Formative and Summative Assessments

Formative assessment refers to a wide variety of methods that teachers use to conduct in-process evaluations of student comprehension, learning needs, and academic progress during a lesson, unit, or course. ... In other words, formative assessments are for learning, while summative assessments are of learning.

The purpose of formative assessment is to monitor student learning and provide ongoing feedback to staff and students. It is assessment for learning. It also provides information to the faculty about the areas students are struggling with so that sufficient support can be put in place. Formative assessment can be led by instructors, can be conducted by peers or oneself (self - assessment).

Summative assessments are used to evaluate student learning, skill acquisition, and academic achievement at the conclusion of a defined instructional period—typically at the end of a project, unit, course, semester, program, or school year. Generally speaking, summative assessments are defined by three major criteria:

• The tests, assignments, or projects are used to determine whether students have learned what they were expected to learn. In other words, what makes an assessment “summative” is not the design of the test, assignment, or self-evaluation, per se, but the way it is used—i.e., to determine whether and to what degree students have learned the material they have been taught.

• Summative assessments are given at the conclusion of a specific instructional period, and therefore they are generally evaluative, rather than diagnostic—i.e., they are more appropriately used to determine learning progress and achievement, evaluate the effectiveness of educational programs, measure progress toward improvement goals, or make course-placement decisions, among other possible applications.

• Summative-assessment results are often recorded as scores or grades that are then factored into a student’s permanent academic record, whether they end up as letter grades on a report card or test scores used in the college-admissions process. While summative assessments are typically a major component of the grading process in most districts, schools, and courses, not all assessments considered to be summative are graded.

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. 

EPI Assessment types:

Reflective Assessments in which students review the learning objectives of the module and write on their experience. These are formative.

Written Assessments in which student write short answer questions. These are summative.

Live session Assessments are when the student gives a session to a client in the presence of one or more trainers, to be assessed by those trainers present. These are summative. 

Assessment Criteria:

 On a summative assessment 70% or higher is passing. 

If a student does not receive a passing mark on an exam, they may retake the exam the next time that it is offered. For formative assessments students are only required to fill them based on their experience and to the best of their ability.

Year 1

 In the first year of our training, which is primarily self-experiential, we have formative assessments at the end of the training modules. These are what we call Reflective Assessments, in which students review the learning objectives of the module and write on their experience. They account for 20% of a student’s grade. Participation and attendance account for the remaining 80%. After module 4, we have a Final Exam, a summative assessment which is on material from the entire year. Only those that wish to continue with the 4-year training take this exam. 

Year 2

In the second year there is a summative assessment at the end of each module. These exams account for 40% of a student’s grade. The remaining 60% is based on participation and attendance of the modules.

Year 3

 In the third year there is a summative assessment at the end of modules 1-2. These exams account for 40% of a student’s grade. The remaining 60% is based on participation and attendance of the modules. In modules 3-5, which are primarily experiential, we have formative assessments, accounting for 20% of a student’s grade. The remaining 80% is based on attendance and participation.

Year 4

In the fourth year there is a summative assessment at the end of modules 1, in the form of a written exam. This exam account for 40% of a student’s grade. The remaining 60% is based on participation and attendance.In modules 2-5, we have formative assessments. At the end of the year there is the final exam, giving a live open session in front of the instructors. In addition, students must write a Thesis paper. These are the final assessments for the program. If a student fails either, they do not graduate, but they can retake the exam and edit their Thesis.