Direct answer: A Capella FlexPath assessment is a competency-based task used to demonstrate one or more course competencies. The current assessment description explains the task and deliverable, while the scoring guide identifies the criteria and performance descriptions faculty use when evaluating the work. Format, evidence, source, and submission requirements can vary by assessment, so the current courseroom materials remain controlling.
This page explains the assessment itself. For the complete sequence from reading the task through final checking, use the FlexPath assessment workflow. If the main difficulty is decoding a dense prompt, use the assessment-instructions guide instead.
What makes a FlexPath assessment competency-based?
FlexPath uses competency-based assessments to give learners opportunities to demonstrate the knowledge and skills associated with course competencies. An assessment is therefore more than a topic to discuss: it is a defined task with criteria that connect the required work to the competencies being evaluated.
The exact task still depends on the course and assessment. A learner should use the current assessment description, scoring guide, templates, and faculty guidance rather than assuming that a requirement from another course applies.
The assessment description and scoring guide have different jobs
| Assessment element | What it tells you |
|---|---|
| Assessment description | The task, scenario or context, expected deliverable, audience, and any task-specific instructions provided for the assessment. |
| Scoring-guide criteria | The criteria used to evaluate how well the work demonstrates the relevant course competencies. |
| Performance descriptions | The language that distinguishes levels of performance for each criterion. Use the descriptions shown in the current scoring guide rather than assuming the wording is identical across assessments. |
| Supporting materials | Templates, course resources, examples, datasets, or other materials when the current assessment provides or requires them. |
For a focused explanation of criteria and performance descriptions, continue to how to read a FlexPath scoring guide.
What can vary from one assessment to another?
FlexPath assessments do not all use the same deliverable, evidence rule, source count, citation requirement, or structure. Depending on the course and task, the deliverable may be a document, presentation, spreadsheet, plan, analysis, or another format specified in the current instructions.
The safest rule is simple: treat the present assessment materials as authoritative for the work in front of you. The FlexPath assessment-formats guide explains common formats without turning them into universal requirements.
How competencies, criteria, and the submitted work connect
A course competency describes knowledge or skill the learner is expected to demonstrate. Scoring-guide criteria break that expectation into evaluable parts for a particular assessment. The submitted work provides the evidence faculty review against those criteria.
This relationship is easier to see when the learner separates three questions:
- What am I being asked to produce? Read the assessment description and current instructions.
- What am I being evaluated on? Read each scoring-guide criterion and its performance descriptions.
- Where does my response demonstrate it? Identify the part of the deliverable that addresses the relevant criterion without forcing every criterion into a separate heading when the format does not require that.
The competencies and assessment-criteria guide goes deeper into this relationship.
Evidence and formatting requirements are task-specific
Some assessments require particular sources, recent evidence, course resources, templates, citation conventions, visuals, or professional formats. Others use different combinations. Do not assume that peer-reviewed sources, a specific number of references, APA formatting, or a fixed heading structure applies unless the current assessment materials call for it.
When evidence is required, the goal is to use it where it supports the claim or decision the assessment asks you to make. For evidence selection, synthesis, paraphrasing, and citation support, use the academic-writing guide.
Where this page fits in the FlexPath guidance cluster
This page owns the definition and model of a FlexPath assessment. The neighboring guides have narrower jobs:
- Assessment workflow — the end-to-end sequence from task review through final checking.
- Instruction interpretation — how to break down the current prompt, scenario, audience, deliverable, and constraints.
- Scoring-guide interpretation — how to read criteria, action verbs, and performance descriptions.
- Submission checklist — the final pre-submission review of the actual deliverable.
Frequently asked questions
Is every FlexPath assessment an essay?
No. The required deliverable depends on the current course and assessment. Follow the present assessment description, template, and scoring guide for the format you actually need.
Do all FlexPath assessments require peer-reviewed sources?
No universal source rule applies to every assessment. Use the evidence and source requirements stated in the current assessment materials.
Should every scoring-guide criterion become its own heading?
Not automatically. Each criterion should be demonstrable in the submitted work, but the appropriate structure depends on the required deliverable and communication format.
Who determines the evaluation?
Capella faculty evaluate the submitted work against the applicable scoring-guide criteria. Independent educational support can help a learner understand the task and revise their own work, but it does not determine the evaluation.