An integrated part of instruction, assessment determines whether or not curricular goals are being met. It is used to measure the recent knowledge or skills that a student has acquired. We need to continually ask ourselves the following questions:

• “Are we teaching what we think we are teaching?”
  
  
• “Are students learning what they are supposed to be learning?”

Ideally, curriculum and assessment go hand in hand. Most iEARN curricula is project based and is designed to include in-depth learning, involve real world, relevant, holistic tasks, and utilize students’ prior knowledge. These projects attempt to teach skills that will allow students to face a world that is continually changing. Because of their ongoing nature, it should be assumed that as the skill and knowledge base of our students change, so too should the learning goals.

It is good assessment techniques that analyze what has already been learned, what still needs to be reviewed and what new learning goals need to be introduced. Assessment should evaluate how well students’ have mastered old learning goals, as well as help in the planning of new learning goals. If assessment is designed to measure the effectiveness of curriculum, then curriculum should also be driven by the results of previous assessment. This cycle ensures that students are always moving forward on their own learning continuum.

The Project Based Learning with Multimedia site highlights the following six reasons for assessment:

• " Assessment helps teachers develop more complex relationships with their students by providing concrete pieces of work for students and teachers to discuss, as well as opportunities for formal and informal conversations about the work. Similarly, students work closely with each other providing and receiving feedback on their projects; and often mentors, parents, and community members will be involved with the project development or have an interest in the finished product.
  
  
• "Assessment helps students answer the questions "Am I getting it?" and "How am I doing?" Early and frequent feedback from the teacher, peers, and mentors will also provide students with the practice and the knowledge to better assess themselves and find answers to these questions.
  
  
• "Assessment can help make content connections clear. Teachers prompt students to make connections between their research and designs and the relevant subject matter. They can use Journals and Design/Idea Books . Teachers and students can both use such activities to take note of concepts and connections to carry forward to the next stage or activity.
  
  
• "Assessment engages students directly in the evaluation of their own work. Student reflections should be more than just commentary on what the students have done; students highlight what they have learned.
  
  
• "Assessment helps teachers plan their next steps. By documenting and reviewing student progress, eliciting answers to specific questions, and checking for conceptual understanding, teachers gain insights into what the students are learning and what needs to be addressed before moving on.
  
  
• "Assessment helps students plan their projects. Class presentations, design reviews, conversations with teachers and group members, and teacher responses to journal and design/idea book entries, all give students valuable feedback to help them plan their next step.

The folks at Center for Talented Youth talk about the aim of assessment.

“The aim is to improve student performance and not merely to audit it.” Assessment should be learner-centered and focused on student achievement in relation to the goals of a course. Rather than being separate from learning, assessment plays a central role in the instructional process.

In order for assessment to promote learning, three elements must be in place:

• A clear understanding of the learning goals";
  
  
• "Information about where the learner is in relation to those goals"; and
  
  
• "A plan for closing the gap"

Assessment also sheds light on which methods of instruction are most effective. Through assessment, an instructor gains the requisite information for choosing and utilizing those teaching strategies that best help a learner progress towards the goals of a course.
Each course or unit should begin with some sort of pre-assessment:

• Do students already know some of the material you plan to cover?
  
  
• Which students have gaps you'll need to fill?

The way, you'll assess student progress and plan accordingly. For example, informal assessments at the end of each day can help you to map out goals for the following day; you may need to reinforce material with one group of students while introducing new material to others. At the end of the session, you'll measure overall learning and identify areas for each student's continued growth and development.

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