Assessing Student Learning - Eberly Center - Carnegie Mellon University (2024)

FAQs

How important is assessing student learning? ›

An intentional and thorough assessment of student learning is vital because it provides useful feedback to both instructors and students about the extent to which students are successfully meeting learning objectives.

Expert-Verified Answer

It is possible for a student to master a standard without passing a related assessment. However, an assessment is typically used to determine if a student has mastered a standard.

The assessment of student learning outcomes provides information that puts student learning at the forefront of academic planning processes. An assessment can be graded or ungraded and can take a few minutes (eg. one-minute paper) or it can take weeks (eg. group project).

Performance task: A piece of work students are asked to do to show how well they apply their knowledge, skills, or abilities—from writing an essay to diagnosing and fixing a broken circuit. A performance assessment typically consists of several performance tasks.

Purpose: The primary purpose of AoL is to evaluate and measure the overall achievement of students, often assigning grades or determining eligibility for further education or employment. AfL, on the other hand, aims to support and enhance the learning process by providing feedback and fostering a deeper understanding.

Assessing student achievement of learning outcomes help faculty understand whether their courses and programs are effective. Assessment data can inform whether a course or program is functioning properly, or needs to be redesigned.

Mastery - 90%+ Excelling - 80-89% Proficient - 70-79% Passing - 55-69%

On standardized exams, all test takers answer the same questions under the same conditions, usually in multiple-choice format. Such tests reward quick answers to superficial questions. They do not measure the ability to think deeply or creatively in any field.

What are short answer questions? ›

Short answer questions (or SAQs) can be used in examinations or as part of assessment tasks. They are generally questions that require students to construct a response. Short answer questions require a concise and focused response that may be factual, interpretive or a combination of the two.

The following examples of academic program student learning outcomes come from a variety of academic programs across campus, and are organized in four broad areas: 1) contextualization of knowledge; 2) praxis and technique; 3) critical thinking; and, 4) research and communication.

Examples of performance assessments include composing a few sentences in an open-ended short response, developing a thorough analysis in an essay, conducting a laboratory investigation, curating a portfolio of student work, and completing an original research paper.

Features of Good Performance Assessment

Provide clear descriptions of specific achievement expectations to be assessed. Measure one or more of the four achievement expectations. Assure that evaluators understand and remain aware of what they are assessing.

Student assessment is, arguably, the centerpiece of the teaching and learning process and therefore the subject of much discussion in the scholarship of teaching and learning. Without some method of obtaining and analyzing evidence of student learning, we can never know whether our teaching is making a difference.

Offer and receive feedback. Self-regulate and self-assess the learning (learners) Evaluate their performance. Modify delivery to improve the learning (teachers)

Role of Teacher in assessment as learning:

In assessment as learning the teacher serves as a guide to the students. Teachers can adopt the following classroom practices in practicing assessment as learning. Model and teach the skills of self assessment.

Evaluation plays an enormous role in the teaching – learning process. It helps teachers and learners to improve teaching and learning. Evaluation is a continuous process and a periodic exercise. It helps in forming the values of judgment, educational status, or achievement of student.