Brief Description
Given the objectives of the course, what evidence is needed to know students have learned what you intended them to learn? How will you measure learning? These questions relate directly to the creation of course assessments that are aligned with course objectives.
Definitions
Assessment
An assessment directly measures a stated learning objective and take many forms. Written assignments, quizzes, homework, group work, projects, presentations, and exams are all examples of assessments. An assessment such as a mid-term or final exam may measure several objectives. Weekly quizzes and assignments may measure module-level objectives while a culminating project or presentation may measure course-level objectives.
Activity
An activity supports student success in meeting the defined course and module-level objectives, but does not directly measure them. For example, an ungraded knowledge check quiz provides students with an opportunity to check their use of key terminology and understanding of concepts. The feedback received from the knowledge check gives students the opportunity to review, reinforce, and learn key terms and concepts correctly prior to completing the written work in which they must apply those terms and concepts.
Alignment
In this context, alignment is the connection between objectives, activities, and assessments.
Objectives |
Activities |
Assessments |
Communicate what students will learn |
Support students in learning |
Measure student learning |
Relationship between assessments and objectives
Standard 3: Assessment and Measurement ties closely to Standard 2: Learning Objectives. Where Standard 2 defines objectives – what students will know or be able to do by the end of a course – Standard 3 relates to how those objectives will be measured and how the instructor’s plan to assess student work is communicated to students.
Do your assessments measure the course objectives?
As mentioned in the definition, assessments can take many forms. One way to consider assessment is to think about how the assessment is used (Earl & Katz, 2006).
- Formative assessments are used for guidance or diagnostic purposes.
Summative assessments are used for appraisal purposes.
Self-assessments are used to promote student metacognition and reflection.
Assessments can also be high stakes or low stakes:
- High stakes assessments may measure several objectives and require more student time and attention that other assessments in a course. They are often the primary means of measuring course level objectives – exams, culminating projects, presentations.
- Low stakes assessments may measure module-level objectives and ensure students are prepared for success in meeting high stakes assessments – weekly quizzes, essays, individual assignments which are part of the larger culminating work.
The most important point to consider is whether the assessments are measuring your intended learning objectives. If they are not, students may experience a feeling that items in the course are “busy work” because they do not see the connection between their work and the stated objectives. When objectives are not measured, it’s possible that students may not be adequately prepared to succeed in future modules or courses if there is an interconnectedness that requires students to learn concepts in a sequence.
Do students know how they will be graded?
The syllabus often contains information about how students will be graded and what students can expect from the instructor in terms of feedback. Here is an example that includes a grading policy with a description of the number and types of assignments.
Clear, detailed instructions help students understand what is expected of them. Rubrics can also provide criteria and examples of different levels of work.
Is there an appropriate mix of assessments in your course?
A map can be used to see the mix of assessments in a course “at-a-glance” to identify possible gaps. The table below includes an example assessment map from a course where students create a project throughout the semester while also learning key terms and concepts. Lower stakes weekly quizzes and short essays provide opportunities for feedback. Practice exams help students prepare for the lower stakes multiple choice exams in the course. The higher stakes activity is a culminating project and students receive feedback on each piece of the project from the outline, references, and initial solution, to the draft project. Students are also asked to reflect on how the weekly concepts apply to their project and what questions they may have and are presented with the opportunity to reflect and improve their work after receiving feedback from peers.
| SELF | FORMATIVE | SUMMATIVE | |
| LOW STAKES | Reflection on application of concepts |
|
Exams |
| HIGH STAKES | Peer review followed by self-reflection | Parts of culminating project with feedback at each step | Final project |
Assessments can also be mapped across the semester to find any gaps in opportunities for student feedback and objective measurement (see chart below). It’s important that students receive feedback throughout the course. This can be referred to as regular and substantive interaction which is required for distance education courses including our online courses from Penn State.
| ASSESSMENTS | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 |
| Quiz | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X |
| Essay | X | X | X | |||||
| Reflection | X | X | ||||||
| Exam | X |
Additional Resources
Penn State Resources
- Online Assessment
- Assessment Options
- Assessing Student Learning
- Designing Rubrics
- Teaching and Assessment Resources
- University Committee on Assessment of Learning
- HonorLock Proctoring Service
Articles
- Earl, L. M., & Katz, S. (Eds.). (2006). Leading schools in a data-rich world: Harnessing data for school improvement. Corwin Press.
- Zelenski, A. B., Tischendorf, J. S., Kessler, M., Saunders, S., MacDonald, M. M., Vogelman, B., & Zakowski, L. (2019). Beyond “Read More”: An Intervention to Improve Faculty Written Feedback to Learners. Journal of Graduate Medical Education.