Designing Formative Assessments

When designing formative assessments, instructors need to think about aligning the assessed knowledge and skills, as well the assessment format itself, with desired learning outcomes and with the summative assessments that will measure them. For example, if students will be asked to write a final research paper, they should be practicing their research and writing skills throughout the term; if they will be taking a multiple-choice final exam, they should be answering multiple-choice questions; if they will be asked to deliver final presentations, they should be practicing public speaking and presentation-design skills. Ideally, formative assessments should give students the opportunity to hone their tools, evaluate their progress, and identify learning gaps, with the goal of improving their work.

To help students understand formative assessments as opportunities for learning (rather than busywork or one-time judgments about their performance), it is helpful to foster a “sandbox” environment that encourages intellectual risk-taking, normalizes intellectual and/or creative struggles, and promotes a growth mindset: the evidence-based belief that we can develop our cognitive abilities over time. To foster a learning environment conducive to academic growth, instructors can:

• Communicate the importance of frequent iterative practice
• Scaffold assessments throughout the term to help students build up knowledge/skills
• Offer ungraded informal assessments of prior knowledge at the start of new units
• Prioritize feedback over grading
• Offer revision and/or make-up opportunities
• Include regular opportunities for gauging progress in the form of surveys (digital or not), ungraded quizzes, minute-papers (“Which points from today’s lesson remain unclear?”), visualizations (“Draw a concept map of today’s reading”), etc.
• Encourage students to track their own progress and create opportunities for metacognitive reflection

Successful formative assessment offers students the information they need to effectively shape their own learning. The ultimate goal is empowering students to become self-regulated learners, capable of setting long- and short-term academic goals, planning and monitoring their work, diagnosing gaps, managing cognitive (and other) resources, and adjusting learning strategies to achieve desired learning outcomes.

Designing summative assessments

The most important question to ask ourselves when designing summative assessments is, “What exactly am I assessing?” And, “How will I make sure my assessments measure precisely what I intend them to measure, rather than rewarding additional, extraneous capacities that some students may have acquired prior to attending my class?” Whether an exam, paper, or performance, the form of an assessment tool needs to reflect its goals and function. For example, a student taking a high-pressure, timed exam needs to exercise time-management skills that may be unrelated to the student’s mastery of course content. If the course learning outcomes include the ability to manage time or think quickly under pressure, then the assessment format has been chosen appropriately. If not, students with superior time-management skills or faster cognitive processing speeds might score higher even if their mastery of content is equal to that of their less speedy peers. In such a case, a take-home exam or extended exam period might allow for a more accurate measure of whether or not learning goals have been achieved.

Reflecting carefully on the goals of the assessment can not only help with selecting the appropriate modality but also with designing strong questions or prompts. For example, a multiple-choice question (MCQ) featuring a lengthy stem (the question/problem part of a MCQ that precedes the answer choices) may require reading comprehension or interpretation skills unrelated to students’ problem-solving abilities. If the question is meant to measure problem-solving skills only, but test-takers invest a disproportionate amount of cognitive resources in interpreting the stem (rather than solving the problem), the test question is not accomplishing its goal. When designing summative assessments, instructors should remember to:

• Clarify assessment goals (in alignment with course learning goals)
• Develop clear assessment criteria
• Communicate assessment goals and criteria to students
• Communicate allowed/disallowed uses of artificial intelligence tools (in light of assessment goals)
• If appropriate, use a rubric
• Communicate assessment format and other parameters in advance to reduce student anxiety/cognitive load, and focus cognitive resources on the assessment task itself
• Offer practice opportunities focused on the assessed skills/content.

While summative assessments typically serve the function of rating individual performance, instructors can also experiment with introducing an element of collaboration. Collaborative activities like exam co-design workshops (where students try their hand at developing questions/prompts/problems before a test) and two-stage exams (where students take an exam individually, and then compare and revise their answers in a group) can boost learning in preparation for, or even during, assessments by leveraging the power of peer-instruction and collaboration.

Check out this related teaching tip on student-centered exam enhancements. [requires Sharepoint Login]

Authentic assessment

The term authentic assessment refers to a type of assessment where students apply academic learning to real-life situations. For example, instead of a research paper on a controversial issue (e.g. fracking), students might write a letter to a news outlet or political representative addressing a specific aspect of the issue in question (e.g. the health impacts of fracking in Clearville, Pennsylvania). Authentic assessments invite students to attend to context, address multiple audiences (rather than just the instructor), and grapple with complex issues that might not have one clear solution. While authentic assessment is central to project-based and problem-based learning, application-based assignments (for example, blogs/social media posts, blueprints, interviews, brochures/infographics, factsheets, case studies, surveys, models, videos, podcasts, campaigns, letters, etc.) can be adopted in most academic courses.

Building choice and autonomy into assessment design

We know that choice and autonomy are key components of motivation, but it’s not always easy to build choices into assessments, especially in the context of high-stakes standardized testing. Since even a small amount of autonomy can help students feel more excited about preparing for and completing assessment tasks, it is worth exploring how to make our assessments a little (or, if appropriate, a lot) more flexible. Consider the following strategies for building choices into the assessment process:

• Question options: allow students to select which questions they will answer on assessment tests (you can build questions pools together with your class as part of exam review)
• Show-off questions: at the end of a test, include a wildcard question where students can show off knowledge not captured by the test
• Flexible timing: offer take-home test options so students can self-pace their work
• Assessment “menus”: allow students to choose how they will demonstrate their learning from a “menu” of options. For example, at the end of a unit students might choose to take a test, analyze a case study, or give a presentation as a means of demonstrating their understanding of unit content
• Flexible modality: when mastery of a specific delivery modality is not the object of the assessment, allow students to select the modality they find most comfortable. For example, a short response to a reading could be submitted in the form of a written paragraph, a video, or an audio file. Similarly, a presentation in an in-person course could be delivered in person, or via a pre-recorded video. Or, a final project demonstrating understanding of course concepts could take the form of a paper, a concept glossary, or a YouTube video
• Connecting to student interests: allow students to leverage their academic and extra-academic interests by inviting them to select research topics, case studies, geographical locations, or focal issues to work on
• Room for creativity: consider expanding your repertoire of assessment genres. Can a final research paper be one of four final assignment options, alongside an op-ed, a mini-documentary, and a letter to the local representative (all of which require research, explosion, and argument)? Can your students demonstrate understanding of scientific concepts by translating them into a children’s book? Can students design engineering solutions to meet specific needs in their dorm or local community? Can they explore local ecosystems or histories by crafting self-guided tours?

Deciding what level of choice might be appropriate will depend on the goals and context of each specific assessment. Not every instructor can replace their final exam with an interpretive dance, but we can all consider how to add some autonomy (and creativity) to the assessment process. Allowing students to make choices in how they demonstrate their learning aligns with the principles of Universal Design for Learning or UDL, and benefits all students not only by leveling the academic playing field but also by increasing flexibility, interest, and motivation.

Building reflection opportunities into assessment design

While it’s hard to argue with the importance of students reflecting on their academic performance, reflection is not a typical component of the academic assessment process. This is a missed opportunity for students as well as instructors. Prompting students to include a reflection at the end of an assignment or exam allows them to acknowledge areas in need to continue development, celebrate progress made, and, at the metacognitive level, assess the efficacy of their study/work/creative strategies. It also reinforces the idea of learning as an ongoing, iterative journey, and promotes active ownership of the learning process.

For formative assessments, whose central goal is to direct future learning, reflection seems like an obvious fit. Students can reflect on their own work (“What did you struggle with?” “What surprised you?” “What are you proud of?” “What next?”) or on the feedback they have received–with the goal of tracking progress and mapping out future efforts. But there is room for reflection on summative assessments as well. For example, metacognitive reflection questions (“How well did the study strategies you used prepare you for this test?” “What would you do differently next time?” “Do you see any patterns in where you struggled the most?”) can prompt a student to adjust their approach in the future. Student reflections at the end of an exam (or even individual exam questions) can offer insight into “behind the scenes” thought processes, reveal the why behind less successful attempts, and guide instructors in adjusting the parameters of the assessment for future iterations.

Check out this related teaching tip on assessments and metacognition [requires Sharepoint Login]

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