ABSTRACT
One of the most difficult tasks for most teachers is assessing the performance of their students, determining to what extent each individual student has attained the level of mastery defined by the course objectives. This task is a necessary one for a number of reasons: (a) students need to know whether, or to what extent, they are succeeding in mastering the material; (b) we need to certify successful completion of a body of material (our course) as a part of the students’ curriculum or course of study (the biology or physics “major” or some general science requirement); and (c) in the case of students enrolled in professional programs (nursing, physical therapy, etc.), we need to certify competence to practice that profession.
