The terms formative evaluation and summative evaluation are used to identify two different types of student evaluations. While both types may collect student feedback as a source of data, they are very different in terms of their purpose, the content of the feedback, and the way in which the student information is collected.

The focus of this guide is on formative evaluation, and using student feedback during the semester to help improve teaching. Summative evaluation is used by the organization to collect student feedback at the end of the semester to evaluate teaching effectiveness primarily for the purpose of institutional accountability.