Summative evaluation should form only a part of the total mark or grade. It ranges from simple knowledge, comprehension, and application to higher degrees of analysis, synthesis, and evaluation. Bloom's Taxonomy is a valuable tool for teachers in ensuring that students not only know the facts or skills but know how, where, when, and why to use them. The idea that individuals have different ways of knowing and of demonstrating what they know is critical information for students and teachers. Being able to show knowledge in a different way, or through a different kind of performance allows students to be assessed on their actual achievement.
Teachers are then able to understand their students more fully.
If students and teachers are not aware of their preferences they will not consistently choose the appropriate teaching or learning strategies. All learners have predisposed ways of taking in, processing, and responding to new information and situations that make sense to them. Each learner presents a unique set of these preferences in the learning situation. When a person knows how they learned a concept or a skill, they are able to repeat this process with new skills and concepts. Metacognition is a key to life-long learning.