As I work with undergraduates in a rural community college in the area of
writing, I first assess their strengths and weaknesses in writing and give
them feedback as we work within the tensions all writers have between
Invention and Convention, between Right Brain and Left Brain domains,
between Centrifugal and Centripetal forces.
As they develop writings throughout the semester, we assess these two
areas and work to become more proficient writers. Their writings at the
assessment level are always open to resubmits and upgraded drafts as they
learn to master the art and "science" of writing in the expository and
argumentative/persuasive forms. However, because at the end of the semester
a grade is expected by all stakeholders--a summative evaluation, as it
were, is made, based on their final formative assessments throughout the
term. This evaluation is final and probably does not add much to their
learning since it cannot be altered.
However, many of the students who take advantage of the formative
assessments throughout out the term, achieve final evaluations of A's, but
more importantly, the comments I've received is that they feel that they
have learned more in this writing class as they worked on improving their
own, personal writing skills than they have ever learned when only the
"purist," linear, summative evaluative approaches were used in the past.
Nothing is less motivating and less useful than receiving an evaluation on
one project, which cannot be changed,with the assurance that future
evaluations on other assignments will help improve their averages for the
final evaluation---the almighty grade.
So for what it's worth, the distinction between formative and summative
approaches helps me teach as "authentically" as I can in a not so
user-friendly, "credentializing" setting.
Michael E.
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> From: Ricardo Ottoni <rjapias who-is-at ibm.net>
> To: xmca who-is-at weber.ucsd.edu
> Subject: Portfolio assessment
> Date: Thursday, February 25, 1999 9:17 PM
>
> Would anyone, please, tell me what's the difference between
> Assessment and evaluation? Is there any difference between them?
>
> An other question:
> What a skatehold is? (I looked in some English-Portuguese dictionaries
> but did not find that word)
>
> Ricardo.
>