Close up side view of male and female students sitting in a row at computers, smiling at the screen with their hands on the keyboard, demonstrating an example of a formative assessment being taken.

4 Examples of Summative Assessments

Summative assessments represent the climax of each learning period. Whether they take the form of multiple-choice tests, essays, or projects, these high-stakes assessments provide a record of student achievement and an important insight into institutional performance.  However, traditional summative assessments present many challenges for educators, such as time-intensive grading. In addition, it can be difficult […]

School children sitting in a row in computer class facing their computers and looking off to the side at teacher, illustrating the concept of comprehensive assessment.

9 Tips for Implementing Comprehensive Assessments

Educators need to measure student achievement, but it can be difficult to do so in a time-efficient and accessible way. Traditional quizzes and final exams can take hours to grade and they often fail to adequately measure the outliers. When scaled to a school or district level, these assessments can make it difficult to compare […]

Rear view of students in class sitting at desks in front of computers facing a female teacher with her back turned drawing on a chalkboard, illustrating students taking formative or summative assessments.

Formative vs. Summative Assessments: Differences and Best Practices for Educators

Formative and summative assessments are an important part of every educator’s toolkit, but they can be time-consuming to implement and scale effectively. By strategically administering these types of assessments online, teachers can engage students while saving time and resources for classroom instruction. In this article, we look at some essential characteristics of formative and summative […]

College age male student sitting in a lecture hall taking a summative evaluation on his laptop.

What Is Summative Evaluation? Best Practices for Educators and Administrators

Summative assessments have traditionally played a key role in educators’ evaluation strategies, but they can be difficult to align across different classrooms and ability levels. As a result, teachers and administrators often struggle to manage software and make assessments accessible to all students.  However, with educators shifting towards a more personalized, formative approach to testing, […]

What Are Outcomes-based Assessments (and how can you implement them)?

Developing high-quality assessments that measure intended learning outcomes is an important but challenging part of the learning process. Educators may utilize formative and summative assessments throughout the learning process to help gauge what students know and can do. For educators, it is important to balance assessment types and continually use assessments for learning to determine […]

featured mage of students in computer lab taking an assessment

3 Tips for Using Assessment Tools to Capture Student Learning Data

Measuring and tracking student data is essential to ensuring that students are learning and progressing in the classroom. Yet, collecting and managing this data to improve teaching and learning can be a challenge, especially as educators may collect a large number of data points in any given school year. By utilizing technology-based assessment tools, they […]

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