Diagnostic, formative and summative

The diagnostic assessment, also known as a pre-test, provides the teacher with a tool which will determine the learner's individual strengths, weaknesses, knowledge and skills prior to the commencement of learning. Diagnostic assessments can also highlight the areas where difficulties are being experienced and therefore this will assist in determining the most effective lesson plan to ensure that these areas of difficulty are adequately addressed. 

Effective diagnostic assessment tools should:

• Allow the teacher to plan meaningful and efficient lessons
• Provide information to assist teachers in individualising their lessons to address learners particular needs
• Create a benchmark for assessing future learning.

Examples of diagnostic assessment tools

Some examples of ICB based diagnostic assessment tools include:

• Reflective journals and / or blogs
• Online questionnaires and surveys (similar to the one which you have just completed)
• Practical assignments.

Examples of online self analysis tools

• YouRock - Diagnostic text aimed at youth that determines 'career choices'. Available online here
  
• The Ikanos digital skills self assessment test. Available online here.

ICT Tools to develop your own diagnostic tests

Below are just a few examples of various applications which offer the functionality of developing diagnostic tests such as surveys and questionnaires. Can you think of any others?

• Survey Monkey. Available online here
• Moodle's survey and questionnaire tools. You might have noticed we used the questionnaire tool in the introduction to rank your assessment proficiencies. 

Watch the video below to get a clear understanding on what a formative assessment actually is.

A practical analogy of formative vs summative assessments is illustrated below.

Quiz

Answer the two questions in the short quiz below.

Examples of formative assessment activities include:

• Mind mapping
• Teacher observation
• Quizzes (with immediate feedback)
• Learner self assessment.

Examples of digital tools to support formative assessments:

• Coggle for mind mapping. Available online here
• Moodle Cloud assessment tools for quizzes. Available online here
• Google classroom. Available here. (Requires a free Gmail account)
• Wordpress blog for self assessment and reflection. Available online here

Evaluate various software packages to select the tool/s which you are most comfortable with in creating formative assessments.

Continuous formative assessments

Watch the short video below which discussing the advantages of implementing continuous formative assessments.

Review the video below which elaborates on what a summative assessment is.

So to summarise:

• The aim of a summative assessment is to evaluate the level of learning at the end of the learning process
• This evaluation should be compared against a learning outcome or objective
• Generally, summative assessments are high stakes, meaning that they have a high mark value whereas formative assessments have relatively low stakes.

Examples of summative assessments include:

• Tests / examinations
• Literature reviews
• Projects
• Portfolios

Formative vs summative assessments

Watch the video below which provides an overview on the differences between formative and summative assessments.

Forum group discussion

Discuss with your peers the following statements:

• Summative assessments are usually high stakes, meaning they have a high mark value
• Formative assessments are usually low stakes, meaning they have a low mark value.

Do you agree that the above is the correct way of weighting the assessments? Is it fair that summative assessments carry such a high mark value? Do formative assessments not offer a better evaluation that learning has actually taken place?

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