Formative and Summative Assessment

Summative assessment involves the collection of evidence of learning outcomes. It is usually carried out at the end of a teaching unit or school term/year to make judgements about students’ performance so that reports of attainment and achievement can be provided.

Formative assessment focuses on the ongoing evaluation of students’ performance and abilities, and the provision of feedback to help them make improvement. It can be informal and carried out during the learning process. It provides students with information about where they are in their learning and what step they should take next.

Improving student learning through formative assessment

History teachers are familiar with data-based questions, but in many cases these questions are only used in tests and examinations for summative purpose. A number of History teachers have made use of diagrams and photos in the design of historical enquiry questions to clearly spell out the historical skills to be assessed. These questions are then used in lessons to assess students’ historical skills formatively.

The following is an example of using historical enquiry questions in Secondary 3 Chinese History to assess students’ abilities: (1) to interpret the meaning of the cartoon; (2) to analyse the reliability of the cartoon; and (3) to evaluate the pros and cons of using cartoons for the study of history. Through classroom discussion or post-lesson exercise, teachers can identify at an early stage the level of learning achieved by students, so as to give immediate feedback and modify the teaching content to help students improve their learning (e.g. incorporating cartoons in the delivery of lessons on different topics).

5.3.1 Purposes of assessment

Assessment serves three major purposes, namely Assessment of Learning, Assessment for Learning and Assessment as Learning.

• Assessment of Learning is summative in nature and involves the collection of evidence of student learning on what and how well they have achieved. It describes the level a student has attained in learning and shows what a student knows and can do by the end of a period of instruction. It gives an overview of the previous learning of a student, and is used to certify learning for reporting to students, parents, teachers, schools and the education system.

• Assessment for Learning integrates assessment into learning and teaching. It is formative in nature and aims at assisting students to understand what they are learning, what they have attained and what is expected of them. Assessment for learning also provides teachers with evidence of students’ learning, enabling them to evaluate and improve their curriculum planning and teaching strategies.

It focuses more on developing, instead of only assessing, students’ knowledge and understanding in an ongoing and dynamic manner.

• Assessment as Learning is sometimes viewed as an extension of or complement to Assessment for Learning. It engages students in reflecting on and monitoring their progress of learning through establishing their roles and responsibilities in relation to learning and assessment. Students use feedback from reflection and monitoring to make adaptations and adjustments to the learning objectives and strategies.

Teachers of Life and Society (Secondary 1 – 3) of a secondary school change students’

perception of assessment by revising the design of assessment papers. This arrangement helps identify the strengths and weaknesses of students. It enables teachers to provide timely feedback and support to students. It also enables students to make use of the assessment data to improve their own learning. Please refer to Example 36 “Reshaping students’ understanding of assessment”.

An Economics teacher incorporates Assessment as Learning into the design of pedagogical and assessment practices for a Secondary 4 class to enable students to better understand their learning progress and achievements. In particular, the students are guided to understand clearly what they need to achieve to make improvement in learning and set their targets for the next stage of learning. For details, please refer to Example 37

“Engaging students in assessing their own learning”.

5.3.2 Formative use of summative assessment in the PSHE KLA

• When summative assessment is aligned to the PSHE KLA curriculum and student learning experience, it can fit well into the curriculum-pedagogy-assessment cycle and becomes a useful tool for improving student learning rather than merely measuring it.

• The timing is important with regard to formative use of summative assessment.

A test administered at the beginning of a unit can reveal what the students have already acquired and are able to do. This information helps teachers structure how the unit should be taught. A test conducted mid-way through a unit can reveal the gaps in student understanding. This information allows teachers to adjust their teaching for the remaining part of the unit to fit the needs of their students.

• There should be opportunities for students to revise their work. PSHE teachers can allow students to revise their incorrect responses in their assignments, and award them partial credit if they can improve their answers. Through this revision process, students can gain a deeper understanding of the learning elements the question is assessing. This practice turns an assessment into a learning opportunity.

• Due consideration should be given to making good use of assessment data.

Teachers can carefully analyse the results of a summative assessment and use the information to improve class instructions with a view to improving students’

learning, either through reiterating those parts that students have performed unsatisfactorily, or by changing the delivery of those parts in future lessons.

5.3.3 Diversified modes of assessment

A diversity of assessment modes should be employed in the PSHE KLA according to different purposes and processes of learning throughout the school year. For example, written tests and examinations can be an effective mode of summative assessment of students’ cognitive development in a given subject area. Independent learning abilities and other learning skills are better reflected by formative assessment. Peer assessment and self-assessment are powerful tools for evaluating affective and moral development.

(a) Tests and examinations

- In designing test and examination items, it is necessary to include a wide range of questions types and response formats. There should also be a balance in the assessment of conceptual understanding, factual knowledge, and generic and subject-specific skills. PSHE teachers should constantly refer to the curriculum aims and objectives when setting test and examination items. For example, teachers may use data-response questions or data-based questions to assess students’ mastery of skills.

Assessing generic skills in a uniform test

A Geography teacher helps students develop holistic thinking skills by designing a group discussion followed by a class debate on the choice of appropriate waste management strategy in Hong Kong. The teacher sets data-response questions in the uniform test requesting students to discuss the pros and cons of establishing a fourth nuclear power plant in Taiwan, with the last question asking students to express their preferences with justifications.

This example demonstrates how holistic thinking skills can be assessed both formatively and summatively in school. The group discussion requires students to deploy critical thinking skills to assess the validity of the information, and creativity to explore all possible strategies in waste management, while the debate requires students to apply problem solving skills to determine the best possible solution. The last question requires students to apply the holistic thinking skills in another scenario and develop their own judgement on the choice of appropriate waste management strategy in Hong Kong.

(b) Self-assessment and peer assessment

- Self-assessment and peer assessment enable students to develop better understanding of their own learning and to learn from their peers. They are particularly crucial to lifelong learning. From the outset of a series of lessons on the same theme/topic, the learning goals and the assessment criteria should be made explicit to all or set together with the students.

Students can then reflect on and review their own progress. They can also receive useful feedback about their learning from their peers.

To promote self-directed learning and enhance a smooth transition between kindergarten and junior primary education, two General Studies teachers introduce “self-management”

to project learning in the lower primary curriculum. The focuses are on the use of self-assessment and peer self-assessment, as well as the involvement of parents in assessing students’ performance in project work. For details, please refer to Example 38

“Involving parents in assessment”.

A Geography teacher incorporates peer assessment into group learning tasks to support the learning and teaching of the subject. He also developes a handbook on peer assessment to guide his students in making good use of the proposed strategies, including steps for giving comments and proper use of expressions for giving praises, pointing out mistakes and giving suggestions. For details, please refer to Example 39 “Using peer assessment to enhance student learning”.

(c) Project

- Project work provides a range of learning experiences relevant to the PSHE KLA and is an effective mode of formative assessment. The procedures and the criteria involved in assessing the performance in project learning need to be made explicit to students. The assessment criteria might involve the choice of project title and methodology, the quality of implementation, the collection and analysis of data and the presentation of findings. Students need to be guided in carrying out a project and the assessment criteria provide them with important support in the planning and process of project work.

Assessing information literacy through project work

A Secondary 1 History teacher asks her students to carry out a group project on ancient Greco-Roman civilisation. In groups of four, students are to develop a website to introduce different aspects of the civilisation (e.g. architecture, religion, art and philosophy) based on the information they have collected. In addition to assessing a range of IT skills (e.g. searching and evaluating information, building websites and preparing computer presentations), the assessment rubrics of the project work also include items on evaluating students’ ethical use of information (e.g. making proper quotation of source of

information when copyrighted works is used and avoiding direct copy-and-paste of information from the Internet).

(d) Coursework

- Coursework of PSHE subjects are assignments with the function of assessing what students have mastered, as well as providing evidence of how well they have learned. The design of the coursework and the quality of feedback on students’ work are crucial to the collection of such evidence of learning. For more details, please refer to Sections 5.4.2 and 5.4.3 of this Guide.

5.3.4 e-Assessment

• e-Assessment, in its broadest sense, is the use of information technology devices, primarily computers, to assess students’ achievement in learning. It involves the use of information technology devices to construct, deliver, store and grade assessment tasks, and provide responses and feedback. It is also an integral part of e-learning.

• e-Assessment is much more than automatic checking for multiple choice answers. It can be conducted through an online discussion platform, a blog or a chat-room that allows teachers to assess students’ learning progress and detect their learning problems. It can also be a digital graphic organiser or a mind map creator for teachers to understand how their students construct knowledge and develop conceptual understanding of their learning progress.

• e-Assessment is a useful tool for a variety of reasons, such as convenience, flexibility and generating quicker results than traditional paper and pencil methods. Most important of all, it can facilitate Assessment of Learning, Assessment for Learning and Assessment as Learning, and bring forth the following benefits to learning and teaching.

- By means of e-assessment, students can receive instant feedback while they are working on their tasks. Similarly, teachers can access information about students’ understanding while instruction is in progress.

- Technology enables assessment data to be readily available and to be shared easily among stakeholders for gauging the progress of learning and teaching.

- Technology makes it easier for tracking individual students’ performance, and identifying their strengths and weaknesses, so that appropriate and prompt support could be provided.

- Technology-based tools also allow teachers to collect a broader sample of information from their students.

• When technology is used in formative assessment, teachers need to clearly communicate the assessment requirements to students. This is even more important if students are expected to complete assessment after class.

A school uses cloud-based service in designing and implementing e-assessment in the subject. In addition to the provision of instant feedback through online interactive discussion platform on students’ work and performance during lesson, the teacher makes use of the platform to introduce self-assessment and peer assessment. For details, please refer to Example 40 “Enhancing learning and teaching via e-assessment”.

A secondary school makes use of an interactive learning platform to facilitate e-learning in the teaching of PSHE subjects in class and to assist teachers in assessing students’

learning progress and performance through online assessment tasks and quizzes. For details, please refer to Example 41 “Instant feedback on learning progress via e-assessment”.