These are the most common tests found in university language programmes. They usually occur at the end of a module or year of study and aim to assess how well students have assimilated course material and whether they have achieved the learning outcomes of the course. In the later stages of a degree programme, as students' linguistic proficiency becomes more varied and advanced, such achievement tests can take on the appearance of proficiency tests (see below) which strictly speaking is inappropriate for anything other than a summative final-year exam intended to attest to a student's overall linguistic proficiency. In other circumstances (and some would argue even in final year - see Module 13, section 13.1.3), it makes little educational sense to test students on substantial amounts of material that have not been covered in the course syllabus.