Summative and Formative Style Anatomy Practical Examinations: Do They Have Impact on Students’ Performance and Drive for Learning?

Anatomical knowledge is commonly assessed by practical examinations that are often administered in summative format. The format of anatomy practical examination was changed at the Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine in Singapore from summative (graded; must pass) to formative (ungraded; no pass/fail) in academic year (AY) 2017–2018. Both assessment formats were undertaken online, but the formative mode used a team-based learning activity comprising individual and team assessments. This gave an unique opportunity to investigate: (1) the impact of two different online assessment formats on student performance in practical examination; (2) the impact of new formative practical examination on students’ performance in summative examinations; and (3) students’ opinions of these two practical examination formats. The class of 2021 perceptions was obtained as they experienced both formats. A retrospective cohort study was also conducted to analyze the Year 2 students’ performance in anatomy practical and year-end summative examinations of cohorts AY 2015–2016, AY 2016–2017 (summative format), and AY 2017–2018 (formative format). There were no significant differences in students’ performance between two practical examination formats. The cohort who experienced the formative format, performed significantly better in summative examinations (mean ± SD: 82.32 ± 10.22%) compared with the cohort who experienced the summative format (73.77 ± 11.09%) (P < 0.001). Students highlighted positive features of the formative practical examination, including team reinforcement of learning, instant feedback, and enhanced learning. These findings indicate that students continue to study for anatomy practical examination without the need for external drivers. The team-based learning style practical examination enhances students’ performance in summative examinations.     

Implementation and student perceptions of e-assessment in a Chemical Engineering module

This paper describes work carried out at the Department of Chemical Engineering at UCL into the use of e-assessment in a second year module and, in particular, the student perceptions of this mode of assessment. Three quizzes were implemented in Moodle, the first two as formative assessment and the final quiz as summative assessment. The results were very encouraging and practically all students engaged with the process. An online survey was delivered to all students after the module, which showed that the students felt that e-assessment added value to their learning and they would like to see it implemented in other modules. The quizzes were intended to be mainly beneficial to the weaker students as it gave them an opportunity to go over key aspects of the material in their own time. Interestingly, the stronger students were even more in favour of e-learning than the weaker students, for whom the quizzes were originally designed.     

基于网络的形成性考核与终结性考试研究

中央广播电视大学基于网络的课程考核,从2005年试点以来,规模不断扩大,其所采用的形成性考核与终结性考试一体化设计,考核方法、效果与以往的传统考核存在一定差异。我们采用线性回归的方法研究了形成性考核和终结性考试成绩之间的关系,发现基于网络的形成性考核和终结性考试成绩之间存在正相关关系,并且与传统的考核方式有着相同的规律性和有效性。     

形成性评价对英语口语学习策略的影响

实验采用问卷调查、周记等为研究工具,对非英语专业大学生进行了为期一个学期的形成性评价教学与终结性评价教学对比研究,探讨形成性评价对学生口语学习策略的促进作用,对比形成性评价教学与终结性评价教学对学习成绩的影响。     

‘Formative good,summative bad?’ – A review of the dichotomy in assessment literature

The debate between summative and formative assessment is creating a situation that increasingly calls to mind the famous slogan in George Orwell’s (1945) Animal Farm – ‘Four legs good, two legs bad’. Formative assessment is increasingly being portrayed in the literature as ‘good’ assessment, which tutors should strive towards, whereas summative assessment is ‘bad’ assessment on which tutors should minimise their focus, instead moving towards formative assessment (Taras 2005). By revisiting the origins of formative assessment, this article aims to bring back to light that summative and formative assessment are connected at their inception. It highlights how research in the literature has unintentionally created a harmful dichotomy between summative and formative assessment, and it identifies some attempts in the literature to re-connect formative and summative assessment. This paper challenges the dichotomy in the literature and invites those in higher education to consider the fundamental idea that formative and summative assessment need to work in harmony and should not be seen as contrary to each other.     

英语口语评价综合化的设计

探讨了英语口语评价的必要性及其现状,提出了形成性评价与终结性评价相结合的口语综合评价体系,该评价体系对英语口语教学有着积极的反拨作用。     

英语口语教学评价机制探析

阐述英语口语教学评价的必要性和重要性,分析目前英语口语教学的现状,提出形成性评价与终结性评价相结合的英语口语综合评价体系,该评价体系对英语口语教学起关键性作用。     

Voluntary use of online study questions as a function of previous minimal use requirements and learner aptitude

This study investigates voluntary use of online study questions, the relationship of study question use to examination performance, and the relationship of aptitude to study question use following an initial phase during which students either received course points for passing mastery quizzes or for completing a designated number of study questions. The results indicate a) students who first received points for completing study questions later made greater voluntary use of study questions, b) less able readers made less voluntary use of study questions than more able readers, and c) less able readers performed better on course examinations when awarded course points for completing a required number of study questions rather than quizzes.     

Formative and summative assessment in Hong Kong primary schools: students’ attitudes matter

ABSTRACT

This study investigates the relationship between students’ attitudes towards formative assessment and summative assessment and aims to enrich the understanding of formative and summative assessment from the students’ perspective. A total of 3,019 Hong Kong primary school students responded to a newly developed instrument. Overall, students reported positive instrumental yet negative affective attitudes towards formative and summative assessment. Girls had less negative affective attitudes towards formative assessment, but more positive instrumental attitudes towards formative and summative assessment than boys. Grade 4 students consistently scored higher than Grade 5 and Grade 6 students in assessment attitudes. The gender and grade differences were statistically significant, but had small effect size. Moreover, it was found that students’ affective and instrumental attitudes to formative assessment positively predicted students’ affective and instrumental attitudes to summative assessment.     

形成性评价与总结性评价理论探究

自从形成性评价和总结性评价理论提出以来,人们对它们的涵义及相互关系仍有不同诠释。实际上形成性评价和总结性评价是一个连续体的两个方面：评价起于总结性,而形成性评价实际上是总结性评价加反馈和改进的过程。     

Implementing summative assessment with a formative flavour: a case study in a large class

Teaching a large class can present real challenges in design, management and standardisation of assessment practices. One of the main dilemmas for university teachers is how to implement effective formative assessment practices with accompanying high-quality feedback consistently over time with large classroom groups. This article reports on how elements of formative practices can be implemented as part of summative assessment in very large undergraduate cohorts (n = 1500 in one semester), studying in different modes (on- and off-campus), with multiple markers, and under common cost and time constraints. Design features implemented include the use of exemplars, rubrics and audio feedback. The article draws on the reflections of the leading teacher, and argues that, for summative assessment to benefit learners, it should contain formative assessment elements. The teaching practices utilised in the case study provide some means to resolve the tensions between formative assessment and summative assessment that may be more generally applicable.     

Formative assessment in mathematics for engineering students

In this paper, we present a range of formative assessment types for engineering mathematics, including in-class exercises, homework, mock examination questions, table quizzes, presentations, critical analyses of statistical papers, peer-to-peer teaching, online assessments and electronic voting systems. We provide practical tips for the implementation of such assessments, with a particular focus on time or resource constraints and large class sizes, as well as effective methods of feedback. In addition, we consider the benefits of such formative assessments for students and staff.     

独立学院大学英语形成性评价实证研究——以宁夏大学新华学院为例

目前我国独立学院大学英语教学工作的一个突出问题,是过分注重终结性教学评价,轻形成性教学评价。本文尝试运用形成性评价与终结性评价有机结合的方式进行教学改革,在改革过程中发现问题,解决问题,以期推动独立学院大学英语教学评价体系顺利进行。     

Supporting student learning: the use of computer–based formative assessment modules

This paper describes the development of a variety of computer–based assessment opportunities, both formative and summative, that are available to a large first year biology class at The University of Sydney. These materials include: weekly quizzes; a mock exam; quiz sections in tutorials; and special self–assessment modules (SAMs). The weekly quiz is password protected and secure but the remaining materials are available on–line from a Virtual Learning Environment (http://FYBio.bio.usyd.edu.au/VLE/L1/). Evaluations over a number of years of the use and usefulness of the formative assessment materials indicate that the student population is making significant use of materials and that these materials are helping students in their learning     

Impact and educational outcomes of a small group self‐directed teaching strategy in a clinical neuroscience curriculum

The complexity of the material being taught in clinical neuroscience within the medical school curriculum requires creative pedagogies to teach medical students effectively. Many clinical teaching strategies have been developed and are well described to address these challenges. However, only a few have been evaluated to determine their impact on the performance of students studying clinical neuroscience. Interactive, 2‐hour, self‐directed small‐group interactive clinical case‐based learning sessions were conducted weekly for 4 weeks to integrate concepts learned in the corresponding didactic lectures. Students in the small groups analyzed cases of patients suffering from neurological disease that were based on eight learning objectives that allowed them to evaluate neuroanatomical data and clinical findings before presenting their case analysis to the larger group. Students’ performances on the formative quizzes and summative tests were compared to those of first‐year medical students in the previous year for whom the self‐directed, small‐group interactive clinical sessions were not available. There was a significant improvement in the summative performance of first‐year medical students with self‐directed clinical case learning in the second year (Y2) of teaching clinical neuroscience (P < 0.05) when compared with first‐year students in the first year (Y1) for whom the self‐directed learning approach was not available. Student performance in the formative assessments between Y1 and Y2 was not significantly different (P = 0.803). A target of ≥70% student scoring above 80% in the final summative examination was met. The current study revealed evidence for the impact and educational outcomes of a self‐directed, clinical teaching strategy in a clinical neuroscience curriculum for first‐year medical students. Anat Sci Educ 11: 478–487. © 2017 American Association of Anatomists.     

合理运用形成性评价 促进教学效果最优化

评价是英语课程的重要组成部分,在对学生进行终结性评价的同时,我们还应更注重对学生的形成性评价。形成性评价能使学生增强自信,使他们从被动接受评价者,转变成为评价的主体和积极参与者。在评价时,注意遵循一定的原则,并且合理利用评价策略。     

Promoting assessment efficacy through an integrated system for online clinical assessment of practical skills

This paper presents evaluation outcomes from an externally funded research project involving the online clinical assessment of practical skills (eCAPS) using web-based video technologies within a university medical programme. eCAPS was implemented to trial this web-based approach for promoting the efficacy of practical skills assessment in knee joint examinations for a pre-clinical cohort of second year medical students. eCAPS involves a progressive organisation of online video experiences and task expectations for formative and summative assessments of selected competencies. Data are presented from semi-structured interviews with the medical students (N?=?40). eCAPS successfully supported students’ skill development in knee joint examinations on fellow students and allowed remote assessment of candidates’ performances by clinicians experienced in musculoskeletal examinations. An ‘indicative standard’ paradigm, involving formative assessment of one randomly selected performance from the submission of all students’ responses within a small group, offered an efficient and efficacious avenue for providing consolidated feedback to students and promoted desirable learning behaviours. Overall, there was evidence of reciprocal learning benefits to the ‘blending’ of an online learning and assessment approach with an existing face-to-face environment. The medical students were able to successfully engage online with high quality and consistent practical skill-based materials in a flexible, independent and individual manner.     

Aligning formative and summative assessments: A collaborative action research challenging teacher conceptions

Assessment innovations require explicitly challenging teachers’ assessment conceptions. In changing towards outcome-based curricula, aligning formative to new summative assessments is a challenge. This study, conducted in Dutch Agricultural Vocational Education and its new outcome-based summative assessments, aims to provide concrete insights into what teacher conceptions hinder the development of aligned formative assessment practices. In a structured collaborative action research, practitioners, researchers and consultants analyse teachers’ formative practices, identify underlying current conceptions and their misalignment to the new summative assessment system. An iterative process resulted in an overview of current conceptions versus required conceptions, showing required conceptual changes that are prerequisite for teachers to change towards formative assessment practices that are aligned to the new outcome-based summative assessment system.     

大学英语教学中的形成性评价略论

在现行的大学英语教学评价体系中,片面强调教学结果的终结性评价存在诸多负面影响,而注重学习过程评价的形成性评价有利于提高学生的自主学习能力和英语综合应用能力,促进学生全面发展。本文在介绍形成性评价基本理论基础上,提出了在大学英语教学中应用形成性评价的原则和具体做法,并总结了需要注意的若干问题。     

The promise and reality of formative assessment practice in a continuous assessment scheme: the case of Trinidad and Tobago

Continuous Assessment (CA) systems are externally directed, curriculum-based assessment schemes used for both summative and formative purposes within classrooms. CA has been implemented as national policy in several postcolonial developing countries and is believed to hold great promise for improving education outcomes. This theory-driven evaluation (TDE) used a mixed methods research design to interrogate the nature of CA practice. The focus was on stakeholders’ understanding and practice of formative assessment in the CA Programme (CAP) of Trinidad and Tobago. The integrated findings suggest that the programme planners’ formative intent was often not fulfilled. Instead, teachers routinely recorded assessment marks without using the data. There is evidence that formative assessment practice was not congruent with teachers’ pedagogical beliefs and practices. Although the design of CA schemes suggests the possibility of synergy between formative and summative purposes, in reality this ideal is rarely achieved in these particular contexts.