When conducting summative assessments, I believe it is important to consider if the assessment is adequately assessing the learning objectives of that (unit). The assessment should provide information as to how well the students are able to apply what they have learned, not just repeat it back verbatim.
Additionally, the summative assessment should provide me with the information I need to effectively evaluate the course (and my teaching methods). Are the course learning objectives being effectively understood? Do I need to spend additional time on the more challenging concepts and demonstrate additional real world application? Do I need to tweak my instructional methods or style to ensure student learning?
The summative assessment is an excellent tool for ensuring the course learning objectives are being achieved.
The two most important things to consider when conducting a summative assessment is to be sure that it covers all objectives of the lesson. As an instructor I have to remember that summative assessments should occur at the end of the section therefore should be less frequent.
Have clear, concise student learning objectives that are understood by the student and to have created authentic learning experiences for students empowered to experience and learn the necessary learning objectives.
In regard to summative assessments it is very important to ensure that the assessment encompasses all of the material that is being measured. If this is not accomplished then the entire assessment is flawed and should not even be administered. It is also very important to show that students have mastered the material that is being presented and should enable the instructor to easily identify the growth of the student.
The two most important things to consider when conducting summative assessments is how well the student is able to demonstration his or her comprehension of the objectives and how much that knowledge has grown since the student started the program. The use of diagnostic and formative assessments will help the instructor to determine the second point. Of course, the instructor has the responsibility of designing a summative assessment tool that is capable of reliably measuring the two points mentioned above.
I believe the two most important things to consider when conducting summative assessments are 1. Are the objectives being met and if so then, every couple of chapters one should test because too many chapters may be too much information to retain; therefore, the student may feel overwhelmed, and 2. does the assessment meet the level of class' understanding.
I would say that we are constantly assessing. The degree course I teach has 20 units and each unit has anywhere from 4 to 10 lessons at the end of each lesson there are written quizzes for the student to take which assess the required knowledge they are expected to gain from the lesson. Once the quizzes are completed we go over each item in detail. Each day I start off with a review of previous lessons through oral questions to random students.Some of the lessons also have a study guide which they fill out from information they were required to read. Based on the assessments the students kind of get an idea of where they stand and what they need to study for the Unit final exams.
yes, the reason we use summative assessments is to gauge student retention of knowledge of skills. I don't think we do enough of that do you?
It is important that the assessments cover all of the expected knowledge the student should have up to that point. It is also important that assessments are done before moving on to something different otherwise a student may not be ready for a final evaluation if the material is not revisited later.
Great answer It seems that "lazy button" is next to the "easy button" They have to be ready for the challenge!
Good point! I didn't even think about benchmarking. I often look for the normal bell shaped curvel; however, if that curve is not normal, I often question myself. I am always thinking of ways to improve a classroom, present materials and challenge my students. Without looking at classroom outcome, I really have no way of determining my own effectiveness.
The two things to consider are:
What the students learn?
What do they need to improve on?
To me, it doesn' matter if they learned one thing or a lot of things. As long as they have one takeaway. Also, we always need to set goals for the future. Students need to constantly challenged in order for them to improve. The last thing I want is for someone to feel they have mastered everything and turn on the "lazy button."
When conducting summative assessments, the two most important things to consider are what students know and what they do not know.
things to consider:
1. ability to measure
2. learning relative to outcomes/objective
I feel that the course objectives need to be taken into consideration as well as my objectives for their learning.
I think you need to consider what your course objectives are so that you can measure them, and something that is cumulative so you know if the students were learning the entire course.
Right on!!! (sorry that is a 70's term)
1. That it accurately measures student ability.
2. That it illustrates the quality of teaching
3. That it is in line with the intended learning outcomes
