Summative Assessment Essay

Assessment methods can be described as being either Formative or Summative. Formative assessment is utilised as a method of continuous monitor through incorporating it into daily teaching practice and is fundamental the teacher’s responsibility to implement. This type of assessment therefore provides the perfect opportunity for teachers and learners to discuss the learning which took place and be able to identify areas of teaching/learning strategies that could require amendments. Summative assessment can be employed both internally and externally. Internal summative assessment could be in the form of an end of topic test and used to record individuals’ progress that can be shared with pupils, parents and other teachers. External bodies such

Scientific experiments also provide the ideal opportunity to evoke thought and reason in an individual as well as the need for practical and investigative skills. ‘Curriculum for Excellence’ is designed to enhance various skills through interdisciplinary learning, class discussions and active learning. Various formative assessment techniques can aid in developing skills to enhance the skills mentioned above such as self- and peer – assessment and effective and constructive feedback (LTS 2010). These techniques are essential to increase learning and if combined with developed ICT skills and examination techniques will increase pupil attainment (Black et al 2004). Evidence from assessments in science should show an individual to have developed practical skills as well as the ability to work individually and in groups to solidify the four capacities around that

‘Name that Concept’ was used at the end of a lesson to try and discover any potential areas of misunderstanding. Pupils are asked to match the concepts, all ones which we had discussed during the class, with the correct definition. This enables the teacher to gauge the understanding of the pupils learning and receive immediate feedback on misinterpretations that can be addressed in the next session. It is believed that continuous implementation of this technique will enable pupils to ask better and more challenging questions that in turn will allow them to explore the subject are in more depth. Another advantage of the immediate feedback is that teachers will observe the different levels of each individual pupil and can tailor the next lesson or sequence of lessons to suit pupils at different stages of learning. Similar to self- and peer-assessment, pupils had no experience of this formative assessment technique and their opinions on its effectiveness to their learning were recorded on a questionnaire (appendix