UN as a Summative Assessment

At the beginning of the class, I was confused by the two kind of assessment that is formative and summative, because I did not know yet what kind of assessment of them are. I’m absent of the previous meeting about it. And I just realized that I really missing the content. Then, we have to write the differences in a group. Yeay! Thank You God. By the discussion, I get the point of the two kind of assessment. I love the activities, and that activity is really effective in teaching and learning.

Summative assessment is a assessment that held at the end of the whole process in academic period. The purpose of this assessment is to measure students understanding at the end of period. The example: pencil and paper test at final test or mid test; final semester project; final essay; etc. In my opinion the kind of assessment like this has to be very clear and complete for assessing the students. Why? Because this assessment just given once at the end of period and the score will have a huge affect for achievement. So, the preparations have to ready well such as the rubrics, question. They have to be very clear, complete, and complex because it will measure students of the whole period.

One sample of the summative assessment at Indonesia that didn’t agree by me is Ujian Nasional (UN). This kind of assessment being measurement of students for three years, whereas every semester students have being assessed by final test. Back to the purpose of the assessment its self, It is for measuring students achievement for a period, and when it has been complete, reevaluate students is not needed. I think UN is not really appropriate and effective, just imagine that students have already test then they have to repeat again. If the purpose is just for equivalence the education at Indonesia, that’s fine, I mean the score is not being focus of the students’ permit determinant. At the facts, UN being something percent of students’ permit determinant. OK, just take it as a comment for education at Indonesia.

Going back to the summative assessment, we really have to be careful for preparing it.