Formative and Summative

Formative assessment happens during teaching and is meant to improve learning while there is still time to act. Summative assessment happens at the end of a unit, term or year and is meant to certify what has been achieved. One feeds teaching; the other reports it.

The core contrast

A third term appears in options: diagnostic assessment, which goes deeper than formative to locate the exact source of a persistent difficulty, and assessment as learning, where the child assesses his own work against a known standard.

Formative assessment in a real primary class

• A teacher walks the rows while children solve three sums and notes who is carrying wrongly.
• Thumbs up or down after each step of a demonstration.
• Two questions on the board at the end of the period, read but not marked.
• A one-line comment in the notebook naming the next step, not a number out of ten.

The test of whether an assessment is formative is simple: did it change the next lesson? If the marks went into a register and the teaching continued as planned, the assessment was summative in nature no matter what it was called.

Why the balance matters

Indian classrooms are traditionally summative-heavy: nothing is checked until the term test, by which time nothing can be repaired. NCF 2005 and NEP 2020 both push the balance towards continuous, low-stakes, informative assessment, with NEP proposing a shift from summative judgement to regular formative assessment that is competency-based.

✗ A weekly test with marks entered in the register is formative assessment.  |  ✓ It becomes formative only if the results change what and how you teach next.

Frequently asked questions

What is the main difference between formative and summative assessment?

Formative assessment is carried out during teaching to improve learning and adjust instruction, while summative assessment is carried out at the end to certify and report achievement. One is assessment for learning, the other assessment of learning.

Is a unit test formative or summative?

It depends on how the result is used. If the marks are recorded and the class moves on, it is summative. If the teacher analyses the errors and reteaches the weak areas before proceeding, the same test has served a formative purpose.

Why is formative assessment better for primary classes?

Because young children need immediate, specific and low-pressure feedback while a concept is still forming. It lets the teacher correct misunderstandings early, and it avoids the anxiety and labelling that frequent high-stakes testing produces.