Compare methods

	Formative Evaluation	Summative Evaluation
Field	Public Policy	Public Policy
Family	Process / pipeline	Process / pipeline
Year of origin	1967	1967
Originator	Michael Scriven	Michael Scriven
Type	Improvement-oriented evaluation function	Judgement-oriented evaluation function
Seminal source	Scriven, M. (1967). The methodology of evaluation. In R. W. Tyler, R. M. Gagné, & M. Scriven (Eds.), Perspectives of Curriculum Evaluation (pp. 39–83). Chicago: Rand McNally. ISBN: 9780528616600	Scriven, M. (1967). The methodology of evaluation. In R. W. Tyler, R. M. Gagné, & M. Scriven (Eds.), Perspectives of Curriculum Evaluation (pp. 39–83). Chicago: Rand McNally. ISBN: 9780528616600
Aliases	Improvement-Oriented Evaluation, Developmental Improvement Evaluation	Outcome Judgement Evaluation, Accountability Evaluation
Related	4	4
Summary	Formative evaluation is evaluation conducted to improve a program, policy or product while it is still being developed or refined. The term was coined by Michael Scriven in his 1967 essay 'The Methodology of Evaluation', alongside its counterpart summative evaluation. Where summative evaluation renders a final verdict on a completed intervention, formative evaluation feeds timely information back to designers and implementers so they can fix problems, adjust components and strengthen the intervention before it is finalised or scaled.	Summative evaluation is evaluation conducted to render an overall judgement of a program, policy or product — its merit, worth, effectiveness or impact — typically after it has been implemented or has matured. Named by Michael Scriven in his 1967 essay 'The Methodology of Evaluation' as the counterpart to formative evaluation, its purpose is to inform consequential decisions: whether to continue, expand, replicate, defund or certify an intervention. It addresses the bottom-line question 'did it work, and was it worth it?' for audiences such as funders, policymakers and the public.