Creating Diverse Assessments
Evaluating Student Subject Mastery Requires Various Methodologies
Aug 29, 2009
Most teachers are aware that students progress at different levels and possess a variety of learning styles. Yet too often these factors are not considered when creating assessments. Diverse assessments appropriately weighted allow all students to demonstrate mastery of the subject and provide for a series of expressions that cater to differing learning styles, including those of students with diagnosed learning differences.
Resistance to Diverse Assessment
In far too many cases, assessment means a bubble sheet objective test or quiz that requires hours of memorization and “cramming.” While some students are very comfortable with this form of assessment, many are not and are left to give the impression that they are destined to be at the low end of the bell curve.
Objective assessments are easy to construct. In most cases, text book publishers provide digital test banks allowing the teacher to swiftly create a test or quiz. Some school on-line grading programs like Blackboard will even grade the assessment if completed on-line.
Deviations from such testing is the source of most resistance because it requires other forms of testing that require far more time evaluating, reading, and grading. A series of multiple choice questions may be easier to prepare yet a menu of essay questions that require conceptual answers with supporting facts (examples) requires far more time to read.
Other Forms of Meaningful Assessment
In order to engage every learner, teachers should consider an array of assessment methodologies in order to obtain a clearer view of what each student has mastered. These can include:
- Classroom presentations
- Round table discussions
- Debates
- Simulations
- Group Projects
- Current Events Projects
- Geography Projects
- Research Papers
- Essay Assessments
- Creating a Classroom Weekly Newspaper (based on the subject taught)
Test Construction and Assessment Review
The ideal test will be a combination of a number of assessment methods. Such tests should be constructed to allow for enough completion time. Thus, a 90 minute testing period may allow for more variations than a 45 minute testing period. Tests should reflect what was important and necessary to learn. Thus, if the testing period is 90 minutes like a final exam, it may be counterproductive to fill a test with non-essential items solely for the sake of filling the entire testing period.
A comprehensive test can contain some objective items like true/false, fill in the blank, and multiple choice, but should also contain subjective items such as short essays or definitions. It is also helpful to offer a “menu” of short essays, allowing students to choose which ones they feel best prepared to answer.
Assessment is the final step of bringing closure to the studied unit. It is the last aspect of repetition and review. Hence, it is helpful to give students a list of focus questions or focus areas during the pre-test review to build upon as a personal study guide. Some teachers develop review games based on the Jeopardy model, dividing the class into teams. Students enjoy the competition and added preparation can be heightened by offering test extra credit points to the winning teams.
Diverse Assessments Leave No Child Behind
A balance of creative and varied assessment methods can motivate all classroom learners. Students that face a fifty-question multiple choice test every two or three weeks gradually lose motivation, particularly if their learning styles run counter to such assessments.
Diverse assessments enable all students to demonstrate what they have learned and how they can apply that knowledge. Additionally, diverse assessments help to boost grades of students whose learning styles are dictated by their particular brain compatible learning abilities. Although creating and grading such assessments requires time, the overall benefits conform to the goal of making every student successful.
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