What type of assessment is characterized by evaluating what students have learned at the end of a lesson or unit?

Summative assessment is designed to evaluate what students have learned at the conclusion of a lesson or unit. This type of assessment typically measures the cumulative knowledge and skills that students have acquired and often occurs after a significant instructional period. Summative assessments can include tests, final projects, or standardized evaluations and are used primarily to determine if learning objectives have been met.

This approach contrasts with other types of assessments, such as formative assessment, which is conducted during the instructional process to monitor student progress and inform instruction. Diagnostic assessments occur at the beginning of instruction to identify students’ existing knowledge and skills, while informal reading inventories focus specifically on a student's reading abilities at any given moment, rather than on the overall performance at the end of an instructional period. Summative assessments play a crucial role in educational settings by providing evidence of student learning and informing future curriculum decisions.