Classroom formative assessments measure student performance on specific student expectations to inform a teacher's instructional choices, immediate adjustments to unit plans, or changes to lessons (Examples: class quizzes, exit tickets).
Interim assessments measure a student's understanding of a broader span of student expectations to monitor progress, predict summative performance, and identify students for intervention (Examples: benchmarks, STAAR interim assessments).
Summative assessments measure student mastery of a broader span of student expectations at the end of an instructional unit to determine the effectiveness of the program (Examples: student portfolios, STAAR summative assessment).