Is Summative or Formative Assessment the best method of assessing pupils?

Essay from the year 2014 in the subject Education - Educational Tests & Measurements, grade: 72, University of Cumbria, course: Secondary Maths Teaching, language: English, abstract: The analogy of whether weighing a pig makes it fatter seems to refer to the debate over whether assessment is an effective way of raising standards. This introduces the dichotomy of whether summative or formative assessment is the most useful tool for raising standards.

There may also be variables which impact on the success of assessment procedures: one of the central factors may be the role of the subject leader in assessment policies, although the ethos of the school and socio-demographic factors of the area it is situated in may also be influential. ¿Weighing the pig¿ seems to be polysemous in that there are multiple ways of raising standards, some of which do not use any kind of assessment. This essay will examine the above factors and attempt to come to a tentative conclusion about the best way to raise standards.

This paper is supported by a wealth of contemporary educational literature and theories, as well as considering a psychological perspective. It is also informed by a number of appendices collected through the author's personal teaching practice and research.