Teaching Excellence Learning Modules
Things to Know About Assessment
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Authentic assessment refers to
real tasks that require students to perform and/or produce
knowledge rather than reproduce what others have discovered.
Conversely, in the traditional assessment model, teaching and
learning are often separated from assessment. After a section
has been taught and skills have been acquired, a test is then
given.
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Classroom assessment techniques
help faculty to understand what and how much students are
learning, and also helps students to follow their progress as
learners. This information can help students to know what they
need to focus more intensely on, and can be a very good guide in
helping faculty restructure future classes to help both
themselves and the students.
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There are several characteristics
specific to classroom assessment. These include:
a. Learner-centered: assessment focuses the primary attention of
both students and teachers on observing and improving learning as
opposed to focusing on observing and improving teaching. Through
observing learning, questions regarding improving teaching will be
answered.
b. Teacher directed: assessment respects the autonomy of the teacher
in that they can choose what to assess, how to assess it, when to
assess it, and how to respond to the information that is obtained
through assessment.
c. Mutually beneficial: assessment requires the active participation
of students and helps them to strengthen their own skills at
self-assessment. It also helps faculty to improve their teaching
skills and sharpen their teaching focus.
d. Formative: the purpose of classroom assessment is to improve the
quality of student learning. Therefore it is important either not
to grade assessment exercises, or to make them inconsequential in
terms of the final grade.
e. Context specific: different techniques must be tested in
different classes and in different lessons in the same classes. A
technique that works in one class or for one particular lesson may
not work in a different class or for a different lesson or unit.
f. Ongoing: classroom assessment is an ongoing process throughout
the semester.
g. Rooted in good teaching practice: classroom assessment helps to
build on good teaching practice by making feedback more systematic,
more flexible and more effective.
Resources for building assessments:
Specific techniques and how to integrate them into the
classroom can be found in
Classroom Assessment Techniques by Thomas A. Angelo and K.
Patricia Cross, located in the Learning Teaching and Innovative
Technologies Center.
An Introduction to Classroom Assessment Techniques:
www.schreyerinstitute.psu.edu/Resources/class_assessment.asp
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