Balance among assessment purposes

The Introduction presented two different assessment design scenarios suggested for an online course. Which one appeals to you more? After completing all the required readings and participating in discussions this week, do you still prefer your original choice?

Scenario 1:
In this online class, your grade will be based on weekly multiple-choice quizzes (30%), a final exam (60%), and class participation (10%). The tests and the exam will evaluate what you have learned from this course, which covers the required text, articles, videos and discussion. Questions type will include multiple-choice, true or false, matching and short answers. At the end of the course, your scores and correct answers of all the quizzes and the exam will be provided immediately after you submit the final exam.

Scenario 2:
Your grade consists of:
Weekly open-book quizzes with multiple attempts (pass or fall);
Weekly discussions including a debate + the instructor’s feedback (20%);
A group project addresses real-world problems+ peer evaluation + the instructor’s evaluation and feedback (40%);
An authentic case study + the instructor’s feedback (10%);
A reflection paper + the instructor’s feedback (20%); and
Class participation (10%).

Write a three to four page paper to reflect on what you have learned this week through analyzing these two assessment design scenarios. Consider the following questions:
Identify and explain the purposes of each assessment design in the scenarios. Does each assessment design balance the three main purposes and how does it balance the purposes?
What would be the benefits and disadvantages of each measure listed in the two assessment designs?
What are the roles of instructors and students in the two assessments?
What are the possible impacts of assessment on students’ motivation for learning?
What are the unique challenges to assessing students online by using each assessment design? Which assessment design might more effectively address those issues? Why?
Support your claims with a minimum of three sources
Note: you may cite your text but at least two sources need to be new to you and current (published between 2004 and 2014), scholarly sources, journal articles, and books, not websites, magazines, or video.

In the end of your paper, please write a brief reflection on what you have learned this week.
How well did the learning outcomes align with the learning objectives for this week?
According to Bloom’s Taxonomy, which level of thinking skills do you consider you have reached? Why?
Image Sources

Fig. 2. Earl, L. (2003). Balance among assessment purpose [Image]. From Assessment as learning: Using classroom assessment to maximize student learning (p.27). Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press, Inc.
http://www.edu.gov.mb.ca/k12/assess/wncp/full_doc.pdf