Assessment at a Distance: Traditional vs. Alternative Assessments.

Abstract

Assessment is one of the crucial components of the instruction. People within the educational community, i.e. policymakers, educators, students, parents, administrators, have different ideas regarding the implementation of assessment strategies (Dietel, Herman, and Knuth, 1991). While some believe traditional assessment methods are more effective, others think that alternative assessment tools are superior. This article is written to inform people particularly in the field of distance education about assessment practices at a distance. However, the content of assessment is not a field specific and it can be applied to various instructional settings (Simonson, Smaldino, Albright, and Zvacek, 2000). Therefore, anyone who is directly or indirectly related to education –distance or face-to-facemight find the information presented in this article useful.