ASSESSMENT

Assessment—or measurement against a consistent scale—drives all instructional activity.  Effective instructional strategy requires first the articulation of appropriate objectives and next the development of transparent means of measuring how well student learning meets those objectives.  Transparency in this process is crucial, for instructors must know clearly what they want students to demonstrate in their learning and students must know what behaviors and texts are expected of them. 

Part of the job of teaching involves determining what parts of the original objectives are fair and susceptible of success with students.  If parts of objectives cannot be met, teachers must revise either the objective or the strategy employed to satisfy that objective.  Formative assessment provides data that measures the progress students are making toward satisfying the original objectives.  Summative assessment is final, offering one-time demonstration of what the student has learned in relation to the objectives.  Traditionally, much assessment has been summative; we now know that several different instances of formative assessment are more likely to help students move toward satisfying the original objective.  Through different formative means of engaging learners, teachers are more likely to have most students come closer to realizing the original objectives.

A rubric or scoring guide is an effective means of conveying to students what is expected of them, particularly when accompanied by examples of work representing different points on the scoring scale.    As teachers amass student work on individual topics, they can supply upcoming students with examples of work to indicate how tasks might be accomplished: how to detect and assess strengths and weaknesses, first in the work of others and then in their own developing work.  In this manner, students learn how to create ever-stronger texts of their own.  Ultimately, learning portfolios document this process.

Here are step-by-step instructions on how to create your own rubrics:

• http://projects.edtech.sandi.net/staffdev/tpss99/rubrics/rubrics.html

This page introduces "Best Practices" for Rubrics:

• http://www.iuk.edu/~koctla/assessment/rubrics.shtml

Here you'll find Criterion's examples of a time tested 6-point scoring scale:

• http://www.ets.org/Media/Products/Criterion/topics/topics.htm

More formative than summative, these rubrics ??? indicate important life skills components of learning:

• http://www.wctc.edu/web/student/critical/rubrics.htm

The AACSB Assessment Response Center links to widely useful assessment procedures

• http://www.aacsb.edu/resource_centers/assessment/

This article offers substantial help in establishing and assessing collaborative online efforts:

• http://www.sloan-c-wiki.org/JALN/v10n1/pdf/v10n1_5swan.pdf