Assessment is a method for determining a learner's knowledge and abilities and is used to make educational decisions. The teacher, testing agencies, or the government may design assessments. Universally designed assessments incorporate the principles of Universal Design for Learning and are designed to adjust to many individual differences and to focus the questions on exactly what teachers are trying to find out. With flexibility in presentation, expression, supports, and engagement, common errors introduced by single-mode fixed assessments are reduced. Further, that same flexibility allows teachers to align assessment more closely with teaching goals and methods and thus, to assess students more accurately.

Mrs. Jones understands that assessing student progress is a more comprehensive practice than simply preparing and giving a test. She knows that it is necessary to observe her students and provide feedback as they write and to provide flexible structures, such as rubric scoring, to assess her students' progress.