Summative assessments are intended to assess student learning at the conclusion of a unit of instruction by comparing it with a benchmark or standard. Summative evaluations frequently carry a high point value since they are very important.

The CogAT Test compares a student's level and pattern of cognitive development to that of their age and grade level peers. These general reasoning skills are shaped by experiences acquired in and out of the classroom. Some may say they are testing to 'gifted" students.

In English, math, science, history, social science, and other subjects, the Virginia Public Schools' Standards of Learning (SOL) set minimum requirements for what students should know and be able to do at the end of each grade or course. All though its used to know what the student knows, it is also to measure the teacher's performance.