Assessment Definitions

1.     Assessments often function as a motivational activity. Most learners want to do well, and knowing that they will be held accountable for a body of knowledge or set of skills can put them on the right track.

2.     Assessing a learner’s readiness to begin an instructional unit can be particularly important in a skills training environment.

3.     Asynchronous Communication these flexible online utilities can be used to implement a wide variety of assessment activities.

4.     Cheating to a great extent, teachers assume that students are honest individuals. For example, few instructors in a face-to-face classroom environment would consider checking identification to verify that each person sitting in that room is, in fact, who they claim to be.

5.     Journal Writing is defined as when students participating in field experiences or clinical rotations are frequently required to track their progress through journal writing, often in response to specific learning objectives or for accountability and accreditation purposes.

6.     Validity is known as the degree to which an assessment provides an accurate estimate of learning gains.

7.     Criterion-referenced is when the rater compares the learner’s performance with that of a predetermined set of standards drawn from the learning objectives.

8.     Reliability refers to the stability of an instrument or activity.

9.     With planning, almost any technique for assessment possible in a regular classroom is also possible for distant learners.

10.            Formative assessments are those activities that lead to the refinement of the instruction itself.