Assessment Resources
This page contains resources for assessment development and revision. The CAI offers several workshops on assessment at the course level. Please see the events page for details.
Authentic Assessment
Authentic assessment is a set of methods or techniques for assessing students’ academic achievement that require them to apply their knowledge and skills to real-world situations. It is often seen as an alternative to standardized testing. Examples include portfolios, performance tasks, analyses, journals, or any significant product designed to showcase student’s mastery.
Resources
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Authentic Assessment Toolbox created by Jonathan Mueller. “[A] how-to text on creating authentic tasks, rubrics, and standards for measuring and improving student learning.”
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“The Case for Authentic Assessment” by Grant Wiggins. This scholarly article discusses the reasons why authentic assessment is important.
- Authentic Tasks and Rubrics from the Authentic Assessment Toolbox. The samples at the college/university level are in the disciplines of biology, education, English, general education, history, interactive media studies, journalism, mathematics, music, and psychology.
Classroom Assessment Techniques (CATs)
Classroom Assessment Techniques are generally simple, non-graded, anonymous, in-class activities designed to give students and instructors useful feedback on the teaching-learning process as it is happening.
Resources
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Classroom Assessment Techniques (CATs) A comprehensive overview of CATs from Vanderbilt University’s Center for Teaching’s webpage detailing “what are CATs”, “why should I use CATs?”, “how should I use CATs?”, and “where can I find more CATs?”.
- Classroom Assessment Techniques: A Handbook for College Teachers by Thomas A. Angelo and K. Patricia Cross. “Fifty Classroom Assessment Techniques are presented in this book with examples of how they have been used, pros, cons, time commitment, and ideas for adaptation.” An example excerpt of a technique can be found here.
Formative Assessment
Formative assessment is an in-process evaluation of student comprehension, learning needs, and academic progress during a lesson, unit, or course. The purpose of formative assessment is to help instructors identify areas of learning where students are struggling and how instruction can be adjusted to meet learning gaps.
Resources
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What is formative assessment? This is a resource page from Hunter College on formative assessment including examples and benefits.
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“The Concept of Formative Assessment” by Carol Boston. A scholarly article on formative assessment, its benefits, and examples.
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“Selecting When and How often to Assess” from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. Select “Chapter 3” from Course-Based Review and Assessment: Methods for Understanding Student Learning, a comprehensive manual on assessment for faculty.
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“Formative assessment and feedback for learning in higher education: A systematic review” by Rebecca Morris, Thomas Perry, and Lindsey Wardle. This study discusses formative assessment and feedback in higher education and what approaches are most effective to promote more evidence-informed teaching and learning.
Summative Assessment
A summative assessment is a type of evaluation used to measure a student’s learning, knowledge, or skills at the end of an instructional period, such as at the end of a unit, course, or academic year. It is typically used to determine how well a student has grasped the material and whether they have met the learning objectives.
Summative assessments often include exams, final projects, standardized tests, or end-of-term papers. These assessments are usually scored and contribute significantly to a student’s final grade or performance evaluation.
Resources
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“Nine Principles of Good Practice For Assessing Student Learning” The American Association of Higher Education. This is a general resource on assessment that can be especially useful for avoiding plagiarism and cheating in online courses.
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“Summative Assessment” University of Buffalo Center for Educational Innovation. This webpage gives a comprehensive overview of summative assessment including best practices and test blueprints for aligning assessment with cognitive levels.
- “Handbook of Test Development” edited by Steven M. Downing, Thomas M. Haladyna. Steven M. Downing Thomas M. Haladyna 2006. This print book is a comprehensive overview of all aspects of the test development process.
Rubrics
A rubric is a tool used to assess or evaluate something, typically in an educational or professional context. It provides clear criteria for grading or judging a specific task or assignment. Rubrics outline what is expected for each level of performance, usually ranging from poor to excellent, helping to ensure consistency and fairness in evaluation.
Rubrics typically include:
- Criteria: The aspects of the task that are being assessed (e.g., organization, content, creativity, grammar).
- Performance Levels: Descriptions of what different levels of achievement look like for each criterion (e.g., “excellent,” “good,” “needs improvement”).
- Descriptors: Specific, detailed explanations of what constitutes each performance level for each criterion.
Resources
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“Understanding Rubrics” by Heidi Goodrich Andrade. This article is a straightforward guide to rubrics including their definition, why to use them, and how to create them.
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“Designing Scoring Rubrics for Your Classroom” by Craig A. Mertler from Bowling Green University. This paper describes two types of rubrics, holistic and analytic, and it includes templates for creating both types of rubrics.
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Grading and Performance Rubrics. Eberly Center Teaching Excellence & Educational Innovation at Carnegie Mellon University. A brief overview of rubrics with examples from different types of assignments.
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Grading Criteria & Rubrics. The Harriet W. Sheridan Center for Teaching and Learning at Brown University. This webpage contains practical resources for establishing grading criteria and creating grading rubrics. It includes a couple links for online rubric generators.
- “Single Point Rubrics: A Tool for Responsible Student Self-Assessment” by Jarene Fluckiger. University of Nebraska Omaha. This article discusses the features, functions, and benefits of single point rubrics, and it describes how they are different from traditional analytic rubrics.
- “Creating Rubrics for Assessment” by Advance Consulting for Education. In this 25 minute video, Julia Williams reviews the different types of rubrics, their components, and tips for creating effective rubrics.
Multiple Choice Question Development
While multiple choice can be a great form of assessment for measuring learning outcomes, their validity rests on how well the questions are developed. These resources help guide in the construction of strong multiple choice tests.
Resources
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Writing Good Multiple Choice Test Questions by Cynthia J. Brame. Center for Teaching. Vanderbilt University. This webpage gives a comprehensive step-by-step guide to all aspects of writing a multiple choice test.
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14 RULES FOR WRITING MULTIPLE-CHOICE QUESTIONS. Faculty Center. BYU. This guide details rules for writing multiple choice questions with supporting examples.
- Writing Effective Multiple Choice Questions by Betsy Guala. University of Connecticut. This webpage provides clear guidelines for constructing multiple choice questions with examples of ineffectively and effectively written questions for lower and higher level learning outcomes.