Summative V. Formative Tests

A recent Education Week article referenced a survey where 85% parents and 80% teachers saw formative testing as more valuable than summative.

Summative tests measure what students have learned at the end of the year. Formative tests measure how well students are learning material as it is being taught.

Most standardized tests are used as summative measures, and they have become more prevalent in this era of No Child Left Behind. These summative assessments are called high-stakes tests because a public school’s funding and autonomy are determined by the results.  

The survey results indicate a backlash against these high-stakes, summative tests.

“Parents and teaches think that summative tests don’t give them the information they consider most valuable, and yet the pendulum has swung so far in that direction that there is a risk to other kinds of tests that actually help children learn.”

In the survey, parents and teachers also indicated that tests should monitor student progress more broadly, e.g., critical thinking, problem solving, creativity and even collaboration, which are all lauded as vital characteristics needed for success in the 21st century. Too often, standardized test questions focus on a breadth of content and skills and do not ask students to think in the higher domains of analysis, synthesis, evaluation.

Current high-stakes, summative tests typically are only in math and reading, yet the survey showed that parents and teachers see the benefit of a well-rounded education and want schools to make room for areas like the arts and physical eduction, which have been lessened, if not eliminated, in many school because of the emphasis on end-of-course assessments.

While I was not surprised that a majority of teachers saw the value of formative over summative assesments, I was pleased that parents understand their child's education is a process and not simply measured by a score on one test. Parents have been bombarded over the past ten years that tougher standardized tests were the key to improving American education. Clearly, the magic, nuance, and subtleties of education are much more complicated than a one-size-fits-all test.

I was also pleased that parents value the benefits of whole-child (cognitive, social-emotional, physical) and a well-rouned education (academics arts, physical education)--areas that Orchard has always included in its program and curriculum.