This is an evaluation made by the teacher at the conclusion of a unit of work, instruction, or assessment activity to assess student skills, knowledge, and understandings at that particular point in time, or the validity of an assessment task.

The assessment of student achievement at the end point of their education or at the end of a course. The focus of summative assessment is on the documentation of student achievement by the end of a course or program. It does not reveal the pathway of development to achieve that endpoint. (For comparison, see Formative assessment.)

Assessment generally taking place at the end of a course and leading to the attribution of a grade or a mark to the learner, which will allow the learner to move to the next part of the course, or which completes the course. See also Formative assessment

an assessment that measures student mastery of all indicators included in a unit or other instructional period at the end of that instructional period

Assessment typically completed at the end of a learning period with the aim of providing a final evaluation of individual's mastery of a knowledge or skill.

An assessment which is conducted at the end of a course which gives information on students' mastery of intended learning outcomes. The grade obtained will allow the learner to move to the next part of the course, or to complete a course.

is the formal and final assessment and is used to make assessment decisions - ie, the decision about whether the assessment candidate is competent or not. Summative assessment is said to measure the ‘sum’ of performance. TAFE Technical and Further Education

Cumulative assessment that usually occurs at the end of a unit, topic, project, or problem. It identifies what students have learned and judges student performance against previously identified standards. Summative assessment is most often thought of as final exams, but it may also be a portfolio of student work.

Summative assessment seeks to establish the level of achievement attained by a student, and typically occurs at the end of a learning sequence, course or unit. Although the main purpose of summative assessment is to establish levels of achievement for reporting and certification, it also provides information for judging the effectiveness of teaching. In practice, then, summative and formative assessments are not always easily separated.

This kind of assessment is designed to establish the extent to which pupils have achieved the learning aims of a programme of work. It can take various forms: an end-of-unit test to check whether key points have been understood or whether key skills have been acquired; a pass/fail criterion-referenced test or examination in which the pupil demonstrates whether she/he can meet the success criteria for a longer period of work (e.g. a term or a year); an examination that samples a representative range of a large programme of work and grades pupils' performance, either in relation to grade-related criteria or, on a norm-referenced basis, in terms of their place in the rank order of all those taking the exmination. Feedback is usually in the form of a mark or a pass/fail or achieved/not achieved statement, without comment on strengths and future learning needs or next steps. However, it is often possible to use summative assessments formatively - for example, to identify areas of understanding or skill that need more attention.

longitudinal analysis of student learning by comparing baseline with end-of-year levels of achievement to determine gains and evaluate connections between teaching and learning. Summative assessments tend to be formal and comprehensive and are conducted at the conclusion of a unit, course or program.

evaluation of learning that takes place on completion of the learning activity or activities.

an assessment at the end of training. It aims to summarise what the trainee has learned during training. The assessment does not necessarily provide evidence of what the trainee can and will do in the workplace.

Summative assessment is designed to determine if a unit of competency has been achieved, by assessing the elements of competency and their performance criteria and observing the critical aspects of evidence specified in the evidence guide.

any assessment which measures achievement and is used to determine the final result.

Evaluation of an information system against formal functional metrics or organisational outcome measures. See also: Formative assessment.

An assessment at the end of a program period determining the overall quality of a program's results.

Any exam that can assess the degree to which students have met the stated learning Goals of a £¨language£©course£®In this sense, an exam acts as a "summary"of what students have learned£®Also known as Formal Assessment

is designed to provide an evaluative summary. (Allen, 2002).

Evaluation of performance based on a piece of work at the end of a project or course. Back to the top

The gathering of information at the conclusion of a course, program, or undergraduate career to improve learning or to meet accountability demands. When used for improvement, impacts the next cohort of students taking the course or program. Example: examining student final exams in a course to see if certain specific areas of the curriculum were understood less well than others. (Leskes, 2002)

Assessment that is designed to measure the extent of student achievement of curriculum statement learning outcomes. Summative assessment is usually undertaken on completion of a section, or the whole, of a unit. Results of student performance in summative assessment tasks contribute to or form the SACE final assessment for the unit.

The summing up of student progress to date which may occur during the unit and at the conclusion of a unit. It may include making decisions about next learning steps. LITE

Culminating assessment for a unit, grade level, or course of study providing a status report on mastery or degree of proficiency according to identified learning outcomes. (McTighe & Ferrara)

This is used for the recording of the overall achievement of the pupil in a systematic way. It occurs at the end of a scheme of work or phase of education, and a norm-referenced assessment is often used for this final summing up of performance. KS2 and KS3 tests and GCSE exams are quintessential summative assessments. Test The entity for which a score is given. May comprise many batteries of sub-tests.

Evaluation administered at the conclusion of a unit of instruction to comprehensively assess student learning and the effectiveness of an instructional method or program. ( learn more)

Summative assessment refers to the assessment of the learning and summarises the development of learners at a particular time. After a period of work, eg a Unit for two weeks, the learner would sit a test and then the teacher would mark the test and assign a score. This test would summarise learning up to that point.