What is a key focus of summative assessments?

Summative assessments are primarily designed to evaluate student learning at the end of an instructional period, such as a course or unit. This type of assessment aims to measure what learners have achieved against a set of standards or learning objectives after the learning process has been completed.

The focus on evaluating completed learning allows educators to determine how well students have understood the material and whether they have met the specified goals. This can inform decisions regarding students' progression, curriculum effectiveness, or the need for further instructional adjustments.

While other aspects like individual growth, feedback for improvement, and identifying learning gaps are essential to the educational process, they are more closely associated with formative assessments, which are aimed at ongoing development and real-time instructional adjustments.