Summative assessment

Summative assessment follows a sequence of learning activities. It gives teachers, students, parents, and whānau an indication of achievement to date. It may come at the end of a unit of work, at the end of a term, or from an end-of-year examination. NCEA assessment, whether internal or external, is summative.

Although written tests are frequently used as summative assessment tasks, other approaches can provide valid evidence of student understanding and application. In such cases, the student will generally be expected to provide an evidence trail that supports their final product.

What this might look like

• Students keep portfolios (possibly e-portfolios) of their work.
• Students undertake practical investigations or tasks where they have to co-operate to complete a task and (either collaboratively or individually) share their reasons for using specific steps and relate to these to a theoretical basis.
• Students make end-of-unit oral presentations supported by written evidence of the background to their presentation.
• Students are given a rich task that they work on over multiple sessions.
• Students design a webpage, data show presentation, or poster that shows their understanding, supported by evidence of relevant background research.
• Students make an e-mind map on a specified subject.
• Students produce a video or use another creative way of showing their understanding.

Assessment for qualifications

Agricultural and horticultural science programmes integrate concepts and learning from achievement objectives in biology, science, economics, geography, and technology. For this reason, learning can be assessed using achievement standards from a range of subjects as well as those from agricultural and horticultural science. For example, landscaping to enhance the sales area of an orchard could equally well be assessed under:

• AS90922 Agricultural and horticultural science 1.8: Design a landscape plan that reflects user requirements
• AS91044 Technology 1.1: Undertake brief development to address a need or opportunity
• AS91045 Technology 1.2: Use planning tools to guide the technological development of an outcome to address a brief
• AS91046 Technology 1.3 Use design ideas to produce a conceptual design for an outcome to address a brief
• AS91047 Technology 1.4: Undertake development to make a prototype to address a brief

Teachers have considerable scope to select standards that will assess valued learning and engage their students. See the learning objectives and the programme design section of this guide for suggestions.

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Last updated October 12, 2011

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