How to inform students about summative assessment. Strategies to make formative the mark

Abstract

The summative assessment is known, mainly in the upper secondary
school, as the grade that the teachers give after an oral, written or practical
examination. Sometimes, the teachers talk and debate with the pupils,
sometimes the pupils are only informed without underlining any formative
aspects. If the teachers tell and discuss the summative assessment with the
pupils, they can activate several formative values which can remain latent
and hidden. This situation can rise misunderstandings and the assessment
cannot trigger metacognitive and self-reflective processes. This experimental
study was aimed at verifying that the organization of modalities of
grade’s communication among teachers, pupils and parents can foster and
enhance a better comprehension of the assessment and start meaningful
formative processes.