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Assessment formats

Use adaptive follow-up where one answer is not enough.

Reasonline Assess can follow submitted student work, power a standalone assessment, or create a progressive sequence in which each question responds to the evidence already available.

The right format depends on what the instructor is trying to learn from the interaction. A short explanation may be enough for one assignment. Another assessment may need the student to defend a design choice, respond to a changed condition, compare alternatives, or transfer reasoning into a new context.

The format should serve the capability — not the technology.

Artifact follow-up

Ground questions in work the student already completed — a paper, spreadsheet, design, or code submission.

Case or scenario assessment

The next question can respond to a changed constraint rather than advancing through a fixed quiz.

Oral-style examination

Supported audio or video lets students explain reasoning in a more oral form.

Written adaptive assessment

A written response becomes the beginning of the assessment, not the end of it.

Presentation or design defense

Ask why a choice was made, what was rejected, and what the student would revise now.

Portfolio or capstone dialogue

Explore integration, application, and transfer across a larger body of work.

Planned — today's dialogue is scoped to one assessment at a time.

One assessment can move across different levels of reasoning.

A market-entry assessment, for example, might begin by asking the student to explain the recommendation and identify the evidence supporting it. A later question might challenge an assumption. Another might introduce a changed market condition. Another might ask the student to compare alternatives or revise the original recommendation.

Explain → Evidence → Challenge → Transfer → Compare → Revise

The finished artifact remains evidence. The dialogue adds another line of evidence around the reasoning.

Illustrative example

A marketing case, five rounds

A constructed example, not a captured student session — it shows the shape of a longer George dialogue, not literal product output.

1

Round 1Explain

Explain the audience segment you selected and identify the strongest evidence in the case supporting that choice.

2

Round 2Evidence

Your recommendation depends on price sensitivity. What evidence suggests that price sensitivity is stronger than convenience or brand loyalty?

3

Round 3Transfer

Assume the company cannot lower price. How would your recommendation change?

4

Round 4Compare

Compare your revised approach with one alternative you rejected. What tradeoff are you accepting?

5

Round 5Revise

Looking back at your original submission, identify one claim you would now revise and explain why.

Choose the format that tells you something useful.

You do not need adaptive dialogue simply because it is available. Use it when another question would genuinely improve your understanding of what the student can demonstrate. The right question is not: Which Reasonline format should I use? It is: What evidence am I missing — and what kind of interaction could reasonably help provide it?