Skill Profile
Formative & Summative Assessment
"The observable action of designing, administering, and interpreting a range of assessment tasks — from low-stakes formative checks during learning to high-stakes summative evaluations at the end of a unit — in order to generate evidence of student understanding, inform teaching decisions, and produce defensible judgements of achievement against learning objectives."
YOUR SKILLS
Problems This Skill Solves
- Invisible learning gaps — without regular formative assessment, teachers cannot identify which students have misunderstood a concept before they move on, causing gaps to compound across a unit or year
- Unreliable summative judgements — poorly designed end-of-unit assessments that lack alignment to learning objectives produce grades that do not accurately reflect student achievement, undermining trust in qualifications and programme outcomes
- Passive teaching — when teachers rely solely on summative grades rather than ongoing formative data, they lose the feedback loop that allows them to adapt explanations, re-teach content, and personalise support
- Assessment anxiety and inequity — over-reliance on high-stakes summative assessment disadvantages students with test anxiety, learning differences, or inconsistent prior preparation; a balanced assessment diet mitigates this
Tools Used
Roles That Use This Skill
1 total · 1 industryThis skill is concentrated in one industry.
Education / Schools
"Formative assessment is mainly about regular testing — frequent low-stakes tests reveal gaps in understanding."
Frequent testing identifies that gaps exist. The value of formative assessment is in the practitioner response — adjusting teaching based on what the assessment reveals, providing feedback that students can act on, and identifying whether the gap reflects missing knowledge or a persistent misconception requiring a different instructional approach. Assessment without responsive teaching is measurement, not formative practice.
Research & Outlook
Assessment practice is being reshaped by AI-powered tools that can provide immediate, personalised formative feedback on student writing, mathematics, and coding at scale — capabilities previously only available through one-to-one tutoring. Adaptive learning platforms are generating granular formative data that allows teachers to see exactly which sub-topics each student has mastered. At the summative end, the reliability and validity of AI-generated marking is being actively researched by awarding bodies, with pilot programmes underway for large-volume assessment contexts. Portfolio and competency-based assessment models are gaining ground as alternatives to time-constrained examinations, particularly in vocational and professional education contexts.
See This Skill In Action
Watch a professional demonstrate Formative & Summative Assessment in a real working environment — what it looks like, how it's applied, and why it matters.
Education / Pedagogy
Formative & Summative Assessment
Also Known As
Growth Path
Uses basic formative assessment strategies — questioning, observation, exit tickets — to check understanding during lessons. Can mark work against a provided mark scheme and give written feedback. Understands the difference between formative and summative assessment purposes.
Designs both formative and summative assessments independently, aligned to learning objectives and appropriate for the level of learners. Uses formative data to adapt lesson sequencing, group students for targeted intervention, and adjust explanations. Participates in moderation and standardisation processes.
Leads assessment design across a department or programme, including high-stakes summative assessments aligned to external specifications. Trains colleagues in formative assessment strategies, designs moderation frameworks, and conducts assessment audits to ensure validity and reliability. Contributes to awarding body examiner or moderator panels.
How to Practise
- 1.Study the distinction between assessment for learning (formative) and assessment of learning (summative) — Dylan Wiliam's work on formative assessment and Paul Black's research on feedback are foundational reading for understanding the evidence base.
- 2.Practise designing formative assessment tasks that are low-stakes, quick to administer, and directly aligned to a specific learning objective — exit tickets, hinge questions, and mini-whiteboards are practical starting points.
- 3.Design a summative assessment from scratch using backwards design (Wiggins and McTighe's Understanding by Design framework): start with the learning objectives, define the evidence of achievement, then design the assessment task.
- 4.Practise moderation: mark the same set of student responses against a mark scheme independently, then compare judgements with a colleague and discuss discrepancies — this is how standardisation works in practice.
How to Prove
- ·Teaching portfolio containing examples of formative assessment strategies used across a unit, with annotated evidence of how assessment data informed subsequent teaching decisions
- ·Summative assessment designs — exam papers, coursework briefs, or project rubrics — with an accompanying rationale demonstrating alignment to learning objectives and level descriptors
- ·Moderation records showing participation in standardisation meetings and consistent marking aligned to a mark scheme, particularly for externally moderated components
- ·Pupil progress data demonstrating measurable learning gains across a cohort, with evidence that formative assessment data was used to identify and support underperforming students