> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.mesolab.ai/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Assessment methods

> Choosing how a unit is assessed, and what the category, depth and timing filters mean.

Every unit is created with an assessment method attached. It is the last step of
the [create-unit stepper](https://docs.mesolab.ai/teachers/create-a-unit.md), and it shapes the assessment
MESO builds later.

## Finding a method

Search by **method or category**, then narrow with three filters.

### Category

| Filter | Covers |
| - | - |
| **Text** | Text assessments |
| **Performance** | Performance and performance-based assessments |
| **Project** | Project-based assessments |
| **Subject** | Subject-specific assessments, including the English, History and Science sets |

### Depth

How much of the unit's content the method covers:

* **Surface level content**
* **Moderate coverage**
* **Comprehensive coverage**
* **In-depth coverage**

### Timing

* **On-going** — runs through the unit
* **End-of-unit** — sits at the end

## Recommended methods

MESO surfaces recommended methods for your subject above the rest, with the
remainder grouped by category. Recommendations come from the subject and the
outcomes you selected; they are suggestions, not constraints.

## Coverage varies by subject, a lot

> [!WARNING]
>
> The number of assessment methods available differs substantially between
> subjects — some carry a handful, others carry over a hundred. This is a property
> of the specification, not a limitation of the picker.
>
> If a subject offers only a few generic-looking methods where you would expect a
> rich set, that is worth reporting to
> [contact@mesolab.ai](mailto:contact@mesolab.ai). A defect of exactly that shape
> was found and fixed in 2026, and it is the kind of thing that is invisible
> unless a teacher who knows the subject says so.

## Changing it later

The method chosen at creation drives the unit's assessment, which you can then
edit directly. See [Assessments](https://docs.mesolab.ai/teachers/assessments.md) and
[Rubrics](https://docs.mesolab.ai/teachers/rubrics.md).


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