Identify each of the following activities, identify what is being testing and describe the test as formative evaluation or summative evaluation:

Question

a. A school board tests various Internet filters to choose one for the elementary school libraries.
b. A project team creates a local prototype to decide if a single search box will work for the intended audience.
c. An animation team tries several motion capture systems and decides to use hand animation instead.
d. The project catches and fixes several severe usability problems before the site goes live.
e. Before starting the process of creating a new version of the Web site, a project evaluates the current version of the Web site, looking for major usability problems.

Answer 1

a. The Internet filters are products already available on the market; the testing is occurring afterwards. This is an example of summative evaluation.
b. A local prototype is one created during the formation of a Web site. This is an example of formative evaluation.
c. The motion capture systems are products that are completed and available for sale. Thus the testing is occurring after the completion of the product and is summative evaluation.
d. The evaluation occurred while the Web site was still in development. This is an example of formative evaluation.
e. The item being tested is the current version of the Web site, which already exists. This is a summative evaluation of the current version of the Web site. A weak case can be made for this being a formative evaluation for the new version of the Web site, but only if the student specifies that the current Web site is the prototype for the new Web site.