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Student Assessment Approaches

Student Assessment Approaches

Assessments are fundamental to the learning experience. They are the tools by which the instructor measures the degree to which the students have achieved the stated learning objectives of a course, unit, or content. Assessments may take many forms, including instructor assessment of the student, student self-assessment, and peer assessment. Instructors are encouraged to include a variety of assessment methods, such as quizzes or exams, papers, projects, online discussions, journals, case studies, or presentations — to name a few.

Why it is important

Assessment is important for all course instructors and their students. Without assessments, online instructors would have difficulty determining whether or not their students have achieved mastery of the course content. Thus, assessments are a critical component of the online course, to which instructors should devote considerable planning and development time. From the online student’s perspective, assessments help them gauge the level and quality of their learning. Knowing which learning objectives or competencies they have fully mastered and still need to work on provides students with important feedback and identifies opportunities for improvement.

How to put it into practice

There are three primary forms of assessment of student learning. Each should be used strategically depending on the type of material and the timeframe for the assessment:

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Keywords:
assessment, measurement, online, learning, diagnostic, summative, formative,
Doc ID:
121278
Owned by:
Karen S. in Instructional Resources
Created:
2022-09-13
Updated:
2024-08-23
Sites:
Center for Teaching, Learning & Mentoring