2.2 Summative assessments
Summative assessments receive the lion’s share of students’ attention, and not only because they weigh heavily upon their grades. They also tend to happen at key inflection points and/or endpoints within the overall scheme of the course, whether that be the end of a unit, at midterm, or at the conclusion of the semester. As such, they tend to be occasions for synthesis and/or creativity – if not quite in the popular sense of artistic creativity, then at least in the academic sense of creating one’s own argument about a particular field of knowledge.
Summative feedback refers to the feedback that is given at the end of a learning experience or learning unit, such as at the end of a course. As such, the aim of this feedback is to evaluate and determine a student’s performance at a given point by measuring it against an identified standard or benchmark (Stufflebeam & Shinkfield, 2007). Students often have negative associations with summative assessment and feedback, due to this association with comparison and evaluation (Scriven, 1967).
Due to the nature of summative feedback, its value lies in its ability to help students improve their performance in future courses or in upcoming learning units within the same course. It should be used in conjunction with formative feedback to ensure students have a rich learning experience in which they are given multiple opportunities to learn and improve.
Here are some strategies for summative assessments:
- Have clear assignment descriptions. For assignments, make sure that there is a clear description and that you can address any clarifying questions about the assignment. Descriptions include what the assignment is assessing, how it relates to the overall goals of the course, what the students are expected to do, by when, and how they will be evaluated.
- Communicate grading policies. These should exist on a syllabus, and as the instructor, you should be able to communicate and clarify any questions regarding the grading policies, including late penalties, extensions, academic integrity, etc.
- Ensure fairness and consistency. Using rubrics can save time and help ensure fairness across assignments. If you work with a teaching team, create the rubric together. This rubric can be used to explain grading in a more objective manner if students have questions about their results. Explaining the grading processes and procedures to students can help mitigate any conceptions of unfairness.
- Consider blind grading. Another way to ensure fairness is to grade blindly, which means hiding students’ names from view when evaluating. We are all human, and therefore are vulnerable to bias. We may expect students who had previously done poorly to continue to do so, or we may have some other underlying implicit biases affecting our approach to student grades.
- Give constructive feedback. What did the student do well, and what do they need to improve? We often assume that students need feedback primarily on the problems or shortcomings in their work. In fact, they often need just as much positive feedback, reinforcing the things they have done well, lest they forget to repeat those good habits on future assignments. Feedback on assessments should help students understand what they have achieved with their learning, what they need to improve, and specific strategies for how they can do so.