Assessment as a 'learning checkpoint' tool

Assessment happens to check if learning has occurred, by including different 'checkpoints' in the course where learners show us what they know. Generally we view assessment generally as a way to determine course completion. What we ask them to do can actually gather data for 1 of 3 different assessment reasons;

Assessment FOR learning

We will build in assessment points here in order to gather data that we can use to gauge if what we are doing (our teaching methods) are working. We look to see if learners have achieved the level of learning we had planned, and adjust our future teaching accordingly.

Assessment OF learning

We will build in assessment points here in order to gather data that we can use to compare student performance/mastery, and to report out (issuing a resulting grade).

Assessment AS learning

We will build in assessment points here in order to help learners gather data that they can use to gauge where they are (on track/off track). We help learners to determine if they have achieved the level of learning we had planned, so that we can help them to adjust for any needed corrections in their performance/mastery.

These are critical to determine the degree to which a learners has achieved a course outcome.