Summative and Formative Feedback

• In Event: 67.037 - Instructional Feedback: Types, Contexts, and Recommendations

Abstract

What is feedback? It may seem apparent today that providing feedback is a formative enterprise, intended for the improvement of student work and the learning for which it provides evidence. However, this has not always been the case. As theories of learning have changed, what counts as feedback has changed and, accordingly, research evidence of what feedback is and what it can do have changed. This presentation cites evidence from historical and current research to chronicle and describe these changes:
a) Early 20th century studies of feedback were based in behaviorist and associationist views of learning. These early studies conceived of feedback as a reward or punishment for performance on summative assessment. Definitions of feedback from this era will be presented and analyzed, along with examples of the feedback itself.
b) Studies done under these behaviorist/summative approaches found feedback had very small effects on learning. Kluger and DeNisi (1996) report effect sizes from two historical meta-analyses of feedback effects in the 0.07 to 0.09 range.
c) By the late 20th century, cognitive and constructivist views of learning eclipsed behaviorist views. Studies in this period conceived of feedback as information for students during the course of their learning, an aspect of formative assessment. Hattie and Timperley (2007) report the average effect sizes across 13 previous meta-analyses as 0.79.
d) Studies done under these constructivist/formative approaches found feedback had large effects on learning. Again, definitions of feedback from this era will be presented and analyzed, along with examples of the feedback itself.
e) Studies of student perceptions of feedback, even those done in the context of summative assessment, find that students prefer feedback that gives them information for improvement (formative feedback).
Therefore, historical and current research leads to the conclusion that the most appropriate role for feedback is as part of a formative approach to learning. Feedback on summative assessment may be used strategically for specific, limited purposes. For example, feedback on summative assessment may be useful if students are given an opportunity to revise their work or re-take a test. In addition, feedback on summative assessment may be useful if the next instructional unit after a summative assessment builds on the concepts and skills that are the subject of the feedback. Notice, however, that these limited purposes in effect temporize the summative nature of the assessment on which the feedback was given, essentially turning them into “last-minute formative” episodes. Finally, the presentation will relate these conclusions back to current definitions of formative and summative assessment and the nature of learning in classrooms.

Author

• Susan M. Brookhart, Duquesne University