Some of the major research in the area of assessment, concentrating on distance learning, is reviewed, and a strategy that can be used as a guideline for assessment of distance learning, and particularly World Wide Web-based courses, is introduced. A review of assessment strategies confirms that a balance between knowledge acquisition and conceptual change tools will offer the greatest learning potential. One of the most difficult parts of developing an assessment strategy is determining the value of each assessment and how each assessment should influence the final grade. In the course of conducting research on how to do assessment in distance learning, eight general areas of concern emerged. These were turned into a strategy, called "C.H.A.R.I.O.T.S.," that can be used as a guide for developing an assessment procedure. The C.H.A.R.I.O.T.S. mnemonic represents the components of the general strategy: (1) Constraints; (2) Having multiple assessments; (3) Audience; (4) Reporting; (5) Inquiring; (6) Objectives; (7) Types of assessment; and (8) Self-evaluation of the assessment strategy. The Constraints step requires the educator to take into account all the restraints of the distance learning system, while having multiple assessments allows the educator to approach assessment in different ways for different purposes. Audience analysis is a critical part of instructional design, adult learning theory, and pedagogy. Reporting learning progress, which can be seen as formative or summative feedback, is a way of responding to the audience. Instructors should inquire about assessment techniques that have worked in the past. Defining objectives and fitting the types of assessment available to them are essential, as is the self-evaluation process to consider what is learned from the assessment and whether or not it is appropriate. One appendix lists components of a final grade table, and the other shows an objective verification table. (Contains 4 tables and 19 references.) (SLD)