What Are Some Types of Assessment? There are many alternatives
to traditional standardized tests that offer a variety of ways
to measure student understanding. In the early theories of
learning, it was believed that complex higher-order thinking
skills were acquired in small pieces, breaking down learning
into a series of prerequisite skills. After these pieces were
memorized, the learner would be able to assemble them into
complex understanding and insight -- the puzzle could be
arranged to form a coherent picture. Today, we know learning
requires that the learner engage in problem-solving to actively
build mental models. Knowledge is attained not just by receiving
information, but also by interpreting the information and
relating it to the learner's knowledge base. What is important,
and therefore should be assessed, is the learner's ability to
organize, structure, and use information in context to solve
complex problems. "Assessment should be deliberately designed to
improve and educate student performance