Academic Assessment

Assessment helps students and instructors track learning as it happens. While grading assigns a score to student work, assessment goes a step further: it uses data from assignments, exams, and projects to actively improve the course. By evaluating progress during and after a learning experience, we can refine our teaching in real time and continuously improve the course for future cohorts.

CELT's COURSE LEVEL ASSESSMENT OFFERINGS

Course-Level Assessment

To better understand academic assessment, you should be able to identify the terminology of different assessment types.

Formative assessment occurs while student learning is taking place. The goal is to make immediate modifications to the teaching and learning experience when warranted. Typically these tasks are not graded or points are granted for participation.
- Examples: Weekly low-stakes quizzes, discussions posts, minute paper, classroom polls
Summative assessment occurs at the end of a unit, course, or program. The goal is to document student learning and use results for future modifications for the next cohort of students taking the course.
- Examples: Final exam, term paper, portfolio, capstone project
Direct assessment methods and techniques expect students to demonstrate the knowledge and skills they have learned. Direct assessment provides the most clear and visible evidence of student learning.
- Examples: Exams, written assignments, presentations
Indirect assessment methods and techniques measure student perceptions of their learning and the educational environment.
- Examples: written reflection on the learning experience, course evaluation survey questions, focus groups
Authentic assessment methods require students to demonstrate their skills through the use of real life tasks.
- Examples: Case studies, simulations, marketing plans, websites, podcasts
Traditional assessment methods require students to respond to predetermined questions,, in order to demonstrate knowledge they have learned.
- Examples: Exams, quizzes
Objective assessment refers to methods with a clear right or wrong answer, such as a multiple choice or true/false question. No expertise or judgment is needed to score and assess learning.
- Examples: Multiple choice, true/false, fill-in-the-blank questions
Subjective assessment refers to methods that yield many possible responses, requiring judgment and expertise to score and assess learning. Will typically involve the use of rubrics.
- Examples: Essays, presentations, creative compositions

There are many levels at which assessment in higher education can take place. Assessment can have a scope as broad as assessing a group of institutions (such as in a consortium of one's peers), and as narrow as the individual student. The resources on this website are focused on the course/group level. For higher level assessment resources (e.g., department or program level), please visit the Office of Educational Effectiveness (OEE) website.

Grading, assessment, and evaluation, while sometimes used interchangeably, actually differ in their purpose, who is involved, data, results, dissemination, and value. The following list provides a summary.

Purpose:
- Grading: To provide summative feedback to your individual students
- Assessment: To collect and utilize data to improve the student learning experience
- Evaluation: To collect and utilize data to make a decision or a judgment
Who is involved:
- Grading: The course instructor
- Assessment: The instructor, course and program administrators, and other stakeholders
- Evaluation: Program administrators and stakeholders involved in decision-making
Data/Results:
- Grading: Number or letter grade reflecting individual student performance and/or behavior (e.g., attendance, participation, timeliness)
- Assessment: Quantitative and qualitative measures used to identify and describe what was learned by students in the class
- Evaluation: Measures used to answer questions originated by the evaluators. May or may not focus on student learning
Dissemination:
- Grading: Grade provided to the student
- Assessment: Report to be reviewed with stakeholders
- Evaluation: Report delivered to administrators and decision-makers
Value:
- Grading: Provides individual students a measure representing their performance in a course
- Assessment: Results can be used to improve student learning in a course, activity, or program
- Evaluation: Results can be used to evaluate the merit or worth of a course, activity, or program