When taking an online class the learner benefits from mastery and repetition of content. Since much is lost in the lack of personal communication I think it’s most effective to use the growth-referenced assessment. In this type of assessment the student’s performance is compared with the learner’s prior experience (Oosterhof, Conrad & Ely, 2008). In the online college courses I teach I use a pre-test writing assessment to determine where my students are in relation to his/her writing ability. As I grade their essays and provide feedback, I can give specific enough feedback so they can make improvements in their writing and progress through the course. I stress that I need to see improvement in MLA and writing skill as the class progresses.
For high school though, it might still be best to use criterion-referenced assessment. I might teach smaller units on individual skills and then test the class on those skills to see where students’ strengths and weaknesses lie. In a high school online environment mastery of the content is critical. It would be useful for students to be allowed to retake the tests as many times as they can in order to obtain mastery.
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