Assessing Assessment

Assessment in schools has always been a delicate area because assessments have so many facets to them. These include 1) what is being assessed, 2) who is being assessed, 3) who will read the assessment and 4) what are the consequences of the assessment.

• What is being assessed?

The evolution of assessment has been necessitated by the evolution of the curriculum from a knowledge based environment to a cognitive and competency based learning experience. Rubrics, for example, fall short when differentiating nuances in skill between individuals who can all complete a task. Assessment needs to evolve to ensure they can reflect what students can ‘Do’ in an authentic environment AS WELL as what they can remember or understand.
As Patti Shank points out, “There are two levels of objectives, and each level is ideally assessed using a different type of assessment. Declarative objectives ask learners to remember or recall facts and concepts. … (&) Procedural objectives ask learners to apply what they know in realistic or real situations.” Online assessment need to ensure they can determine the students ability in procedural objectives.

• Who is being assessed

Recent advances in assessment have mirrored authentic learning. “Authentic assessments present the student with the full array of tasks that mirror the priorities and challenges found in the best instructional activities: conducting research; writing, revising and discussing papers;” Wiggins, Grant (1990). These types of online assessment can recognise the full array of differences between learner responses that encourage a more inclusive learning environment.

• Who will read the assessment?

Just briefly, assessments, no matter how objective they are written, are read subjectively between different stakeholders, such as students, teachers and parents. “Authentic assessment also has the advantage of providing parents and community members with directly observable products and understandable evidence concerning their students’ performance; Wiggins, Grant (1990). However, assessment criteria must be made clear so the student can determine where any improvements can be made.

• Consequent of assessment.

Not commented here in detail but just to keep in mind “there are often wider standards to consider when designing assessment. As noted in the earlier case study, mandatory standardized exam processes are a factor in assessing learning outcomes in distributed learning or online courses.” Mary Grant 2018 (Blog post EDDL 5111)

• In Conclusion

“Ultimately, as the researcher Lauren Resnick has put it, What you assess is what you get; if you don’t test it you won’t get it. To improve student performance, we must recognize that essential intellectual abilities are falling through the cracks of conventional testing.”
These ‘essential intellectual abilities’ are falling through the cracks in conventional classrooms. In an online environment, the opportunities for students to explore nuanced competencies has been greatly improved and assessment must ensure that it reflects these changes and opportunities.

References:
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Wiggins, Grant (1990). The case for authentic assessment. Practical Assessment, Research & Evaluation, 2(2). Retrieved on November 20, 2018 from http://PAREonline.net/getvn.asp?v=2&n=2
Faculty Focus | Higher Ed Teaching & Learning. (2009). Assessing Online Learning: Strategies, Challenges and Opportunities. Retrieved on November 20, 2018 from https://www.facultyfocus.com/free-reports/assessing-online-learning-strategies-challenges-and-opportunities/.