Formative Feedback through Summative Tutorial-based Assessments: The Relationship to Student Performance

Abstract

This paper investigates the effectiveness (measured using assignment and examination performance) of an assessment design incorporating formative feedback through summative tutorial-based assessments to improve student performance, in a second-year Finance course at an Australian university. Data was collected for students who were enrolled in an undergraduate Finance course and analyzed to ascertain performance improvements. The results indicate that there is a relationship between formative feedback through the use of summative tutorial-based assessments and student performance. Our empirical evidence enriches the extant literature surrounding the effectiveness of formative feedback through summative tutorial-based assessments and fosters an interest in assessment designs that provide formative feedback.

Key Words:

• Tutorial-based assessment
• formative feedback
• student performance
• summative assessments
• student attendance
• student participation

JEL Classification:

• I20

Notes

1 Student performance is measured using assignment and examination performance.

2 The number of hand-ins of the tutorial-based assessments will be equivalent to the number of times formative feedback was received by the student.

3 For assignment and examination performance.

4 Student performance is a proxy that is used to measure student learning outcomes (Ramburuth and Mladenovic, 2004). The merits of the proxy is beyond the scope of the study.

5 This is potential future research as an extension to this study.

6 In receiving weekly feedback on the students' work, Black and Wiliam (2009) argue that there would be a change in behavior, where the students would use the formative feedback in addressing their weaknesses in learning.

7 The feedback given for the summative tutorial-based assessment is both summative and formative, i.e. a pass or fail grade (summative) and feedback in addition to the grade (formative). However, given the summative component is limited to either a pass or fail, the formative component would be considered more significant in this context.

8 Commonly referred to as a single course/module in a specific discipline (in this case, Finance), at a specific level of complexity (in this case, at intermediate level).

9 Mid-semester/trimester assignment.

10 A satisfactory assessment is considered to be a minimum of a paragraph or equivalent addressing the given question. If a student provided a one line answer, it was not marked and no formative feedback was given.

11 Students may attend the tutorial, but may not necessarily get a mark if they have not completed the assessment task.

12 The prerequisite marks were unavailable for students who had advanced standing (credit for prior learning) or students who were doing cross-institutional study.