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ABSTRACT

The most significant goal of an algorithm design course is to prepare students to solve general problems that they will encounter later in their lives. Departments usually offer such courses at the upper undergraduate and graduate levels. Today, compared to three decades ago, we have numerous texts on this and similar courses. The authors of these textbooks suggest different ways to organize their material to suit a variety of audiences. This paper deals with the following. How can we ensure that our students will acquire the necessary skills and abilities to solve general problems? We do this by tying the assessments to the objectives and aims of the course. We list some of the most desirable outcomes for this course, suggest possible ways to assess them based on our experience, and do assessments in a way to foster the confidence they need to handle general problems.

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