Formative and Summative Assessment

All summative assessments should be delivered through Canvas (or a placeholder should exist in Canvas if the assessment is e.g. a closed book exam). Formative assessments should be delivered through Canvas as good practice.

Choose the correct Canvas assessment type for formative and summative assessments. 

Formative Assessment

Formative assessment exists to make continuous improvements for the teacher and the learner. Your assessment types in Canvas must reflect this.

Canvas Quizzes are ideal for formative assessment. You can choose from many different question types:

• Multiple choice – You can create questions with more than one answer, and you can give learners instant feedback when they pick an answer.
• True/False – True False only let learners pick a binary answer.
• Fill In the Blanks – You can have multiple possible answers. Fill in the blanks answers are not case sensitive. Learners need to be careful with their spelling. Possible answers are limited to 80 characters.
• Multiple Answers – This question type is like fill in the blanks, except that multiple answers can be correct.
• Multiple Dropdowns – This question type is like multiple choice except that multiple answers can be correct.
• Matching – This question matches pairs, or you could use it for finish a sentence style questions.
• Numerical Answer – You must write a question to which the answer is a number or number range. You can state the precision (number of digits in the answer) of the question. This is a great question type for mathematical questions
• Formula Question – You can set questions that involve mathematical variables, symbols and equations. Canvas can also generate possible solutions and provide feedback as usual.
• Essay Question – This question type is not auto-marked. An essay question could be quite long. Learners may prefer to submit work in the same format as their summative assessments, e.g. in a Word document.
• File Upload Question – This question type is not auto-marked. Learners may prefer to submit work using a portfolio.

Summative Assessment

Summative assessment evaluates students’ learning at the end of the learning in that topic/subject/course. Summative assessments should be available to your students on Canvas. They should also be marked in Canvas, and your students should be given feedback through Canvas where possible.

Summative assessments must be on the Assignments page. Assessments must be weighted/grouped where appropriate (use Assignment Groups). All assessment settings should be set appropriately. Summative assessments should be written to cover all learning outcomes, and should not cover any material that is not part of a learning outcome. Use a Canvas rubric.

Diagnostic Assessment

You can evaluate a learner’s strengths, weaknesses, knowledge and skills before they learn with you using diagnostic assessment. The Literacy and Numeracy for Adults Assessment Tool is an excellent diagnostic assessment tool. You can give your students an identical assessment at the end of learning to identify if your students have made improvements. Diagnostic tools do not have to directly relate to the topic you teach. A literacy and numeracy diagnostic test can be used to inform your teaching so that you do not leave members of the class behind due to teaching style.

Canvas quizzes and the Literacy and Numeracy for Adults Assessment Tool are excellent formats for diagnostic assessments.