Eating Soup With Chopsticks
Better Assessments
Last week, I stared at my gradebook in dismay. Half my class scored below 80% on our module test. My first thought? "Where did I go wrong?" My second thought? "Where did they go wrong?"
However, we may need to stop thinking about wrong altogether.
During optional office hours, I invited students to discuss those low scores. Each conversation revealed every student approached the test differently, and each faced unique barriers. It was like watching people try to eat soup with different utensils – some had ladles, some had spoons, others had forks, and a few were attempting chopsticks.
Here’s what that exercise taught me about creating a better assessment environment:
The Alignment Check - Do the test questions actually measure what was taught? You'd be surprised how many assessment questions tend to veer off track! Take your own test and see for yourself.
The Practice Round - Pre-test and rough drafts allow students to demonstrate what they know and helps pinpoint areas they need to improve.
Offering Choice and Voice - Consider letting students choose their best path to success when possible. A few ideas:
Traditional essay -OR- Podcast with a script
Data interpretation -OR- Choose between medical or business datasets
Literature synthesis -OR- Choose between historical or current events analysis
Research project -OR- Interactive website
Business SWOT analysis -OR- Stakeholder presentation
The Feedback Loop - Simple questions that work wonders when asked in a follow-up discussion or conversation:
"What's helping you learn?"
"What's getting in your way?"
"If you were teaching this topic, what would you change?"
Before Your Next Class:
Effective assessment environments create multiple avenues for students to demonstrate their understanding, yielding more accurate and actionable insights into their learning. What's one small change you could make to your next assessment?
Share this with your colleague who makes impossible assessments possible (and maybe even fun), and SUBSCRIBE for bite-sized strategies delivered straight to your inbox. We're in this semester together.
