Formative assessment takes place on a day-to-day basis during teaching and learning, allowing teachers and pupils to assess attainment and progress more frequently. It begins with diagnostic assessment, indicating what is already known and what gaps may exist in skills or knowledge. Often formative assessments may not be recorded at all, except perhaps in the lesson plans drawn up to address the next steps indicated. Summative assessment sums up what a pupil has achieved at the end of a period of time, relative to the learning aims and the relevant national standards. It is an observation or a task usually recorded through a written test. So, it is more reliable than formative evaluation.