The two most important things to consider in a summative assessment are; 1) were the course objectives understood by both the instructor and student and 2) were they delivered in a way that can be applied in the students life to be able to easily retreive them for exam and practical purposes.
What would be your other way?
Diana,
I agree benchmarking is important because it allows students and professor a way to compart to others.
When doing summative assessments I believe it's important to have some sort of benchmark which is well defined by the instructor and clearly understood by the students. I also believe it's important to make sure that the assessment is offered in a way that all the students have a way to show what they learned and also learn from the final results. Finally, I believe the summative assessment can be used as a guide to determine if instructional goals have been met and lesson plans need to be adjusted.
I agree with Amanda. What are you trying to measure, and was the material properly learned, are the major concerns. If the teacher does not have clear standards for what is being taught then the students will not have clear (or valid) results. So in that sense assessment is more about the instructor than the students. If the material is known to be very specific, and very clear--say technical, standardized procedures that have to be followed--then what you are measuring is how well the students have learned them. But, again, a good instructor can make all the difference in the world.
It's interesting, one time as I was getting checked out to rent a little Cessna the flight instructor said she could tell, by how aviation standards and procedures had changed over time, not only when someone had learned to fly but when their teacher had learned to fly.
It's more responsibility than we sometimes realize.
Summative Assessments are great for both the instructor as well as the students. However, if I were to state the two most important things to consider regarding summative assessments would be: 1. does the project/portfolio measure what I want it to (from the instructor's perspective) and 2. did I learn/assimilate the objectives that were set out at the beginning (student perspective). I beleive that these are the two most important considerations because the thinking is coming from two different perspectives. The instructor needs to take a step back to be able to determine if the project or whatever it was helped the students to gain the appropriate knowledge/skill set that it set out to do. The students need to be able to figure out if they came away with the knowledge that they needed to so that they can be successful. Both considerations will help the class as well as the student develop more fully.
Gail,
You are correct. The tests should be valid and reliable and test what you are expecting it to test. Testing in both formative and summative modes are very important.
Thanks!
That the testing was valid.
That the testing included formative assessment.
What do you mean by "due to the timeframe" ?
The overall knowledge of a studnet at various stages within the course, as well as the timeframe that the information was learned. Some students may do well on an assessment due to their previous course work and work experience. This is an important aspect to consider when reviewing the overall sucess of a student, as well as the assesment. Additionally, a student may do well on certain portion of an assessment due to the timeframe of when the certain materials have been learned.
