Formative and Summative Assessments

Formative and Summative are two different kinds of assessments that a teacher can use to evaluate how well a student has learned the subject, in this case, meaning how well a student has learned art.  According to the book,  Emphasis Art, summative evaluations can be assessed through asking:

• Did you learn any new words or art ideas this year?  What?
• What was good about art this year?
• What did you learn this year about how to make art?

Formative evaluations are done at the moment or at the end of the lesson, whereas a summative evaluation is done at the end of the year.  According to Catherine Garrison & Michael Ehringhaus of NMSA, formative evaluations can be assessed by:

• criteria and goal setting
• observations
• questioning strategies
• self and peer assessment
• student record keeping

I like what Laura Greenstein says about formative assessments: "Formative assessment is also a systematic way for teachers and students to gather evidence of learning, engage students in assessment, and use data to improve teaching and learning. " (from What Teachers Need To Know About Formative Assessment).