According to the text, "Assessment is defined as the process of measuring, documenting and interpreting behaviors that demonstrate learning. " The text also discusses the need for assessments to provide feedback to students and teachers. Students utilize feedback for application of content material ans teachers utilize assessments to consider good and bad instructional design and the identification of low performing students that may require remediation. The text identifies the importance of pre-tests, periodic assessments and post -tests within a course ( Simonson, Smaldino & Zvacek, 2015, pp. 226-227).

Assessments relation to instructional design serves as a basis to
form course objectives and instructional strategies. The text describes "teaching to the test" as a necessary aspect of design and describes the component of the cognitive domain and the lack of affective behavior during tasks or assessments. According to Kellar and Suzuki, learner motivation is increased by assessments and activities that build student confidence and the text describes the use of norm referenced, criterion referenced, weighted scores and their appropriate applications (Simonson, Smaldino & Zvacek, 2015).

According to the text, good assessments align with the learning objectives and activities of a specific course. This serves to manage student expectations of course evaluations. Assessment validity, reliability and clarity of expectations are all identified as necessary components of a successful evaluation (Simonson, Smaldino & Zvacek, 2015).

According to the text, whether an assessment is considered objective or subjective depends on the individual results. The text states that, "Objective tests do not require human intervention to determine whether a student has achieved mastery and subjective tests demand individual scrutiny to determine the learners' score."A mix of various types of assessments is recommended to survey learners on different levels of the taxonomy including authentic assessment which simulates real world challenges(Simonson, Smaldino & Zvacek, 2015, pp.232).

Formative and summative evaluations are based on how the results will be utilized. Formative assessments are commonly utilized for feedback for the student and an understanding of where the student is in their learning process for the instructor. In contrast, summative assessments are administered to assign grades to specific content. Diagnostic assessments are mentioned with caution as they are not considered a category of assessments. According to the text, diagnostic assessments are utilized for both formative and summative purposes(Simonson, Smaldino & Zvacek, 2015).

The text describes numerous advantages to online quizzes and tests such as randomization of questions, instant learner feedback, multiple retakes and the transfer of scores to the online grade book. If an exam is considered high-stakes, the text describes the option of a proctored exam with student identification who takes the assessment in a monitored setting on a lock down browser (Simonson, Smaldino & Zvacek, 2015).

According to the text, "The most frequently used features in any content management system is the asynchronous discussion forum." Discussion boards can produce higher order thinking as students have sufficient time to formulate responses. The text also describes blogs and wikis as alternatives to discussion boards that promote affective behaviors and collaboratively end in a communal answer Last, the text describes online journals as a means to promote student reflection but limit student confession and utilization as therapeutic counseling(Simonson, Smaldino & Zvacek, 2015, pp. 236 ).

Synchronous communication can be a valuable assessment tool as instructor observation is preferred for assessments pertaining to particular subjects. Synchronous communication also fosters a sense of community concerning the learning environment and builds a relationship with the instructor . The text references a disadvantage of conducting real-time assessments as chaos if assessing twelve or more students at one time (Simonson, Smaldino & Zvacek, 2015).

According to the text, portfolios are gaining popularity in all disciplines as a long-term assessment tool. The text describes portfolios as a way to promote a meaningful relationship with the instructor and to support self reflection (Simonson, Smaldino & Zvacek, 2015).

According to the text, term papers are still a good assessment for both distance and face-to-face learning environments. The electronic composition of papers and the digital drop box for paper submission make digital assignments user friendly. Wikis and multi-media products can also be utilized as assessment tools within a CMS or website (Simonson, Smaldino & Zvacek, 2015).

Problem based activities and case based scenarios are a means to assess the students' ability to synthesize information and work best when presented as real-world scenarios in collaborative learning environments. Instructor produced games may create collaborative assignments that help distance learners feel part of the community. According to the text, educational simulations that are pre-created may be utilized for student assessment as creating individual simulations is a difficult task (Simonson, Smaldino & Zvacek, 2015).

According to the text, to facilitate student creative thinking graphic models may be utilized for student assessment. Graphic modeling is appropriate for face-to-face and distance learning environments(Simonson, Smaldino & Zvacek, 2015).

According to the text, distance education students benefit from ongoing assessments. The American Association for Higher Education states, " The point is to monitor progress toward intended goals in the spirit of continuous improvement." Non-graded assessments also reduce stress regarding scoring large amounts of student work (Simonson, Smaldino & Zvacek, 2015, pp. 240).

According to the text, rubrics are means to insure consistency and fairness concerning the grading of subjective assignments. Careful design considerations are necessary to insure the correct amount of points are assigned to the appropriate mastery levels.(Simonson, Smaldino & Zvacek, 2015).

According to the text, collaboration is a strategy that is widely used in the learning environment even though competitive students do not prefer this type of work. The text describes methods to overcome obstacles when utilizing collaborative work such as pre-defining grading criteria, peer evaluations and utilizing the CMS to monitor contributions and progress (Simonson, Smaldino & Zvacek, 2015).

As a distance education instructor, it is important to communicate with tech support to insure seamless solutions are implemented regarding technical problems. The text discusses the need for setting clear student expectations regarding the experience of technical difficulties during course assessments. Last the text describes the need to, "Negotiate resolutions," if a student does not successfully complete an assignment due to technical issues (Simonson, Smaldino & Zvacek, 2015, pp. 244).

When selecting appropriate assessment measures, the text describes the need to consider the lesson outcomes and the logistics of the learners. The text discusses questioning to assist with the selection of assessment activities such as, "What evidence of learning will these activities generate?" According to the text, the questions can be modified for individual courses(Simonson, Smaldino & Zvacek, 2015, pp. 244).

According to the text, academic misconduct is a problem that is equally distributed between face-to -face and DE learning environments. The text does discuss that the physical separation of student and teacher concerning DE specific courses may enhance the concern of academic misconduct coupled with increased technological literacy(Simonson, Smaldino & Zvacek, 2015).

According to Engal 2013, verification of student identity concerning DE course assessment is imperative to prevent "Pell Runners" from from committing student aid fraud (Simonson, Smaldino & Zvacek, 2015, pp. 246).

The text describes plagiarism as a problem that has been enhanced by technology. Some forms of plagiarism are carelessness and some are direct such as purchasing term papers from online sources (Simonson, Smaldino & Zvacek, 2015). .

The text describes the use of multiple small stake assessments throughout a unit, course or module as a strategy to deter academic misconduct. McCabe and Butterfield discuss the use of signed pledges prior to assignment submission and peer judiciaries to decide appropriate consequences for misconduct (Simonson, Smaldino & Zvacek, 2015). .

According to the text, peer assessment has been utilized to facilitate self-assessment and meta-cognition for many years but MOOCs have increased it's use due to the large number of learners that participate in these courses. Clear grading criteria must be explained to learners serving as peer evaluators and instructors must accept the validity and reliability of peer assessments to integrate this into the course(Simonson, Smaldino & Zvacek, 2015).

The text describes competency based education as an opposition to traditional "seat time" methodology. According to the text, CBE's outcomes and criteria are specified at the beginning of the course allowing learners to take accountability for their individual learning. The creation of meaningful assignments and assessments that reflect validity and reliability can be challenging(Simonson, Smaldino & Zvacek, 2015, pp 251).

According to the text, the prior learning assessment model is slowly moving forward. Post-secondary institutions have difficulty validating the less rigorous standards and the separation of assessment and teaching. The text describes this methodology as appealing to a mobile population that requires mobility concerning education(Simonson, Smaldino & Zvacek, 2015).

I enjoyed this chapter as the information parallels what I am learning simultaneously in an educational concepts class. The text states the need for collaboration and various types of assessments as course requirements but all demand alignment with the course objectives. I agree with this methodology other than the text mentioning the need to " teach to the test." In health science, we utilize a task analysis for teaching which is based on the evaluation but the evaluation is never referenced during teaching due to the pedagogical breakdown of the task or conceptual information being transferred. The task analysis is much more in depth than the evaluation and references all applicable information from multiple classes within the health science curriculum. This may be the difference between general and specific course or curriculum instruction. I also learned about MOOCS and CBE , which I have been curious about as media promotes these educational concepts but I am still uneasy about their content and assessment validity and reliability.