Formal assessments, also known as standardized assessments, measure overall student achievement as compared to other students to identify comparable strengths and weaknesses with peers. Formal assessments are data-driven and have been conducted previously with other students to determine statistics that support the test conclusions. They are administered under regulated test-taking conditions, and the data is mathematically computed and reviewed, offering scores as percentiles, stanines or rankings. A primary example of a formal assessment is the Scholastic Aptitude Test, or SAT.
Informal assessments, also known as criterion-referenced measures or performance-based measures, are driven by content and performance, rather than data. A homework assignment score of 14 out of 15 and a group project rubric score of "Excellent" are examples of informal assessments. Informal assessments are used to inform instruction and dictate further practice needed, rather than to measure learning compared to peers, which formal assessments provide.
Summative assessment is the testing of knowledge to determine what a student has learned at the end of a program or grade level. Summative assessments examine progress and evaluate overall achievement of both students and academic programs on a long-term basis. Examples of summative assessments include state assessments, district benchmark assessments, end-of-chapter tests or projects, semester exams and report card grades. Because summative assessments occur over periods of time, they are typically not useful in evaluating classroom level effectiveness and needed learning process interventions, for which formative assessments are more suited.
Formative assessment is testing for the sake of learning to provide information to improve teaching and learning while they occur, when timely adjustments are possible. Examples of formative assessments include teacher feedback, observations, questioning strategies, self and peer reviews, classroom practice and homework, and portfolios. These allow teachers and students to gauge knowledge on a consistent basis to determine appropriate next steps for learning in preparation for the approaching summative assessment. Formative assessments are intended to inform teachers and students on an ongoing basis, while summative assessments are intended to periodically inform a much broader range of stakeholders.
All formal assessments are summative, but not all summative assessments are formal. Formal assessments are standardized and administered in controlled environments typically once a year or less frequently, and scores are utilized for the sake of comparison. Summative assessments gauge a large amount of content acquisition, such as most district and state standardized tests, but they are not always conducted in regulated settings, they can happen multiple times per year, and there is not always a baseline score for comparison. End-of-unit tests or end-of-semester projects are summative but not formal.