[MUSIC] >> Hi, and welcome back to Assessing Achievement with the ELL in Mind. In this video, we're going to give you a brief overview of summative assessment, and its place within a content classroom, especially with our ELLs in mind. First, what is summative assessment? Summative assessment is the assessment of learning. In other words, what has the student learned by the end of the unit, the end of a course, or the end of a grade level. It is really a review of learning as compared to a standard. This includes content standards and national standards. In other words, in some way, the student's learning is measured to a set bar. Summative assessment measures what students have learned over a set period of time. This type of assessment can be teacher created, but it is often created by others, especially standardized tests. Often we see assessments at a grade and content level that are created by districts so that there are some comparative results among teachers and students. Summative assessment is supported by outcomes of formative assessment. So, often, the students participate in a variety of formative assessments that mirror some kind of task they have to complete on the summative assessment in preparation for it. Why is summative assessment important for ELLs in the content classroom? First and foremost, summative assessment can provide a diagnostic assessment of the student. Often times ELLs are asked to complete a language exam prior to entering content classrooms. This will give the content teacher a basis for the student's language abilities. Next, summative assessment provides information to a third party. This could be the administration team, the school office, the district office, or it could simply be another teacher that the student has in a different content area. Often summative assessment results are including in a student's transcripts or permanent file. For ELLs summative assessment is important because it gives them a basis for inclusion. Often educational opportunities related to college, scholarships or federal monies, are tied to assessment results. Through participation in these assessments, ELLs are provided those same opportunities. Summative assessment measures the language and the content knowledge mastered, and gives teachers an opportunity to snapshot the ELL's best work within the content area. There are many different types of summative assessment. The first and most major type is standardized tests, these fall under the realm of summative assessment. As they are measured to a standard or a bar that the students are expected to meet, after completing a certain grade or content area. Other types of summative assessment could be a test, multiple choice or short answer, for example, it could be a written or oral presentation, or it could be a performance task. In the case of these last three examples, the summative assessment would come at the end of a unit or a lesson and is often teacher created. All students would be held to, and graded on, a common standard or rubric. Though their purposes are different, formative and summative assessment play complementary and special roles within the content classroom, especially with the ELL in mind.