Successful Students' Formative and Summative Uses of Assessment Information

The purpose of this study was to document successful students' perceptions about the formative and summative aspects of classroom assessments. Interviews with 50 students in high school English and Anatomy classes, about specific classroom assessment events, were coded according to students' descriptions of the formative and summative aspects of the assessments. These successful students engaged in self-assessment as a regular, ongoing process and actively tried to fit new information about their learning into their careers as students. They did not make neat distinctions between formative and summative assessment, but used assessment in a variety of integrated ways. This is consistent with their outlook on learning, which they reported viewing as one of their important life processes.