Assessment concepts

Formative Assessment

Measure student performance early, developmentally and often for feedback - low stakes.

Summative Assessment

Traditional assessment of learning outcomes with tests or quizzes - higher stake assessments

Constructive or Authentic Assessment

Used primarily in courses where integration of knowledge, skills and behavioral learning are required. Usually takes the form of a final project, a course journal, a learning portfolio, a thesis.

Rubrics

A grid or matrix that spells out what students must do and how their work will be assessed.

More information on rubrics

 

 

Assessment Tools at Quinnipiac (links to "How To" Demonstrations)

• Quizzes and Exams in Blackboard
• Assignments in Blackboard
• Flashcards and learning games
• Building your own test bank
• Group Web Space in Blackboard
• Journals in Blackboard

Selected references on assessment

The Relationship between Formative and Summative Assessment: In the Classroom and Beyond (If this link does not work the first time, just click the refresh button. It can be a bit slow to load.

Inside the Black Box: Raising Standards through Classroom Assessment

A Primer: Diagnostic, Formative and Summative Assessment

Principles Underlying Classroom Assessment

Methods of Assessment

Practicalities of Ongoing Assessment

Classroom Assessment Techniques: A Handbook for College Teachers. A good resource for both formative and summative assessment, this is a very accessible text that has something for everyone. Besides offering a great number of specific "how-to" classroom assessments (organized by outcome), Angelo and Cross provide opportunity for guided reflection, such as the "Teaching Goals Inventory" in chapter two.

Engaging Ideas: The Professor's Guide to integrating Writing, Critical Thinking, and Active Learning in the Classroom. A lynch-pin in our QUWAC initiative, Bean's text offers many suggestion for using short, writing-to-learn assignments for formative assessment in chapter five.