What is the difference between formative and summative assessment?

Formative assessment is an ongoing process that teachers use to monitor student learning and adjust instruction based on what they discover. It can include quizzes, writing prompts, discussions, exit tickets, and other activities that provide evidence of students’ understanding during a lesson or unit.

Summative assessment evaluates how well students have met learning objectives at the end of a unit or course, often through a final exam, project, or other graded assignment. While formative assessment helps teachers decide how to adjust instruction, summative assessment measures what students have learned.

Understanding the difference between formative and summative assessment helps teachers choose the best instructional strategies for their students. Quillbot’s AI Chat can help you brainstorm ways to use effective strategies in your classroom.

Related article: 10 Effective Instructional Strategies Every Teacher Should Know

Whether they’re teaching kindergarten, college, art, or physics, effective teachers use 10 essential strategies to create the types of classrooms where learning truly happens. Backward planning Formative assessment Data-driven instruction Differentiated instruction Culturally responsive teaching Activating prior knowledge Direct instruction Scaffolding Retrieval practice Metacognition When teachers use these instructional strategies, they help students build lasting […]

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Education: Other interesting questions

Is MLA double spaced?: Yes, everything in an MLA format essay is double spaced. This includes the document header, the text of your paper, and the works cited entries.

Quillbot’s free Citation Generator automatically double spaces works cited entries to help you follow MLA essay format.
What’s the format for an MLA header with multiple authors?: An MLA header with multiple authors has a separate double-spaced line for each author, and it goes on a title page instead of the first page of the essay. This is the only situation where MLA requires a title page. The header also includes the instructor, course, and date, like this example:

Diana Foss

Patricia Klein

Instructor Singh

English 350

20 April 2026

The title goes in the center of the title page, and the text of the introduction starts on the next page.

MLA essay format involves lots of little rules. Quillbot’s MLA Citation Generator gives you one less thing to worry about.
Does MLA require a title page?: MLA doesn’t require a title page for documents with one author. When you’re writing an MLA format essay, put your name, your instructor’s name, the course number, and the date in a header in the top left corner of the first page.

MLA only requires a title page for group projects with multiple authors. The title page has the same information as the document header in the top left corner, but there’s a separate line for each author, like this example:

Shay Weng

Michael Berblia

Dustin Flay

Rick Bargatti

Dr. Tomlin

Art History 212

30 May 2026

The title of the paper is in the middle of the title page and centered on the line.

Whether your MLA format essay is an individual or group project, Quillbot’s Grammar Checker can help you proofread it for free.
How do you write a title in MLA format?: To write a title in MLA format, you need to know which words to capitalize and which words to keep lowercase.

Capitalize all of these words:

The first word

Verbs (even short ones like “Do”)

Nouns and pronouns (e.g., “They”)

Adjectives and adverbs (e.g., “Tall” and “Quickly”)

Subordinating conjunctions (e.g., “Because”)

Don’t capitalize these words, unless they’re the first word or the first word after a colon:

Prepositions (e.g., “with” and “through”)

Articles (“a,” “an,” “the”)

Coordinating conjunctions (“for,” “and,” “nor,” “but,” “or,” “yet,” and “so”)

When you’re writing an MLA format essay, Quillbot’s Citation Generator can help you format titles correctly on your works cited page.
Do all APA papers need an abstract?: No, APA papers don’t always need an abstract. APA doesn’t require abstracts for student essays and other school assignments. APA only requires abstracts for professional journal articles and other documents for publication.

The only time you need an APA abstract for a school assignment is when the instructor requires one. Check with your instructor or academic department if you’re in doubt.

If you do need to write an abstract, Quillbot’s free Summarizer can help you get started so that you can focus on APA essay format and other details.