Assessment in the field of education focuses on the measurement of student learning. The gauge or yardstick used for measurement may take a variety of forms, and effective assessment often involves the use of multiple forms of assessment as a basis for educational decision making. This entry first discusses summative assessments and their relationship to formative and benchmark assessments, then explains the scoring and analysis of summative assessments. Common uses of summative assessments, such as their relationship to school accountability, their use in the Response to Intervention process, and the role they play in entrance to college also are considered.

Summative assessments are assessments of learning, which sum up what a student has learned at a particular point in time. An assessment that is given at ...