Objectives-Based Assessments

Objectives-based assessments refers to measuring how well students have learned with reference to three elements in predetermined instructional goals or objectives: (1) the performance (what the student must be able to do at the end of the instruction), (2) the conditions or circumstances under which this performance is to take place, and (3) the criteria for judging the quality of what the student does. The example in Table 1 illustrates the structure of an objectives-based assessment and its relationship to the instructional objective, providing a foundation for the more detailed explanation that follows. This entry first discusses the background of objectives-based assessment and how technology enables this older assessment approach to retain its relevance in more modern contexts, before detailing the structure of objectives-based assessments.