Although online tests are often associated with student assessment, online testing tools can be used in many different ways. Yes, online assessment is possible, allowing for students to complete tests for grades. On the other hand, online quiz tools can also be used for collecting information from students such as their understanding of course content prior, during and after the course. These same principles could also be applied to individual class or topic. Knowing what the students understand is usefully to gauge and anticipate what information should be covered in class. The results of such self-tests can also be presented back to the students to show that you recognize where they are at with the content.

Online tests can be created in Blackboard with the results organized and summarized in the GradeCenter. Breeze has a similar but less robust testing feature, and is intended for student self-assessment and feedback only. To create online tests in Drupal take a look at the quiz module for a basic quiz tool.

I’m reading an excellent book right now, What the Best College Teachers Do, by Ken Bain. Though it’s research-based, it’s actually an easy read and chock full of ideas for instructors. In the chapter on evaluating students, he makes a number of thought-provoking points:

• Assigning student grades should be about helping students learn, but often has to do with other considerations such as rating and ranking students.
• Exams and assignments can also help to evaluate teaching.
• Evidence of student learning can come from a variety of sources, not just exams and papers.
• Student assessment should concentrate on how students are able to comprehend the field, not about guessing what factual information the instructor wants them to recall. It should focus on the reasoning abilities that students should develop, the desired level of understanding they need, and the sorts of problems they should be able to solve.

According to Bain (2004),

In this conception of assessment, the primary goal is to help students learn to think about their own thinking so they can use the standards of the discipline or profession to recognize shortcomings and correct their reasoning as they go. It isn’t to rank students. Grading on a curve, therefore, makes no sense in this world. Students must meet certain standards of excellence, and while none of those standards are absolute, they are not arbitrary either. Grades represent clearly articulated levels of achievement.

If you’re looking for an engaging read, I highly recommend this book.

Bain, K. (2004). What the best college teachers do. Cambridge: Harvard University Press.

When integrating online activities into a course, it’s important to clarify what is expected from all participants. How do the instructors define “participating”? What exactly is expected from students? From instructors? How will everyone know if they are participating at the level that is expected? If not, what are the repercussions and implications? How will the activity be graded?

One way to help everyone to understand expectations, and to define and describe levels of performance, is to develop a rubric. A well designed rubric lays out the criteria that instructors will use to assess performance in the activities, as well as defining the parameters for various levels of performance. Sharing the rubric with the entire class early in the process helps everyone understand what is expected, what roles they need to fulfill as part of the activities, and how their performance will affect their grades and other assessment.

Rainer Knopff developed a rubric for use in his political science courses, which integrate a blended learning approach with students participating in online discussions and collaborative inquiry to extend the classroom activities.

As mentioned in an earlier post, students tend to prefer rubrics over written feedback. Which brings about the question, “How do I create a meaningful and useful rubric”? I describe a rubric as a teaching and assessment tool that brings accountability to both the instructor and student. Some ideas to get started are:

• Review examples of good and poor student work.
• Write clear objectives for the lesson or activity. The assessment criteria should match with the objectives.
• Find examples of other rubrics
• Keep criteria simple to emphasize what is being evaluated

There are a few challenges when first starting to work with rubrics. One particular challenge is the time it takes to create a rubric. One solution is to develop the rubric with students during class time. Giving the students the opportunity to contribute to their own success helps in creating a positive classroom environment and a more credible rubric. The added benefit is that grades do not need to be justified to students, as the grading criteria are self-explanatory. The end result is clear feedback to students, and less time spent grading those piles of assignments.

Creating and Using Rubrics for Student Assignments (http://tlc.ucalgary.ca/resources/library/creating_and_using_rubrics_for_…)

Andrade, H. G. (2000). Using Rubrics to Promote Thinking and Learning. Educational Leadership, 57(5), p 13-18. Retrieved March 3, 2009 fromhttp://www.smallschoolsproject.org/PDFS/coho103/using_rubrics.pdf

I came across an interesting article on written feedback in The Teaching Professor (found on the TLC’s Resource page, scroll to the bottom click on the link and log in using your UCIT information).  This one-pager summarizes a couple of recent studies; the results make a lot of sense:

• The overwhelming majority of students read the written comments they receive from instructors on their assignments.
• Students tend to prefer rubrics over paragraphs. They like the visual display and feel that rubrics assist instructors in keeping assessment fair and consistent.
• Vague comments aren’t helpful; students need focused feedback so they know what they’re doing right and what needs improvement. Comments need to provide guidance.
• Feedback should relate to the assessment criteria. If not, students get confused as to how they’re being graded.

The central message I took from this article is that it isn’t a waste of time to provide students with written feedback, but a method that instructors can use to facilitate learning, individualized to the student. The article stops short of discussing strategies for the busy instructor, such as how to provide written feedback with large class sizes. It is helpful to know what is effective, but instructors also need pragmatic strategies for implementing good practice in the classroom they have.

Magna Publications. (2009). Written feedback: What’s most and least helpful. The Teaching Professor, 23(2), February, 2009, p.4. Retrieved March 2, 2009 from https://www.ucalgary.ca/~commons/tp/0902TP.pdf.