Overview
After creating student learning objectives and selecting content, it’s important to assess student learning: what knowledge, skills, and values do you want students to demonstrate? Assessments are how students show you what they’ve learned and in which areas they can improve their performance.
Any activity, assignment, or project that measures a specific learning objective and for which students receive feedback can be used to assess student learning. Examples of feedback include a grade, individual written comments, homework solutions, interactive polling, exemplar responses to case studies, and completed assignment rubrics.
If you are familiar with the ADDIE design process and are ready to dive deeper into assessment, explore the Assessing Student Learning section of our site.
Utilize the AI Prompt Cookbook to help jumpstart ideas by designing student-centered activities that are meant to enhance teaching and learning.
Continue exploring the page or request assistance from the Center for Instructional Technology and Training.
Best Practices
Follow these best practices when creating assessments:
- Refer to the student learning objectives (SLOs) you wrote in the writing SLOs phase of course design. SLOs are written with specific verbs describing the performance of the student after mastery. These verbs help to indicate which type of assessment is most appropriate.
- Explicitly outline the relationship between each SLO and assessment. On the module pages in your course, list SLOs with the accompanying assessment name. This will help guide student learning and increase usability.
- Verify that the level of learning that is taking place in the assessments is appropriate for the level of the course. Taking the time to create and analyze your SLOs and assessments will help you in ensuring academic rigor.
- Set expectations for performance on a given assessment through detailed instructions and assignment rubrics.
- Provide opportunities to give students constant feedback during the learning process. When outlining the placement of your assessments, look for opportunities to provide peer and self-assessments.
- Scaffold larger, complex assessments into smaller stages or phases.
- Design creative and engaging assessments that encourage students to make personal connections to the material through real-world application and problem solving.
Application
Refer to this table when aligning assessments to SLOs:
| LEVEL I – REMEMBERING | LEVEL II – UNDERSTANDING | LEVEL III – APPLYING | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Example Assessment | Multiple-choice quiz | Concept diagram that illustrates the relationship between concepts. | Case study that asks students to apply a strategy to the situation |
| Example Verbs | Define, describe, find, highlight, identify, label, list, locate, match, name, observe, recall, recognize, relate, retell, select, state | Cite, classify, compare, contrast, demonstrate, discuss, explain, extend, infer, illustrate, interpret, outline, paraphrase, predict, relate, summarize | Apply, build, calculate, categorize, classify, choose, develop, edit, interview, model, organize, plan, represent, translate, utilize |
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| LEVEL IV – Analyzing | LEVEL V – Evaluating | LEVEL VI – Creating | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Example Assessment | Dissection that requires students to identify, classify, and examine multiple parts | Concept diagram that illustrates the relationship between concepts. | Presentation that illustrates research that was developed and implemented by the student |
| Example Verbs | Analyze, appraise, arrange, categorize, discover, dissect, distinguish, divide, examine, investigate, order, prioritize, research, separate, simplify, survey | Appraise, assess, compile, convert, critique, deduct, defend, disprove, dispute, estimate, evaluate, hypothesize, improve, influence, justify, predict, prioritize, recommend, revise, transform | Adapt, improve, design, invent, propose, change, develop, solve, combine, elaborate, compile, estimate, modify, compose, create, formulate |
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References and Additional Resources
Further Exploration
Available Instructional Development