Diagnostic assessments are a form of pre-test.

These kinds of assessments provide teachers with information about their students prior knowledge before beginning a lesson or unit. Some assessments are designed to assess a student for a specific disability, while others demonstrate mastery of a subject or show what the student needs to learn. Formative assessments take place during a lesson to provide the teacher with information regarding how well the learning objectives are being met. When using formative assessment, teachers should use models and manipulatives to help their students through a hands-on approach. The intent of formative assessment is to provide differentiation for students based on their learning level. A good method of formative assessment is questioning. Summative assessments are used to grade and evaluate the particular level of understanding of each student. Summative assessments may be used in a classroom or at a district level. These exams are usually administered under controlled environment using variables, such as start time and end time for the test or exam. When I think of summative assessments, the proficiency tests I took in high school come to mind.

Sources: http://www.ehow.com/about_5503289_types-diagnostic assessments.html#ixzz2CeJ2Z7cY http://serc.carleton.edu/introgeo/assessment/formative.html