Assessing Student Learning

How do I incorporate formative assessments into my teaching?

When should I use multiple choice exams and when should I diversify my assessments?

Are student-to-student evaluations really useful or should I be the only one assessing my class?

Assessment is critical to determining whether students have developed the knowledge, skills, and values that they need in order to complete their degree programs and succeed in their chosen fields. Assessments consist of more than just midterms and final exams: Any opportunity to provide feedback can be considered an assessment. In this way, assessment can be seen as a way of collecting information on student progress for both the instructor and the student.

The pages in this section provide information on common forms of assessment, reasons they are effective, best practices for implementation, examples, and trainings and tools available at UF.

  • Building Authentic Assessments: Learn how to assess students through real-world activities related to their field or subject area.
  • Collaborative Assessment: Create and run assessments that require students to work in teams or pairs and will encourage communication of ideas, creativity, and improved meta-cognition.
  • Designing Effective Peer and Self Assessment: Explore how to encourage a growth mindset in students and help them assess their own work so they can continue learning outside the classroom. Reduce instructor grading time and encourage analytic thinking in students by making peer-to-peer feedback work for your classes
  • Modifying Assessment Strategy for Online Teaching: Modify individual assessments or course-level assessment strategies to improve academic integrity online without dependency on online proctoring services.
  • Promoting Academic Integrity: Become familiar with best practices for encouraging academic honesty in online environments.
  • Providing Effective Feedback: Devise strategies for guiding students towards improvement.
  • Scaffolding: Support student learning by building on existing knowledge gradually to achieve larger goals.
  • Selecting Assessment Types: Follow a simple backward design process to select assessments that will measure student learning and view Quick Start guides that include instructor examples from UF courses.

Request Assistance

For ideas in developing and implementing assessments, you may request assistance from the Center for Instructional Technology and Training.