Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

Assessment \As*sess"ment\, n. [LL. assessamentum.]
   1. The act of assessing; the act of determining an amount to
      be paid; as, an assessment of damages, or of taxes; an
      assessment of the members of a club.

   2. A valuation of property or profits of business, for the
      purpose of taxation; such valuation and an adjudging of
      the proper sum to be levied on the property; as, an
      assessment of property or an assessment on property.

   Note: An assessment is a valuation made by authorized persons
         according to their discretion, as opposed to a sum
         certain or determined by law. It is a valuation of the
         property of those who are to pay the tax, for the
         purpose of fixing the proportion which each man shall
         pay. --Blackstone. Burrill.

   3. The specific sum levied or assessed.

   4. An apportionment of a subscription for stock into
      successive installments; also, one of these installments
      (in England termed a ``call''). [U. S.]

Source : WordNet®

assessment
     n 1: the classification of someone or something with respect to
          its worth [syn: {appraisal}]
     2: an amount determined as payable; "the assessment for repairs
        outraged the club's membership"
     3: the market value set on assets
     4: the act of judging or assessing a person or situation or
        event; "they criticized my judgment of the contestants"
        [syn: {judgment}, {judgement}]