Rising costs, perceived declining value, and weak evidence of quality outcomes bedevil contemporary higher education. One innovation intended to address these problems is the Massive Open Online Course (MOOC). This article recommends that the educational technology community and others get REAL about MOOCs by focusing more serious effort on Research, Evaluation, and Assessment for Learning. Unless this is done, MOOCs will not realize their potential to both extend higher education opportunities and enhance the quality of teaching and learning.