What is thedifference between formative and summative assessment?

Answer 1

All formal assessments are summative, but not all summative assessments are formal. Formal assessments are standardized and administered in controlled environments typically once a year or less frequently, and scores are utilized for the sake of comparison. Summative assessments gauge a large amount of content acquisition, such as most district and state standardized tests, but they are not always conducted in regulated settings, they can happen multiple times per year, and there is not always a baseline score for comparison. End-of-unit tests or end-of-semester projects are summative but not formal.

Answer 2

Formative assessment is used throughout the learning process to provide feedback and guide instruction, while summative assessment is used at the end of a learning period to evaluate student learning. Formative assessments are typically informal and low-stakes, while summative assessments are formal and high-stakes.