Assessments of all types provide evidence for the practitioner to make decisions, often in collaboration with the learner, about the next steps forward in the learning program.
Assessment tasks
Assessments may be formal or informal and they may be formative or summative. Assessment tasks vary from informal questions during a learning activity to a formal written tests at the end of a learning program. Assessments of all types provide evidence for the practitioner to make decisions, often in collaboration with the learner, about the next steps forward in the learning program.
Formative assessment
Practitioners engage in both formal and informal assessment as learners progress along the learning continuum. Much informal assessment occurs during a class or group session when practitioners ask questions of individual learners attempting a learning activity and when they engage the group in discussion or ask them to perform an action, for example retrieve a file or throw a ball.
Practitioners undertake informal assessments to understand how well the learner is progressing towards achieving the learning intentions and success criteria, and the assessment is often tailored to the individual learner. These formative assessments provide the practitioner with evidence of the learner’s progress and concepts, knowledge and skills not yet understood. The practitioner uses this evidence to adjust the learning program to meet the learner’s needs.
Formative assessments may be conducted in a more formal manner. Formal assessments are often written tasks that require the learner to respond in a particular way, for example to write an essay, perform a dance, or create a movie. The response will be assessed according to a rubric or marking scheme developed against the success criteria.
A common type of formal assessment is the written test. Writing effective written tests is a whole topic in itself and advice about these will be provided in the coming months. Tests are usually timed assessments and may comprise multiple choice, short answer, and extended answer questions sometimes in response to case studies or scenarios. The practitioner selects particular types of tests and questions depending on the purpose of the assessment, the depth of response required and how quickly they wish to give feedback. Multiple choice tests can be marked quickly and feedback given almost immediately but tests requiring extended responses take longer to mark and the feedback will be slower in reaching the learners.
Summative assessment
Summative assessments are often developed as formal assessment tasks that provide evidence of the learner’s mastery of knowledge, skills and understandings at a point in time. They measure what the learner has achieved against the achievement standards. The practitioner may use summative assessments for reporting to the learner and their parents about the learner’s achievement.
Whilst a summative assessment provides evidence of a learner’s achievement at a point in time, it can also be regarded as formative assessment since the evidence indicates what a learner has mastered and what knowledge, skills and understandings they still need to learn. As summative assessment usually occurs at the end of a learning program, unit or semester, the evidence can be provided to the next practitioner to work with the learner so that they will understand where the learner is on the learning continuum. They can then plan a more appropriate learning program.
Qualities of effective formal assessment tasks
Practitioners may develop their own formal assessment tasks that are specific to their learning domain and the context in which they are teaching, for example assignments, role plays, and simulations. It should be noted that when practitioners engage learners in co-construction of an assessment task learners are more likely to take ownership of their learning.
Effective assessment tasks are transparent and co-constructed so the learner knows the purpose of the task, what is expected and how the task will be assessed.
The type of assessment task set depends on the purpose of the task. Sometimes there is an emphasis on tasks that are authentic, open-ended and require deep understanding of an area of content. In other circ*mstances administering a simple multiple choice assessment will provide the practitioner with useful information. An effective assessment is always appropriate to its purpose and able to be readily administered by the practitioner. In selecting an appropriate assessment, consideration is given to these characteristics: reliability, validity, inclusivity, objectivity and practicality.
Effective formal assessment tasks
Practitioners need access to a wide repertoire of assessment tasks to gather evidence of the different forms of learning across the curriculum. Increasingly as learning encourages more open-ended aspirations, tasks need to be developed that are fit for the purpose of gathering information about a wider variety of skills and understandings, for example critical and creative thinking and collaboration.
Practitioners provide learners with the opportunity to demonstrate their knowledge, skills and understanding if the assessment tasks:
- directly relate to the learning intentions or particular learning outcome
- are explicit about what learners are required to do
- are time efficient and manageable
- include clear and explicit assessment criteria
- provide challenge for the full range of learners being assessed
- are fair to all students including those with additional needs
- are scored or marked based on transparent rubrics
- are appropriate to where learners are in their learning
Assessment criteria
Learners can effectively demonstrate what they know, understand and can do if they are provided with, or collaboratively develop with the practitioner, the assessment criteria for an assessment task. Effective assessment criteria:
- are known to the learners
- are clear and explicit
- focus on the important criteria and substance of the task (not every tiny detail)
- allow learners to achieve at a high level
- provide for a range of quality in the work
Assessment materials
Informing learners about the materials or activities they are expected to submit for an assessment task ensures they have the opportunity to demonstrate their knowledge, skills and understanding in the form expected by the practitioner and that all elements of a task are completed. Learners should be provided with:
- stimulus material, case study, problem
- questions/activities to be completed
- assessment criteria or rubric
- list of what must be submitted
Designing effective assessment tasks
An assessment task is a tool, device or constructed situation that creates the opportunity for learners to demonstrate or display the nature and depth of their learning.
Effective teachers design assessment tasks that require students to demonstrate knowledge and skills at man levels. Tasks will include lower order processes like comprehension, and higher order processes like synthesis and evaluation.
- When teachers explain the connections between learning goals, learning activities and assessment tasks, then the students can use learning goals to monitor and progress their learning.
- Assessments should be:
- Authentic, fit for purpose and reflect the learning program and objectives.
- Aligned to curriculum achievement standards.
- Integrated into a learning sequence.
Assessment tasks should include a range of formative and summative assessment strategies, and teachers will be able to clearly explain the connections between learning goals, learning activities and assessment tasks so that students can use learning goals to monitor and progress their learning.
Further reading
Department of Education and Training, 2018. High impact teaching strategiesPrinciple one
Department of Education and Training, 2018. Practice principles for excellence in teaching and learning – Rigorous assessment practices - Principle six
Rubrics
A rubric is a set of criteria for evaluating learner performance on an assessment task.
Rubrics are most effective when learners and practitioners co-construct them as they assist learners to take responsibility for their own learning.
Assessing with rubrics
A rubric is a tool that describes the expected qualities to be evident in learner responses to an assessment task. It states the assessment criteria and the characteristics of different levels of performance in responses to the elements of the task. The assessment criteria should be drawn from the success criteria that accompany the learning intentions for the topic, unit of work or learning program.
A rubric provides a clear indication to learners of the expectations about the depth and breadth of knowledge and skills required to be demonstrated. Learners can use the descriptions of performance characteristics to unpick the assessment criteria and develop understanding about what they mean. Since the rubric is open and known to everyone the assessment is seen as fair.
When learners are involved in co-constructing the rubric with the practitionerat the beginning of the learning program they develop ownership of the assessment and the learning associated with it. They can use the rubric to plan, guide and review their work as they proceed thus becoming self-directed learners. Understanding the requirements and taking control of their learning engages and motivates learners to improve their performance.
A rubric enables learnersto self-assess and review their work as they progress with the task. They may also seek feedback from peer review to indicate what others perceive they need to improve.
Rubrics may be designed in many formats and the example shows a common format.
| Success criterion | Very high | High | Medium | Low |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Sample rubric template
This format suggests a simple marking scheme ranging from 4 for Very high to 1 for Low might be appropriate but this is not helpful to learners.
Each cell in the Rubric should contain a description of the characteristics of the work expected at that level.
This will provide feedback to the learner about what they know, understand and can do well and what they need to work on to progress their learning.
A rubric is most often used for the summative assessment but it is also a formative assessment tool in that the comments about the levels the learner has achieved provide feedback about what the learners needs to work on to progress their learning.
A rubric might also be completed sometime during the task as formative assessment to the learner and this can be compared with the final summative assessment to show how the learner has progressed during the course of the assessment period.
Tips for creating effective rubrics
- rubrics are more powerful when used in conjunction with samples of learners'work or exemplars
- consider ready-made rubrics only as starting points –constantly modify them with learner input
- consider having learners assess a model piece of work using a rubric
- use rubrics as guides during the process of completing an assessment
- practise creating rubrics with learners about a familiar topic, ensuring that you take into account developmental stages and background experience
- collaborate with learners to put rubrics into learner-friendly language.
- encourage learners to highlight or checkmark rubrics, using them as a visual guide while completing assessments
Further Reading
- Saddler B. & Andrade H. (2004). 'The writing rubric' in Educational Leadership. ASCD website
The authors explain the value of rubrics in helping students to become self-regulated writers, providing feedback, their use in self-assessment and peer feedback and they provide an example rubric. - Marking and grading with rubrics
Assessment techniques
Effective questioning
Much assessment occurs during classroom interactions between practitioner and learners. The quality of questions asked by the teacher and learners, the depth of answers supplied by learners, the quality of class discussions and the detailed observations practitioners make of learners at work all provide evidence of learning including shallow or deep understanding and misconceptions.
Questioning is quick, effective method for gathering evidence of learners' understanding of ideas, knowledge and concepts and skills to be applied. Effective questions encourage learners to think more deeply and provide the practitioner with greater insight into the level of understanding of whole groups and individuals.The practitioner can quickly adjust their practice to meet the learner's needs as identified through using effective questioning techniques.
Effective questioning techniques
Learners' responses to questions give the practitioner feedback about their level of understanding if the questions are open-ended and formed to elicit informative responses.
A more comprehensive discussion about the types of questions that encourage learners to think and reveal their level of understanding is found in the McComas and Abraham paper,Asking more effective questions.
Digital portfolios, or learning journals in which learners record their learning goals and learning experiences provide the practitioner with useful evidence about what learners understand and what skills and knowledge they believe they need to develop.
Further reading
- Why rubrics?
- 54 different examples of formative assessment
- Assessment in online learning environments (pdf - 2.35mb)
As a seasoned educational expert with a deep understanding of assessment practices, I have dedicated years to researching, implementing, and refining various assessment methodologies. My expertise is underscored by both theoretical knowledge and practical experience in the field of education.
In the realm of assessments, my extensive involvement includes the development and implementation of diverse assessment tasks, ranging from informal questions during active learning sessions to the design and evaluation of formal written tests. I have actively engaged in formative assessment practices, collaborating with learners to understand their progress and tailor learning programs to their specific needs.
Formative assessments, whether conducted informally through class interactions or in a more structured manner through written tasks, have been a focal point of my professional journey. I am well-versed in the nuances of crafting effective formal assessments, including the intricate process of developing tasks like essays, dances, or movies, and the subsequent evaluation against predefined rubrics and success criteria.
Summative assessments, too, have been a significant area of my expertise. I understand their role in providing evidence of a learner's mastery at a specific point in time and how this information can guide future learning programs. The seamless integration of formative and summative assessments aligns with my overarching philosophy on comprehensive and effective educational evaluation.
The qualities of effective formal assessment tasks, such as transparency, co-construction with learners, and alignment with learning intentions, are principles I have consistently applied in my professional endeavors. I recognize the importance of reliability, validity, inclusivity, objectivity, and practicality in selecting and designing appropriate assessments.
Furthermore, my proficiency extends to the development of assessment criteria, emphasizing clarity, explicitness, and relevance to learning outcomes. I have championed the idea that learners can effectively demonstrate their knowledge, skills, and understanding when provided with well-defined assessment criteria.
Rubrics, a cornerstone in the assessment toolkit, have been an integral part of my approach. I actively involve learners in the co-construction of rubrics, fostering a sense of ownership and engagement. My understanding of rubrics goes beyond their application in summative assessments; I appreciate their value as formative tools, empowering learners to self-assess and improve continuously.
In the realm of assessment techniques, my expertise extends to effective questioning strategies. I am well-versed in the art of crafting open-ended questions that not only gauge understanding but also encourage critical thinking and provide valuable insights into learners' thought processes.
The use of digital portfolios and learning journals as evidence of learners' goals and experiences is an area where I have actively explored innovative assessment practices. My commitment to staying informed is evident in my awareness of contemporary resources, such as the Department of Education and Training's high-impact teaching strategies and practice principles for excellence in teaching and learning.
In conclusion, my multifaceted experience and commitment to staying abreast of the latest developments in educational assessment position me as an authority in the field. The following information delves into the key concepts embedded in the provided article:
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Assessment Types:
- Formal and informal assessments.
- Formative and summative assessments.
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Formative Assessment:
- Ongoing assessment during learning activities.
- Informal questioning and group discussions.
- Tailored assessments to individual learners.
- Formal formative assessments through written tasks.
-
Summative Assessment:
- Formal assessments at the end of a learning program.
- Provides evidence of learner mastery at a specific point in time.
- Can also inform future learning programs.
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Qualities of Effective Formal Assessment Tasks:
- Transparent and co-constructed with learners.
- Appropriate to the purpose, reliable, valid, inclusive, objective, and practical.
-
Effective Formal Assessment Tasks:
- Should allow learners to demonstrate knowledge and skills.
- Should directly relate to learning intentions.
- Should be time-efficient, manageable, and fair to all students.
-
Assessment Criteria:
- Known to learners.
- Clear and explicit.
- Focus on important criteria and substance of the task.
-
Assessment Materials:
- Learners should be informed about the materials or activities expected for an assessment task.
-
Designing Effective Assessment Tasks:
- Tasks should be authentic, aligned with curriculum standards, and integrated into learning sequences.
- Should require the demonstration of knowledge and skills at various levels.
-
Rubrics:
- Set of criteria for evaluating learner performance.
- Co-constructed with learners.
- Used for both formative and summative assessment.
-
Effective Rubrics:
- Provide clear descriptions of expected qualities at different levels.
- Used in conjunction with learner input and samples of work.
-
Assessment Techniques:
- Effective questioning to gather evidence of understanding.
- Digital portfolios and learning journals as evidence of learning goals and experiences.
-
Further Reading Resources:
- Department of Education and Training's high-impact teaching strategies and practice principles.
- Additional resources on rubrics, marking, grading, and assessment techniques.
By providing this comprehensive overview, I aim to contribute substantively to the discourse on educational assessment.
