Summative Assessment

LEARN: What and Why

Summative assessments ask students to demonstrate their mastery of course concepts and skills; they include term papers, class presentations, portfolios, final projects and high-stakes exams.  They are completed at key points in a course (e.g. the end of a unit, mid-term, end), formally graded, and used to give the student a final grade in the course.

If planned effectively, formative and summative assessments can be used in conjunction to provide students with a chance to learn, grow and demonstrate their competencies gained throughout the course. It is critical that the summative assessment clearly relates to content covered in the course and assesses the attainment of established learning objectives.  

ENGAGE: How to do it

Principles of Summative Assessment:

These principles (adapted from Nicol and Macfarlane-Dick (2006) and the Yale Poorvu Center for Teaching and Learning, and extended upon) can guide instructor strategies:

Allow options in student expression

• allow students freedom and flexibility to express their knowledge and skill mastery creatively and in ways that honor how they constructed meaning
• provide multiple options for students to demonstrate their development in skills and knowledge in the course

Make Parameters Clear 

• ensure that parameters (e.g., length of assessment, depth of response, time and date, grading standards) are well defined
• confirm students with disabilities are provided with the supports the need

Use a Rubrics and Exemplars

• use a rubric to lay out and describe performance criteria for a range of grades 
  • See Brown University’s guide for Designing Grading Rubrics
• clearly articulate what an ideal summative assignment looks like, when assigning it—or even at the start of the term, so students know what they’re working toward
• provide examples of a high-quality assignment (previous student work, something you create, etc.)

Assess Comprehensiveness

• develop summative assessments that provide an opportunity for students to consider the totality of a course’s content—to make broad connections, demonstrate synthesized skills, and explore deeper concepts

Design Clear, Effective Questions

• aim to ensure that essay/open-response questions use clear language in regard to expectations
• follow recommended guidelines for designing effective multiple-choice questions

Provide timely and meaningful feedback

• Aim to provide feedback on students’ work as quickly as possible (depending on length of assignment, within 2-15 days!)
• Timely feedback helps students develop their learning and increase learner engagement
• Use technology to your advantage—a short video or audio recording can be quicker and more helpful than writing out comments
• Read more on Providing Feedback to Students Online

Use authentic assessment approaches

• create assignments that ask students to ‘do’ or ‘think’ like a person who works in the field (e.g. a case study, presentation, research article, etc.)
• require students to use technology tools as they are used in real life, as opposed to for the sake of a project

APPLY to your course

Higher-Order Thinking SATs (Summative Assessment Techniques)

There are a number of ways to assess students’ development of new skills and mastery of course content besides a traditional exam—an assessment technique that is problematic and challenging, especially in online courses. The creative approaches highlighted below require the use of the higher order thinking skills that summative assessments are meant to assess (unlike a multiple-choice/short-answer test). The variety—especially if students are given options—also align with UDL principles.

Conducting Exams Online

Multiple-choice tests are popular in online learning. They are easy to administer and easy to score. However, it is not easy to create a fair, quality multiple choice test that accurately assesses student achievement. And and when taken online, multiple-choice exams are more prone to cheating. Before you give students a multiple-choice exam, please review the follow guidelines and resources:

• UMass Fully Remote Final Exam Policy
• UMass Center for Teaching and Learning- How do I Design a Good Exam?
• UMass IDEAS tips for developing multiple choice exams and mitigating cheating

Review and Revise

1. Review your course, asking:

• What types of summative assessment do you use in your course, and how often?
• Are students given a variety of opportunities and assessment types to demonstrate their skills and mastery of content?
• Are the assessments accessible?
• Are students given clear criteria/rubrics/models for what constitutes success?
• Do your exams follow the guidelines provided?

2. Then, revise:

• Identify places where you can use add or modify a summative assessment that requires and encourages the use of higher order thinking and skills.
• Try adding in a new higher-order thinking SAT: use the resources and links above to help you.

References & Resources

Brown University. Designing Grading Rubrics.

Dawson, P., Henderson, M., Mahoney, P., Phillips, M., Ryan, T., Boud, D., & Molloy, E. (2019). What makes for effective feedback: Staff and student perspectives. Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education, 44(1), 25-36. 

Trumbull, E., & Lash, A. (2013). Understanding formative assessment: Insights from learning theory and measurement theory. San Francisco: WestEd

Yale Poorvu Center for Teaching and Learning. Designing Quality Multiple Choice Questions.       

Yale Poorvu Center for Teaching and Learning. (2017) Formative and Summative Assessments.