Unit 4: Ethics of Assessment and Evaluation

5. Formative vs. Summative Assessment

Formative assessment is ongoing and supports student learning (e.g., quizzes, feedback, drafts), while summative assessment evaluates learning at the end of instruction (e.g., final exams). Ethically, formative assessment empowers learners by identifying areas for growth without penalizing them. Summative assessment must be designed to genuinely measure what students have been taught.