Final answer:
A test of a practiced skill after a break in practice is a measure of skill retention, commonly used in health fields to assess coordination and skill execution like praxis in stroke patients or the ability to perform rapid, alternating movements.
Step-by-step explanation:
A test of a practiced skill that a learner performs following an interval of time after practice has ceased is essentially an evaluation of skill retention and transfer. Such a test would assess whether the learned movements and responses have become part of the learner's repertoire and can be spontaneously recalled and executed without the prompt of regular practice. In health or neurology, for example, this could involve testing a stroke patient's ability to perform rapid, alternating movements after a period without active practice, implying that the cerebrocerebellum has coordinated the movement commands well enough for the skill to be retained.
Various methods are used to measure the effectiveness of such practice, including performance tasks that challenge subjects to apply the content and skills they have learned. For instance, in a juggling class's effectiveness study, subjects' abilities to juggle a certain number of balls before and after the class would be tested. In these evaluations, the focus is typically on skills that require planning and coordination, such as the praxis activities described where patients must translate verbal instructions into actions without demonstration.