Formative assessment is used during learning to check progress and change teaching. Summative assessment is used at the end of a stretch of teaching to judge how far learners got against a standard. Most courses need both. Neither is automatically better.
This is not the same distinction as formal versus informal assessment. A conversation can be formative. An exam can be summative. Last reviewed: 31 August 2026.
Side by side
| Formative | Summative | |
|---|---|---|
| When | During the work | At the end of a unit, term or course |
| Main job | Improve the next teaching and learning move | Certify or summarise achievement against criteria |
| Typical examples | Questions, drafts, exit tickets, observation, low-stakes quizzes | Final tests, end-of-unit tasks, standardised exams, performances used for a grade |
| Feedback | Specific, soon enough to use | Often a mark or level; feedback may come too late to retry the same task |
How they work together
Formative evidence should make the summative task less of a surprise. Summative evidence should not be the first time anyone finds out a class cannot do the thing. Assessment for learning is the classroom habit of using formative evidence well.
What this page is not
- Not “formative is monthly and summative is the exam.” Timing follows purpose, not a calendar.
- Not a claim that summative should always outweigh formative. High-stakes uses are a policy choice.
- Not an AI assessment guide. If you are generating items, check them. See Designing Assessments with AI.
Sources
- Black, P. and Wiliam, D. Formative assessment as evidence used to adapt teaching.
- Related distinction: formal and informal assessment.