Feedback Dynamics -- Formative Flywheel vs. Summative Pressure Trap¶
Run the Feedback Dynamics Diagram Fullscreen
About This MicroSim¶
This causal loop diagram shows two reinforcing loops in assessment design. R1 (Formative Flywheel) is the productive loop: frequent formative checks produce sharp diagnostic signals, which drive instructional adjustments, which raise learner performance (with delay), which improves metacognitive calibration, which motivates more formative checks. R2 (Summative Pressure Trap) is the corrosive loop: high summative stakes raise perceived pressure, which produces test-wise behavior (cramming, cue-matching), which crowds out genuine learning and degrades the signal-to-noise ratio of scores -- this is Goodhart's Law rendered as a loop. Diagnostic signal quality is the shared pivot variable.
Diagram Details¶
graph LR
FAF["Formative Assessment Frequency"]:::r1 -->|"+"| DSQ["Diagnostic Signal Quality"]:::shared
DSQ -->|"+"| IA["Instructional Adjustment"]:::r1
IA -->|"+ with delay"| LP["Learner Performance"]:::r1
LP -->|"+"| MC["Metacognitive Calibration"]:::r1
MC -->|"+"| FAF
SS["Summative Stakes"]:::r2 -->|"+"| PTP["Perceived Test Pressure"]:::r2
PTP -->|"+"| TWB["Test-Wise Behavior"]:::r2
TWB -->|"−"| EGL["Effort on Genuine Learning"]:::r2
EGL -->|"+"| LP
TWB -->|"−"| SNR["Signal-to-Noise Ratio of Scores"]:::r2
SNR -->|"+"| DSQ
SS -->|"−"| FAF
R1[" R1: Formative Flywheel -- reinforcing, productive "]:::looplabel
R2[" R2: Summative Pressure Trap -- reinforcing, corrosive "]:::looplabel
classDef r1 fill:#4A90D9,stroke:#2C5F8A,color:#fff
classDef r2 fill:#E8795A,stroke:#C0392B,color:#fff
classDef shared fill:#7B8D8E,stroke:#4A6163,color:#fff
classDef looplabel fill:none,stroke:none,color:#555,font-size:12px