Summative evaluations are designed to assess the overall effectiveness or outcome of a program, project, or individual's performance at the end of a defined period. Their primary purpose is to "sum up" performance against predetermined benchmarks or goals. This aligns perfectly with the scenario of assessing performance over the preceding year to recognize accomplishments and successes, as it provides a final judgment on the value and results achieved.

B. Formative evaluations: These are ongoing, diagnostic assessments conducted during a process to provide feedback for improvement, not to judge the final outcome at the end of a period.

C. Conductive evaluations: This is not a standard, recognized term in the field of performance management or program evaluation.

D. Challenging evaluations: This describes a characteristic or difficulty level of an evaluation, not a formal type defined by its timing or purpose.

1. Scriven

M. (1991). Evaluation Thesaurus (4th ed.). SAGE Publications. Scriven

who coined the terms

defines summative evaluation as the assessment of a program's (or person's) overall merit or worth after its completion

used for decision-making about its future.

2. Carnegie Mellon University

Eberly Center for Teaching Excellence & Educational Innovation. (n.d.). Summative Assessment. Retrieved from https://www.cmu.edu/teaching/assessment/basics/summative-formative.html. This resource defines summative assessments as tools to "evaluate student [or employee] learning at the end of an instructional unit [or performance period] by comparing it against some standard or benchmark."

3. Worthen

B. R.

& Sanders

J. R. (1987). Educational Evaluation: Alternative Approaches and Practical Guidelines. Longman. On page 39

the authors state

"Summative evaluation is conducted at the end of a project... its purpose is to determine the project's success and whether it should be continued or adopted." This principle applies directly to annual performance reviews in a business context.