I find myself thinking the same thought a lot while reading through this assessment textbook: “holy crap, I know nothing about assessment!” I really find that as I develop my understanding of what assessment is, and how to demonstrate effective assessment practices I realize how many wrong assumptions I’ve made about creating effective assessments. This fact seemed particularly apparent while reading Chapter 5: Selected Response Assessment. Throughout my education I have taken many, many tests and quizzes, most of which, I now know to be ineffective assessments. I loved the very clear guidelines outline how to write “propositions” and how to use them to structure appropriate multiple choice and True and False questions. Simple rules like “aim for the lowest possible reading level” or “ask a full question in the stem” seem really straightforward, but I simply didn’t know those rules were actually followed. |
While many of the rules were very much appreciated, I was the most compelled by the many post-assessment strategies outlined. As someone who does not personally understand the concept of goal setting, I am always hesitant when someone suggests setting goals after a test has already been completed. You write the test, you get a mark, and you move on, hoping never to come across that test content ever again. Apparently this was yet another an incorrect assumption on my part. The activity titled Reviewing My Results provided such an enlightening way to review a test! For each test question, the student must categorize it by learning target (a task that shouldn’t be at all difficult for them, assuming that test prep has also been organized this way) and also indicate whether they were correct or incorrect in their response to the question. If they got the question wrong they must indicate whether it was a simple “silly” mistake or if they really don’t get the question. To me this is such an important distinction to make, because it a.) suggests to students that it is okay to make a silly mistake or to really not know the answer to a question b.) classifies the types of errors the student is making so to further meaningful learning. This exercise on is own is very beneficial, but my favourite part is the Analyzing My Results aspect of it. Students must write which learning objectives they really understood and which they really need to work on. Students also include which learning targets they did alright with, but perhaps made silly mistakes. Most importantly they leave space to reflect on how to improve on both the simple mistakes and also the questions that they legitimately didn’t know the answer to. This is a great time for you as the teacher to emphasize good study habits and methods to review assessments prior to handing it in. |