Types of Assessment

Different types of assessment have their place in meeting different types of learning objectives. To attain a balance in assessments, assessment practices need to rely on an ongoing variety of quality assessments that are used strategically to keep students believing in themselves (Stiggins, 2008). Assessments should cover as little as possible to ensure a more reliable result. The more purposes a single assessment aims to serve, the more each purpose will be compromised, and the overall product will be less than optimal for each intended use (Pellegrino, 2014). Focused, specific, and clear assessments in a variety of forms, overall, are best for student learning.

Assessments that demonstrate student process are also best for student learning and for best understanding of what students know. Math tends to have more objective right-wrong-type answers, however a question asking students to explain their process or their thinking can be beneficial to them in their learning. It can also help reveal misunderstandings to teachers so they can address them in their instruction.

Assessment should be appropriate and authentic by making the assessment practice relevant for the specific learning situation whenever possible (Ortega & Minchala, 2017). Authentic learning and assessment can have a positive impact on learners’ motivation (Kamariah et al., 2018) and should therefore be considered in the learning process. Authentic assessments also help students demonstrate better performance (Koh, 2017). Assessments that are open-ended, project-based, or performance-based, for example, can be an effective way to engage and motivate students in their learning process.

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References

Barnes, N. & Gillis, A. (2015). Assessment360: A promising assessment technique for preservice teacher education. The Teacher Educator, 50 , p. 288-304. https://doi.org/10.1080/08878730.2015.1071904 Chowdhury, F. (2018). Application of rubrics in the classroom: A vital tool for improvement in assessment, feedback, and learning. International Education Studies, 12 (1), 61-68. https://doi.org/10.5539/ies.v12n1p61 Fives, H., Barnes, N., Dacey, C., & Gillis, A. (2016). Assessment assessment texts: Where is planning? The Teacher Educator, 51 , p. 70-89. https://doi.org/10.1080/08878730.2015.1107442 Gillis, A. (2019). Reconceptualizing participation grading as skill building. Teaching Sociology, 47 (1), 10-21. https://www.doi.org/10.1177/0092055X18798006   Guskey, T. (2009). Practical solutions for serious problems in standards-based grading . Corwin Press.   Kamariah, A., Husain, D., Atmowardoyo, H., & Salija, K. (2018). Developing authentic-based instruct...
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