In an educational environment where increasing demands on network bandwidth and learners' time and attention prevail, blended and distributed curricula must focus on creative ways to ensure that learners are attaining the necessary competencies with optimal efficiency and return on investment (ROI). Assessment is a critical component of the learning process and, if deployed thoughtfully, can provide valuable information about proficiency in specific learning competencies as the activities are completed. While traditional strategies for student learning assessment focus on pre/post-tests, a strategy of integrating assessments throughout the course of the learning experience provides an enhanced opportunity for learners to examine their own knowledge development and tailor that experience to their individual needs. Simultaneously, these assessments, along with additional evaluation, can provide faculty, department heads, or other decision makers with data that informs curriculum decision making and extends the benefit beyond that of the individual student. By linking these assessments directly with desired competencies, curriculum developers are able to ensure that they are maximizing effectiveness while evolving the learning experience.

This paper will present a research-based approach to designing innovative high impact, low bandwidth assessments for a variety of competency types. It will introduce a methodology for aligning assessment techniques to competencies and will also identify effective low-bandwidth methods for assessment using illustrative examples from military medical student education at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences (USUHS). This paper will also provide a toolkit of developmental questions, tips, and strategies to help participants analyze a variety of assessment situations for distributed learning (DL) environments. This strategic approach to implementation of assessment has applicability across a wide variety of military and governmental organizations and can enhance the effectiveness of education and training in an environment focused on ROI.