructional unit by comparing it against some standard or benchmark (Eberly, 2014)." Unlike formative assessments summative assessments are generally very important and hefty assignments such as tests such as a final exam or final project. "Summative assessment take place after the learning has been completed and provides information and feedback that sums up the teaching and learning process (Formative and Summative Assessment)."


Summative assessments are considered high-stakes assessments because a grade is typically applied to the activity. "Summative assessment is more product-oriented and assesses the final product, whereas formative assessment focuses on the process toward completing the product (Summative and Formative Assessment)." Summative assessment generally is conducted at the end of the instruction. It allows the instructor and the student to know what level they are on and how much they have accomplished.

 

Although there are differences in a formative assessment and a summative assessment, they are both significant assessment that should not be over-looked in regards to instructional design. "The formative assessments check progress along the way, while the summative assessment serves sort of as the 'end survey (Lepi, K., 2014)."



 
References

Dictionary.com. Retrieved from http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/assessment
 
Eberly Center, What is the difference between formative and summative assessment (2014). Carnegie Mellon. Retrieved from http://www.cmu.edu/teaching/assessment/basics/formative-summative.html
 
Formative and Summative Assessment. Northern Illinois University, Faculty Development and Instructional Design Center. www.aswestern.edu

Lepi, Katie. The Key Differences Between Summative and Formative Assessment (2014). Retrieved from http://www.edudemic.com/summative-and-formative-assessments/