Assessment methods should help the instructor answer the questions, “How do I know the required learning has taken place? What might I need to modify about the course to best support student learning?”
Information about student learning can be assessed through both direct and indirect measures. Direct measures may include homework, quizzes, exams, reports, essays, research projects, case study analysis, and rubrics for oral and other performances. Examples of indirect measures include course evaluations, student surveys, course enrollment information, retention in the major, alumni surveys, and graduate school placement rates.
Approaches to measuring student learning
Methods of measuring student learning are often characterized as summative or formative assessments:
- Summative assessments -tests, quizzes, and other graded course activities that are used to measure student performance. They are cumulative and often reveal what students have learned at the end of a unit or the end of a course. Within a course, summative assessment includes the system for calculating individual student grades.
- Formative assessment -any means by which students receive input and guiding feedback on their relative performance to help them improve. It can be provided face-to-face in office hours, in written comments on assignments, through rubrics, and through emails.
Formative assessments can be used to measure student learning on a daily, ongoing basis. These assessments reveal how and what students are learning during the course and often inform next steps in teaching and learning. Rather than asking students if they understand or have any questions, you can be more systematic and intentional by asking students at the end of the class period to write the most important points or the most confusing aspect of the lecture on index cards. Collecting and reviewing the responses provides insight into what themes students have retained and what your next teaching steps might be. Providing feedback on these themes to students gives them insight into their own learning.
You can also ask students to reflect and report on their own learning. Asking students to rate their knowledge about a topic after taking your course as compared to what they believe they knew before taking your course is an example.
Considerations for Measuring Student Learning
As you develop methods for assessing your students consider:
- including indirect and direct assessments as well as formative and summative assessments
- evaluating whether or not the assessment aligns directly with a learning outcome
- ensuring the measurement is sustainable and reasonable in terms of time and resources, both for the students and the instructors (e.g., grading, response time, and methods). To estimate the time that students need to complete different assignments, see the Rice University workload calculator
- using a mid-semester student survey, such as the CTI'sMid-Semester Feedback Program, a great way to gather feedback on what students are learning and what is helping them learn
- using the results of the assessments to improve the course. Examples include revising course content in terms of depth vs. breadth, realignment between goals and teaching methods, employment of more appropriate assessment methods, or effective incorporation of learning technologies
Getting started with measuring student learning
At the course level, it is helpful to review course assignments and assessments by asking:
- What are the students supposed to get out of each assessment?
- How are the assessments aligned with learning outcomes?
- What is its intrinsic value in terms of:
- Knowledge acquired?
- Skill development?
- Values clarification?
- Performance attainment?
- How are homework and problem sets related to exams?
- How are the exams related to each other?
- What other forms of assessment (besides exams) can be used as indicators of student learning?
- If writing assignments are used, are there enough of them for students to develop the requisite skills embedded in them?
- How is feedback on student work provided to help students improve?
- Are the assessments structured in a way to help students assess their own work and progress?
- Does the assignment provide evidence of an outcome that was communicated? Is the evidence direct or indirect?
FAQs
Learner-Centred Assessment
- Consider what you want your students to learn and tell them. ...
- Select assignments and tests that measure what you value most. ...
- Construct an assessment skeleton. ...
- Collaborate with your students to set and achieve goals. ...
- Make assignment and test instructions clear to students. ...
- Support. ...
- References.
Information about student learning can be assessed through both direct and indirect measures. Direct measures may include homework, quizzes, exams, reports, essays, research projects, case study analysis, and rubrics for oral and other performances.
How to assess and evaluate students' learning? ›
How to Assess Students' Learning and Performance
- Alternative Grading Methods.
- Creating assignments.
- Creating exams.
- Using classroom assessment techniques.
- Using concept maps.
- Using concept tests.
- Assessing group work.
- Creating and using rubrics.
Types of evidence of teaching effectiveness include: student evaluations; the assessments of faculty members based on class visitations or attendance at public lectures; departmental review of syllabi, exams, assignments, and other materials; the number and caliber of students mentored by the candidate; and the ...
What are the indicators of student-centered learning? ›
In some schools, SCL means that students sit at tables instead of desks. At others, it refers to differentiated instruction. In the most progressive schools, a classroom is only considered student-centered if students create their own assignments and grade their own work.
What are the criteria for the learner-centered assessment? ›
Learner-centered Assessment Criteria Checklist
Students active, not passive consumers. Students collaborate with others and teacher to create and use assessment. Clear, comprehensible learning target. Clear, comprehensible success criteria. Opportunity to receive descriptive teacher feedback.
How to measure impact of teaching and learning? ›
To measure impact effectively:
- ascertain the outcomes that students need to achieve.
- establish a relevant and reliable baseline of student capability in relation to set outcomes.
- plan a logical (and evidence based) intervention for teacher behaviour.
- execute the planned intervention (and evaluate the quality)
The five keys include: 1) meaningful goals and measures, 2) formative assessment, 3) summative assessment, 4) performance-based assessment, and 5) student ownership.
How do you assess students learning styles? ›
By preparing a questionnaire or a test and having your students fill it out, you can quickly gather insights into their preferred learning methods. This allows you to tailor your lessons right from the beginning, focusing on the areas that will most benefit each student.
What is AfL teaching strategies? ›
What is AfL in teaching examples? AfL is the strategic use of ongoing assessments to gather information about student learning. As a result, teachers can adjust their instruction.
Strategies for Assessing Student Learning Outcomes
- Tests and exams: standardized or discipline-specific; locally produced, course-embedded.
- Portfolios of student work can demonstrate learning over time.
- Final projects, performances, or presentations for courses or programs.
- Capstone experiences, theses, and dissertations.
Teaching effectiveness can also be inferred from tests of teachers' knowledge or skills; teachers' participation in professional development, committees, or mentoring; instructional artifacts, including lesson plans and assignments; teacher self-reporting, including instructional logs; and input provided by parents, ...
How do you measure the success of a center of excellence? ›
Measure Success
- Increased flexibility of planning and forecasting processes.
- Reduction in the number of days to plan per cycle.
- Reduction in time for data gathering.
- Less time spent preparing monthly forecasting.
- Fewer days spent on annual planning.
- Greater visibility into planning and forecasting activities.
They focus on four student-centered assessment practices: self-assessment, peer assessment, exhibitions, and process portfolios.
How do you conduct student-centered learning? ›
6 Key Learner-Centered Instructional Strategies
- Support Student Voice and Choice. ...
- Provide Differentiation. ...
- Foster Collaboration. ...
- Engage Students in Active, or Constructivist, Learning. ...
- Use Diagnostic and Formative Assessments. ...
- Leverage Technology to Implement Student-Centered Strategies.
