It involves the process of gathering and analyzing data in order to properly organize your content to achieve the necessary goals. (Should not be graded as it checks their understanding)

Formative assessments could be used to find out what students already know and probably what they would be able to do in the future.   It could also be in the form of ongoing assessments where the teacher is checking the student's understanding of the content being taught

This type of assessment usually is found at the end of the learning process or study..   It is usually graded and could include but is not limited to test, projects, demonstrations, presentations, and performance tasks.   

Summative assessments are done to find out the knowledge gained by the student throughout the teaching process. Additionally, it could be used to predict the possible futures of the students or determine their learning priorities.

• Why is it used?

Assessment as learning can be used to encourage students to assess themselves and their classmates, which involves taking responsibility for their own learning. 

• Why is it used?

Assessments for learning can be an effective way for teachers to get a clear idea of students' learning and understanding as the lesson is being taught. This type of assessment can give teachers crucial information about the students' knowledge as they're learning. This information can then be used by the teacher to change or adapt their teaching (i.e. classroom management, lesson plans, activities, tasks' level of difficulty, etc).

Assessments for learning may give teachers vital information throughout the lesson, such as:

· Do most students understand what's being taught? 
· Do students find this lesson too easy? Too difficult?
· What is the students' main struggle in this lesson?

Assessment for learning seems to help students improve rather than just achieve a higher mark in their final test or exam.

Diagnostic assessments could also be called pre-assessment.  They usually occur before teaching happens and are usually never graded.  They find out what the students already know (or don't) and what they probably would be able to do in the future.  Could also be used to find out student interests, learning type, and preferences. 

They are usually done to find out the students' individual strengths, weaknesses, what they may or may not know about the topic.  It is used as a benchmark to determine if the students are ready for the next level.  Could be in the form of classroom discussions, Short quizzes, etc, just to check their understanding before things go up a notch.