March 14, 2016
Volume 1 | Issue 3
Author Gail Bullard, DHEd, MSA-HA, RN
Assistant Professor, MHA Program Coordinator
College of Health Professions
WillThisBeOnTheTest?
The Insight
The methods used for assessment can shape the internalized learning educators desire students to achieve. “Willthisbeonthetest?”“Willthefinalexamcoverthewholesemester?”
Soundfamiliar?Oneofthegreatestchallengeseacheducatorfacesisto
motivatestudentstotransitionfrommemorizinginformationtopassthe
testorexam,tointernalizingtheinformationintouseful,applicable
knowledge.
Implications
The use of multiple assessments for each course outcome requires educators to develop meaningful, valid assessment tools using differing methods that allow students to demonstrate their learning in various ways. “Allowingstudentsto
demonstratelearning
onagivenoutcomein
multipleways
provideseducators
withseveralpointsof
referenceusefulto
validatethedimension
ofstudents’
internalizedlearning.“
Themethodsusedforassessmentcanshapethisinternalizedlearningwe
desirestudentstoachieve.Throughuseofmultiplemethodsofassessment
tomeasureanexpectedoutcome,weprovidestudentsopportunityto
expresstheirknowledgeinvariouscontexts.Multipleassessmentmethods
demonstratehowwe,aseducators,valuethedimensionalityoflearningand
thediversewaysdifferentlearnersmaybestexpresstheirlearning.
Researchersstrivetotriangulatefindingstoprovereliabilityandvalidity.
Allowingstudentstodemonstratelearningonagivenoutcomeinmultiple
waysprovideseducatorswithseveralpointsofreferenceusefultovalidate
thedimensionofstudents’internalizedlearning.Assessmentmethods
include:
 QuantitativeAssessment
 QualitativeAssessment
 DirectAssessment
 IndirectAssessment
 FormativeAssessment
 SummativeAssessment
Quantitativeassessmentmaybethroughreportofthenumberrightand
wrongonaquiz,whilequalitativeassessmentmayreporttranslationof
knowledgethroughstudentinteractionorreactiontoagivenscenario,such
asobservingastudentinasimulationsetting,orparticipationinadebate.
Directassessmentrequiresthestudenttoproduceaproduct,perhapswrite
apaperorbuildamodel,whileindirectassessmentmaybethroughstudent
responsestoanend‐of‐semestercourseevaluation.
Formativeassessmentallowsdeterminationoflearningduringamomentof
timeinacourse,perhapsthroughin‐classtablediscussionsorreflective
writing,whilesummativeassessmentpromptsstudentstodemonstrate
cumulativecourselearning.Formativeassessmentresultsareinvaluablein
assistingeducatorstoknowwhenandwheretoadjustamethodofdelivery
foraparticularclasssection.Theseresultswillalsohelpinidentificationof
studentswhomayrequireadditionalguidancetoaidtheirchanceforcourse
success.
Whilethetype(s)ofassessmentusedshouldbedesignedtoalignwiththe
objectives,theuseofmultiplemethodsofassessmentforeachcourse
outcomeallowsseveralopportunitiesforastudenttodemonstratehis/her
levelofknowledgeandunderstanding,andprovideseducatorswith
valuableevidencetovalidateastudent’slevelofinternalizedlearning.
Source:Maki,Peggy,2004,Assessingforlearning:buildingasustainablecommitmentacross
theinstitution,1sted.,AAHE