How to Design Formative and Summative Assessments for EdTPA

2. How to Design Formative and Summative Assessments for EdTPA

Designing formative and summative assessments for an EdTPA project ensures that you can measure student progress throughout the lesson and evaluate their final understanding.

2.1 Formative Assessments

Formative assessments are ongoing checks for understanding that occur during the lesson. They allow you to adjust instruction in real-time to better meet students’ needs. When designing formative assessments, consider:

• Observation: Actively monitor student participation and engagement. Ask students to demonstrate their understanding of concepts through questions or short activities.
• Exit Tickets: At the end of the lesson, ask students to write down one key concept they learned or a question they still have. This helps you assess whether the objectives were met.
• Peer Feedback: Allow students to give feedback to each other during group work or presentations. This helps them reflect on their learning and supports peer-to-peer learning.

2.2 Summative Assessments

Summative assessments evaluate student understanding at the end of the lesson or unit. These assessments should be aligned with the learning objectives and give you a clear measure of how well students have mastered the content. Some examples of summative assessments include:

• Quizzes or Tests: These provide a quantitative measure of student learning, focusing on key content knowledge and concepts.
• Projects: A more complex assessment that requires students to apply their learning in a real-world context, such as creating a research report, a presentation, or a model.
• Essays or Written Responses: Ask students to demonstrate their understanding of a concept through critical thinking and written expression. Make sure to assess both content knowledge and writing skills.

2.3 Aligning Assessments with Objectives

Ensure that both formative and summative assessments are aligned with the learning objectives. The assessments should clearly reflect what students are expected to know or be able to do. For example, if your lesson objective is to develop problem-solving skills, both your assessments should focus on evaluating these skills, whether through interactive activities or written tests.