A summative assignment is a substantial end-of-term assignment. It can either be a culminating assignment or it can focus on a specific set of learning outcomes. A culminating assignment that assesses students’ ability to synthesize and apply core concepts from the entire course.
University Policies and Guidelines
The summative assignment can be due during the last 5 days of the formal lecture period if it is worth no more than 25% of the final grade.
In courses without a final exam, the summative assignment can be due during the exam period, but cannot be due during the period between the end of the lectures and the start of the exams. See University Policies, Guidelines, and Academic Regulations for complete details.
Recommended Practices
- Avoid scheduling other activitiess in close proximity to the summative assignment due date; students need (and want) sufficient time to devote to a summative assignment, especially if it is a culminating assignment.
- Design assignments with the summative assignment in mind so that you can scaffold students’ learning across the term and avoid duplicating the requirements of the summative assignment.
- Provide clear assignment instructions at the beginning of the term, or at the very least well ahead of the due date so that students can be strategic about time management. Include parameters such as the number of pages or word count, as well as a marking guide or rubric so that students what is expected.
- Be available to answer questions right up until the assignment due date.
- A summative assignment due during the exam period can be worth more than 25%; however, it’s still advisable to keep this component worth around 30-40%. When students earn the majority of marks during the term, they can gauge how they are doing in the course.
Your subject librarian can help support students working on research-based summative assignments.
EXAMPLE: ENGLISH 101A: Introduction to Literary Studies:
Final Anthology Project: students “edit” their own thematic introductory literary anthology, comprised of approximately 5-6 texts from the course (with short poems, they may include up to 8 texts).
