Figure 6.55: Add an Assessment

Scheduled Assessments have many of the same options as Homework, Quizzes, and Tests (Fig. 6.55). The fundamental difference is that you do not specify the content of an assessment; the assessment is produced by ALEKS automatically, as with all other assessments (Sec. 4.1).

Here are some noteworthy features of Scheduled Assessments:

• When creating a Scheduled Assessment, the instructor has a choice between a "Progress"-style assessment and a "Comprehensive"-style assessment. Progress Assessments are slightly shorter and focus on the student's most recent learning history; Comprehensive Assessments are slightly longer and probe more deeply into the student's overall knowledge of the course content.
• Scheduled Assessments will not allow access to worked examples, integrated eBooks, or multiple attempts.
• It is helpful to block automatic assessments for a number of days prior to the Scheduled Assessment, using the Prevent automatic assessment option. A Scheduled Assessment will "reset the clock" for automatic assessments, so that the "blocked" assessments do not kick in when the assessment is completed.

Assessments and Grading. The score for all ALEKS assessments, including those scheduled as assignments, is always a percentage representing the student's knowledge of the entire course contents. Assessments do not measure the students' knowledge exclusively of a particular chapter, unit, or other portion of the course contents. Many instructors prefer not to use Scheduled Assessment results as part of the grading scheme. If Scheduled Assessments are used for grading the grading scale should be set carefully, to reflect your expectation of what the students will have learned at the time the assessment is taken. For more information on setting a goal percentage for a Scheduled Assessment, see Sec. 6.6.2.