Summative assessment
Summative assessment is the graded test at the end of a unit or course that measures how much you actually learned. Think final exam, big essay, or end-of-term project. It counts toward your grade, unlike the small check-ins you get along the way.
The word summative just means it sums things up. The assessment happens after the teaching is done, so it looks back at everything you covered and asks: how much stuck? That is why it usually carries real weight on your report card.
It is the opposite of formative assessment, which is the low-stakes stuff during the term. Quick quizzes, homework, a teacher asking who is lost. Those help you learn as you go. A summative one judges where you ended up.
Common forms: a final exam, a standardized test, a graded research paper, a term project, or a portfolio you hand in at the end. Higher stakes means it pays to prepare properly, not cram the night before.
Maya has a final exam in Biology worth 40 percent of her grade. All term she had small quizzes that barely counted, but this one is the real measure. She spends two weeks reviewing every chapter because the score sticks.