Summative+v.+Formative

=Summative v. Formative =

Overview
Summative evaluation is often overvalued as the sole or dominant means of assessing learner understanding and gaining feedback. Many "traditional" ISD models use the summative evaluation as the "one-shot" opportunity to assess the learner in one encounter. Unfortunately, this process can create negative evaluation outcomes for the learner (in the form of evaluation anxiety, learning within a specific evaluation rubric, etc.), and does not allow requisite flexibility in the instruction process. Evaluating in a more consistent way over an extended time period will result in a higher level of data validity, and will also aid in the instruction and/or design processes of the learning engagement experience.

In some educational models (like this online classroom experience), gradual formative evaluation opportunities largely replace the summative evaluation. This allows the learner to "grow into" the educational expectations and goals, and have the ability to rank levels of proficiency (along with any enrichment tools) and take advantage of educational growth opportunities to meet the final learning objectives. This hierarchy of educational priorities places the achievement of personal and corporate educational goals above the traditional testing scope—the goal is not high evaluation performance, but a holistic understanding of the concepts and processes necessary to succeed.

Experience
Within the corporate training environment, summative evaluations have been favored, as they provide a concise, highly measureable way to document progress and track proficiency. Although concluding evaluations are convenient to write, they often fail when evaluating proper learner response for tactical or process-based training. Within the last several years, interactive and e-learning training solutions have gained prominence. These new modes of delivery provide excellent options to include formative evaluation opportunities within the core curriculum, evaluating proficiency on a task or category level before allowing forward progress. This methodology effectively controls and modifies the ISD flow based on the evaluation results, and often measures the probability of positive learning outcomes to a much more reliable degree than the traditional summative evaluation process.

Survey
I am currently writing a course module on Designing for Web Accessibility for EDET 603. I would appreciate any feedback using this survey mechanism to understand the target audience for this course, and allowing for educational contingencies based on varying levels of competency.

[|Take Web Accessibility Survey]

Google Forms (available within Google Docs) is a great way to launch quick web surveys. The technology is completely free, and the survey editor makes the creation of forms an easy process through advanced drag-and-drop functionality, dynamic Web 2.0 interaction, and a clean, uncluttered design. As a bonus, the resulting responses are loaded automatically into a spreadsheet so that the data can be evaluated using an appropriate methods. An analysis function with charts and data analysis is also available to view higher-level survey data.





Reference
Brown, A. & Green, T.D. (2006). The Essentials of Instructional Design: Connecting Fundamental Principles with Process and Practice. Upper Saddle River: NJ: Pearson.