FORMATIVE AND SUMMATIVE ASSESSMENT AND ITS IMPACT ON COURSE UNIT PERFORMANCE: EVIDENCE FROM MANAGEMENT UNDERGRADUATES OF UNIVERSITY

Abstract

Assessment plays a fundamental role in education. The primary purpose of this study is to examine the effect of formative and summative assessment on students’ performance in the course units. To achieve this objective, we designed this study as a multi-stage study, and this paper presented the data collected in stage one of the study. First, we examined the existing practices of formative and summative assessment in evaluating students’ performance; then, we examined the relationship between formative and summative assessment and the students’ performance of different course units. Furthermore, we examined the impact of formative and summative assessments on the performance of different course units. We collected secondary data from two selected departments of the Faculty of Commerce and Management Studies, University of Kelaniya, which aimed to see the effect of changing the composition of each assessment method on the final evaluation. We choose the course units which represent the main course units offered by the faculty. This study's findings revealed that the student's final performance of the course unit is highly related to the summative assessment, and the formative assessment score varies according to the type of assessment, i.e., individual vs group. Individual assessments have a more impact on final course unit performance. The outcomes of this study, theoretically as well as practically is very vital and important for policy design in higher education.