Assessment
From Learning and training wiki
 ASSESSMENT |
| Continuous process with the objective of understanding and increasing learning by defining, selecting, designing, collecting, analyzing and interpreting the information obtained through observation and measurement of the learners. Assessments provide faculty with a better understanding of what learners are learning and engage them more deeply in the process of learning content. Learning and assessment are correlated, since the learning tasks stimulate the learners to develop some competencies and the assessment makes them demonstrate these competencies. To make an assessment more effective, the learners should be given the opportunity to practice with that form of evaluation before it becomes effective. By using assessment strategies that draw learners into the assessment process, they learn more of the content while getting the benefits of learning skills that will be useful to them in future. It also provides information to be used as feedback to modify the teaching and learning activities in which learners are engaged.[1]
Fadel, Honey and Pasnik (2007) believe that we are "shifting toward an innovation-based economy" where successful intelligence will be composed of "a three-point foundation of analytical, practical and creative skills". They suggest that future assessment should be created to be "assessments for learning, rather than assessments of learning", so that the assessment process benefits students more effectively. They also recommend that assessment "be performance-based" (so as to be practical), that it "makes students' thinking visible" (so that it can be observed and measured), "that it generate data that can be acted upon" (by teachers and administrators in improving the learning process), "that it build capacity in both teachers and students, and be part of a comprehensive and well-aligned curriculum".[2] When computers are involved in education and assessment, special attention must be paid to the way this is done in order to keep the goal of learning in mind. Lin and Dwyer (2006) discuss the two orders of the fingertip effect (perpetual access to computers and the Internet), stating that the first-order effect changes how people accomplish tasks, but not what they are attempting to do, whereas the second-order effect changes the way people think and what they are attempting to accomplish. Considering these effects, it is important to determine which effects the computer-based assessment has achieved, and to strive to use computers not only for assessment administration (creation and correction), but also for changing the type of assessment given.[3] It is also important to not overdo assessment and to keep in mind its ultimate goal: to enhance learning. Pelligrino (1999) points out that the majority of the most common assessments serve the needs of audiences other than the learner (SATs, for example). In an example of diagnostic assessment, meant to help learning, Pelligrino cites a multiple choice question where the learner is asked not only what the correct answer is, but the reason why their chosen answer is correct. In this way, the instructor can see the different ways in which students may be misunderstanding a concept.[4] See also: A.D.D.I.E Model, Assessment Standardization; Peer-to-Peer Assessment; Performance Assessment; Formative Evaluation; Instructional Design (ID); Learning Objectives; Summative Evaluation |
 Web Resources |
| Below you have the link to a slideshow that summarizes some of the concepts related to learning objectives: |
| Link | Content |
|---|---|
| Assessments in e-Learning | This slideshow presents some of the basic concepts related to the development of good learning objectives and to the importance of measuring learning. It also presents different types of assessment. |
 Implementing Effective Assessment |
Some points to keep in mind when designing assessment:
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References
- ↑ serc.carleton.edu (15 April 2008), www.ltscotland.org.uk(15 April 2008)
- ↑ Fadel, C., Honey, M., & Pasnik, S. (2007, May 23). Assessment in the Age of Innovation. Education Week, 34, 40.
- ↑ Lin, H., & Francis, D. (2006). The Fingertip Effects of Computer-based Assessment in Education. TechTrends, 50 (6), 27-31.
- ↑ Pelligrino, J. W. (1999). The Evolution of Educational Assessment : Considering the Past and Imagining the Future. William H. Anghoff Memorial Lecture Series (pp. 1-19). New Jersey: Educational Testing Service, Princeton University.