types of formative assessment in physical education

Assessment is essential and integral to effective teaching and learning in PE as it provides information on students’ strengths, weaknesses, and educational requirements, which informs future planning and teaching [ 1-9 ]. Assessment is also vital for the provision of grades (achieved and predicted), informing others of attainment (parents, teachers etc.), and is used to judge the effectiveness of teachers and the school [ 7, 10 ]. Moreover, feedback from assessment has been recognized for increasing pupil motivation and engagement, and helps create a positive learning environment [ 11, 12 ].

In PE there are many modes of assessment but for the purpose of this article we will focus on the most significant modes (formative and summative) and reference systems (criterion, norm, and ipsative).

Formative assessment has been described as ‘ongoing’ and takes place during teaching-learning situations in PE. It is important as it involves providing pupils with constructive feedback, diagnosing future learning needs, describing students’ progress, and determining their strengths and weaknesses [ 2, 3, 4, 13, 14 ]. It has also been closely related to ‘Assessment for Learning’ and has been commended for its emphasis on describing progress, identifying pupils’ needs, planning for next steps in learning, and providing vital information for summative assessment [ 1, 15, 16 ].

Summative assessment is an overall assessment which takes place at the end of an interval, unit, key stage or year. It has also been described as ‘Assessment of Learning’ as it provides a synopsis of students’ levels of attainment at the end of a specified interval, and is used to provide examination grades [ 1, 2, 7, 9, 15 ]. Summative assessment has been asserted as the ‘systematic recording of the pupil’s overall progress and achievement, and is made up of a series of formative assessments’ [ 3 ].

As previously mentioned, there are three reference systems that have been used for assessment in PE, these are: Norm Referenced; Criterion Referenced; and Ipsative Referenced assessment [ 1, 2, 7, 17, 18 ]. Norm Referenced assessment is when students are compared with one another [ 7, 18 ]. This form of assessment has been regarded as ‘group centred’, as comparisons within the group are made to establish how successful the pupil is in relation to others of the same age [ 2 ]. However, Norm Referencing assessment has been criticised, as the goal for learning is a moving target due to other pupils’ performances determining the standard of learning [ 18 ]. This can be detrimental to students’ self-esteem, as when pupils progress to ‘above average’, it is at the expense of others who become ‘below average’ [ 2 ]. Additionally, dependent upon the ability of the class determines the students’ attainment, as in a high calibre class pupils may receive on average a lower mark, compared to a mediocre class who receives on average a higher mark [ 17 ]. Notwithstanding, Norm Referencing has been deemed inevitable, as it is used in public grading systems, and for selecting pupils for school representation and teams [ 2 ].

Criterion Referenced assessment is comparing pupils performance to a predetermined criteria or standard [ 2, 7, 17, 18 ]. For example, in the UK the National Curriculum’s attainment targets/level descriptors, GCSE’s, A Levels, and other national governing body awards are all examples of Criterion Referenced assessment since students’ performances are judged based on established criteria [ 7 ]. Criterion Referencing is ‘activity centered’ assessment, as all students can potentially achieve the target, eliminating comparison with others, thus promoting collaborative learning as pupils are working together towards a common goal [ 18 ]. Criterion Referenced assessment should not to be viewed in conflict with the other referencing systems, but rather to be used in conjunction with them [ 2 ]. Therefore, the advantage of Criterion Referenced assessment and set standards is that it provides educators with a more accurate measuring stick to assess pupils learning, and provides details of the additional work students must complete to reach the next level of achievement [ 18 ].

Ipsative Referencing assessment compares a pupil’s current performance with their previous performance in the same activity [ 2, 7, 17 ]. Ipsative Referencing is regarded as ‘child centered’, as pupils focus on beating their previous achievement, which is useful for recording learning and progress [ 2, 7 ]. This form of referencing promotes a mastery climate, again eliminating comparison with others, which enhances pupils’ self-esteem, motivation, and accountability [2]. Furthermore, Ipsative Referencing provides a foundation for self and teacher assessments in Records of Achievement [ 2 ].

In conclusion, Norm, Criterion, and Ipsative referenced assessment should not be viewed as mutually exclusive, as they are all beneficial for supporting students’ learning when employed together. It is expected that all PE teachers implement a range of assessment methods in every lesson, as it helps teachers and pupils to progress in their teaching and learning. For assessments to be managed efficiently and effectively, it is important for the criteria to be precise, clearly identified, and related to each other [ 2 ]. Moreover, to develop appropriate and reliable assessment criteria calls for dedicated and devoted teachers, who possess strong observational skills, detailed knowledge of activities and their techniques, and can make sound judgements of pupils’ ability [ 2, 8, 19 ].

• Piotrowski, S. (2000) Assessment, Recording and Reporting. In, Bailey, R., and Macfadyen, T. (Eds) Teaching Physical Education 5-11. London: Continuum. pp. 49-61
• Carroll, B. (1994) Assessment in Physical Education. Burgess Science Press: Basingstoke.
• Mawer, M. (1995) The effective teaching of Physical Education. Essex: Pearson Education Limited. pp. 229-248
• Bailey, R. (2001) Teaching Physical Education: A handbook for primary and secondary school teachers. London: Kogan Page. pp. 137-152
• Coates, B (2001) Assessment Planning for KS3 PE. Cambridge: Pearson Publishing. pp. 1-13
• Walker, D., (2001) Assessment, Recording and Reporting of Pupil Attainment in Physical Education – A Voice form the Real World. The British Journal of Teaching Physical Education. 32(4): pp. 24-25
• Macfadyen, T., and Bailey, R. (2002) Teaching Physical Education 11-18. London: Continuum. Pp. 75-89
• Lockwood, A., and Newton, A. (2004) Assessment in PE. In Capel, S. (Eds) Learning to Teach Physical Education in the Secondary School: A companion to School Experience. Second Edition. Oxon: RoutledgeFalmer. pp.165
• O’Neill, J., and Ockmore, D. (2006) Assessing pupils’ learning. In Capel, S., Breckon, P., and O’neill, J. (Eds)A Practical Guide to Teaching Physical Education in the Secondary School. Oxon: Routledge. pp. 133-143
• Peach, S., and Bamforth, C. (2003) Tackling the problems of Assessment, Recording and Reporting in Physical Education and Initial Teacher Training 2: an update and evaluation of the project and recommendations for future good practive. The British Journal of Teaching Physical Education. 34(1): pp. 22-26
• James, A.R., Griffin, L., and Dodds, P. (2009) Perceptions of middle school assessment: an ecological view. Physical Education and Sport Pedagogy. 14(3): pp. 323-334
• Koka, A. and Hein, V. (2006) Perceptions of teachers’ positive feedback and perceived threat to sense of self in physical education: a longitudinal study. European Physical Education Review. 12(2): pp 165-179
• Morley, D. and Bailey, R. (2004) Talent Identification and provision in PE – A strategic approach. The British Journal of Teaching Physical Education. 35(1): pp. 41-44
• Strand, B.N., and Wilson, R. (1993) Assessing sport skills. Leeds: Human Kinetics
• Williams, A. (1988) Teaching Physical Education: A Guide for Mentors and Students. London: David Fulton Publishers Ltd. pp.67-78
• Giles-Brown, L. (2006) Physical Education Assessment Toolkit. Leeds: Human Kinetics.
• Piotrowski, S., & Capel, S. (2000) Formal and Informal Modes of Assessment in Physical Education. In: Capel, S., & Piotrowski, S. (Eds.) issues in physical education. London: RoutledgeFalmer. pp. 99-115

14 Examples of Formative Assessment [+FAQs]

Traditional student assessment typically comes in the form of a test, pop quiz, or more thorough final exam. But as many teachers will tell you, these rarely tell the whole story or accurately determine just how well a student has learned a concept or lesson.

That’s why many teachers are utilizing formative assessments. While formative assessment is not necessarily a new tool, it is becoming increasingly popular amongst K-12 educators across all subject levels. 

Curious? Read on to learn more about types of formative assessment and where you can access additional resources to help you incorporate this new evaluation style into your classroom.

What is Formative Assessment?

Online education glossary EdGlossary defines formative assessment as “a wide variety of methods that teachers use to conduct in-process evaluations of student comprehension, learning needs, and academic progress during a lesson, unit, or course.” They continue, “formative assessments help teachers identify concepts that students are struggling to understand, skills they are having difficulty acquiring, or learning standards they have not yet achieved so that adjustments can be made to lessons, instructional techniques, and academic support.”

The primary reason educators utilize formative assessment, and its primary goal, is to measure a student’s understanding while instruction is happening. Formative assessments allow teachers to collect lots of information about a student’s comprehension while they’re learning, which in turn allows them to make adjustments and improvements in the moment. And, the results speak for themselves — formative assessment has been proven to be highly effective in raising the level of student attainment, increasing equity of student outcomes, and improving students’ ability to learn, according to a study from the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). 

On the flipside of the assessment coin is summative assessments, which are what we typically use to evaluate student learning. Summative assessments are used after a specific instructional period, such as at the end of a unit, course, semester, or even school year. As learning and formative assessment expert Paul Black puts it, “when the cook tastes the soup, that’s formative assessment. When a customer tastes the soup, that’s summative assessment.”

14 Examples of Formative Assessment Tools & Strategies

There are many types of formative assessment tools and strategies available to teachers, and it’s even possible to come up with your own. However, here are some of the most popular and useful formative assessments being used today.

• Round Robin Charts

Students break out into small groups and are given a blank chart and writing utensils. In these groups, everyone answers an open-ended question about the current lesson. Beyond the question, students can also add any relevant knowledge they have about the topic to their chart. These charts then rotate from group to group, with each group adding their input. Once everyone has written on every chart, the class regroups and discusses the responses. 

• Strategic Questioning

This formative assessment style is quite flexible and can be used in many different settings. You can ask individuals, groups, or the whole class high-level, open-ended questions that start with “why” or “how.” These questions have a two-fold purpose — to gauge how well students are grasping the lesson at hand and to spark a discussion about the topic. 

• Three-Way Summaries

These written summaries of a lesson or subject ask students to complete three separate write-ups of varying lengths: short (10-15 words), medium (30-50 words), and long (75-100). These different lengths test students’ ability to condense everything they’ve learned into a concise statement, or elaborate with more detail. This will demonstrate to you, the teacher, just how much they have learned, and it will also identify any learning gaps. 

• Think-Pair-Share

Think-pair-share asks students to write down their answers to a question posed by the teacher. When they’re done, they break off into pairs and share their answers and discuss. You can then move around the room, dropping in on discussions and getting an idea of how well students are understanding.

• 3-2-1 Countdown

This formative assessment tool can be written or oral and asks students to respond to three very simple prompts: Name three things you didn’t know before, name two things that surprised you about this topic, and name one you want to start doing with what you’ve learned. The exact questions are flexible and can be tailored to whatever unit or lesson you are teaching.

• Classroom Polls

This is a great participation tool to use mid-lesson. At any point, pose a poll question to students and ask them to respond by raising their hand. If you have the capability, you can also use online polling platforms and let students submit their answers on their Chromebooks, tablets, or other devices.

• Exit/Admission Tickets

Exit and admission tickets are quick written exercises that assess a student’s comprehension of a single day’s lesson. As the name suggests, exit tickets are short written summaries of what students learned in class that day, while admission tickets can be performed as short homework assignments that are handed in as students arrive to class.

• One-Minute Papers

This quick, formative assessment tool is most useful at the end of the day to get a complete picture of the classes’ learning that day. Put one minute on the clock and pose a question to students about the primary subject for the day. Typical questions might be:

• What was the main point?
• What questions do you still have?
• What was the most surprising thing you learned?
• What was the most confusing aspect and why?
• Creative Extension Projects

These types of assessments are likely already part of your evaluation strategy and include projects like posters and collage, skit performances, dioramas, keynote presentations, and more. Formative assessments like these allow students to use more creative parts of their skillset to demonstrate their understanding and comprehension and can be an opportunity for individual or group work.

Dipsticks — named after the quick and easy tool we use to check our car’s oil levels — refer to a number of fast, formative assessment tools. These are most effective immediately after giving students feedback and allowing them to practice said skills. Many of the assessments on this list fall into the dipstick categories, but additional options include writing a letter explaining the concepts covered or drawing a sketch to visually represent the topic. 

• Quiz-Like Games and Polls

A majority of students enjoy games of some kind, and incorporating games that test a student’s recall and subject aptitude are a great way to make formative assessment more fun. These could be Jeopardy-like games that you can tailor around a specific topic, or even an online platform that leverages your own lessons. But no matter what game you choose, these are often a big hit with students.

• Interview-Based Assessments

Interview-based assessments are a great way to get first-hand insight into student comprehension of a subject. You can break out into one-on-one sessions with students, or allow them to conduct interviews in small groups. These should be quick, casual conversations that go over the biggest takeaways from your lesson. If you want to provide structure to student conversations, let them try the TAG feedback method — tell your peer something they did well, ask a thoughtful question, and give a positive suggestion.

• Self Assessment

Allow students to take the rubric you use to perform a self assessment of their knowledge or understanding of a topic. Not only will it allow them to reflect on their own work, but it will also very clearly demonstrate the gaps they need filled in. Self assessments should also allow students to highlight where they feel their strengths are so the feedback isn’t entirely negative.

• Participation Cards

Participation cards are a great tool you can use on-the-fly in the middle of a lesson to get a quick read on the entire classes’ level of understanding. Give each student three participation cards — “I agree,” “I disagree,” and “I don’t know how to respond” — and pose questions that they can then respond to with those cards. This will give you a quick gauge of what concepts need more coverage.

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List of Formative Assessment Resources

There are many, many online formative assessment resources available to teachers. Here are just a few of the most widely-used and highly recommended formative assessment sites available.

• Arizona State Dept of Education

FAQs About Formative Assessment

The following frequently asked questions were sourced from the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development (ASCD), a leading education professional organization of more than 100,000 superintendents, principals, teachers, and advocates.  

Is formative assessment something new?

No and yes. The concept of measuring a student’s comprehension during lessons has existed for centuries. However, the concept of formative assessment as we understand it didn’t appear until approximately 40 years ago, and has progressively expanded into what it is today.

What makes something a formative assessment?

ASCD characterized formative assessment as “a way for teachers and students to gather evidence of learning, engage students in assessment, and use data to improve teaching and learning.” Their definition continues, “when you use an assessment instrument— a test, a quiz, an essay, or any other kind of classroom activity—analytically and diagnostically to measure the process of learning and then, in turn, to inform yourself or your students of progress and guide further learning, you are engaging in formative assessment. If you were to use the same instrument for the sole purpose of gathering data to report to a district or state or to determine a final grade, you would be engaging in summative assessment.”

Does formative assessment work in all content areas?

Absolutely, and it works across all grade levels. Nearly any content area — language arts, math, science, humanities, and even the arts or physical education — can utilize formative assessment in a positive way.

How can formative assessment support the curriculum?

Formative assessment supports curricula by providing real-time feedback on students’ knowledge levels and comprehension of the subject at hand. When teachers regularly utilize formative assessment tools, they can find gaps in student learning and customize lessons to fill those gaps. After term is over, teachers can use this feedback to reshape their curricula.

How can formative assessment be used to establish instructional priorities?

Because formative assessment supports curriculum development and updates, it thereby influences instructional priorities. Through student feedback and formative assessment, teachers are able to gather data about which instructional methods are most (and least) successful. This “data-driven” instruction should yield more positive learning outcomes for students.

Can formative assessment close achievement gaps?

Formative assessment is ideal because it identifies gaps in student knowledge while they’re learning. This allows teachers to make adjustments to close these gaps and help students more successfully master a new skill or topic.

How can I help my students understand formative assessment?

Formative assessment should be framed as a supportive learning tool; it’s a very different tactic than summative assessment strategies. To help students understand this new evaluation style, make sure you utilize it from the first day in the classroom. Introduce a small number of strategies and use them repeatedly so students become familiar with them. Eventually, these formative assessments will become second nature to teachers and students.

Before you tackle formative assessment, or any new teaching strategy for that matter, consider taking a continuing education course. At the University of San Diego School of Professional and Continuing Education, we offer over 500 courses for educators that can be completed entirely online, and many at your own pace. So no matter what your interests are, you can surely find a course — or even a certificate — that suits your needs.

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Assessments In Physical Education

• Doug Curtin
• July 14, 2022
• Curriculum , Professional Development

At times over the years, assessments and tests have mistakenly become interchangeable words in the world of education. In this article, we set out to better define assessments in physical education and how they can be utilized to empower student learning and provide better teacher insights. Let’s first start with making sure we set the record straight on our terminology.

>>> Free E-Book: Creating Effective Assessments in PE

Assessment in PE

It is important to note that assessment does not equal testing. Testing implies pass/fail, and this, for our purposes, is useless when it comes to fitness, performance, and physical education. While even here at PLT4M, we still sometimes use the phrase fitness testing , we really mean the idea of formative assessments that allow us to check in on progress and learning.

Assessment in physical education better implies measurement and comparison. Assessment allows us to track qualities like performance abilities, fatigue levels and readiness, general health markers, and understanding of key concepts.

Shape America defines assessment as, “one of the four essential components of physical education — is the gathering of evidence about student achievement and making inferences about student progress based on that evidence.”

Knowing your WHY with PE assessment

Once you have differentiated between testing and assessment, it is time to decide what your point of assessment will be. Basically, why bother? What will the data or information you are collecting via your phys ed assessment be used for?

You (The Physical Education Teacher) – Physical education teachers can utilize assessment as a means of evaluation and validation. Are the lessons and materials in class you are using helping students to learn the concepts? Are workouts or physical activities promoting personal improvement? If your evaluation via assessment says no, you can change and alter your approach. If the assessment helps to communicate yes, you are validating your work and can continue in that direction.

Them (The students) – For many students in physical education, a phys ed assessment can be a reinforcement of hard work through positive results. Students can see progress over time with simple check-ins or fun assessments. It can also help students identify personal strengths and weaknesses, which can help them set goals or strategies for better results.

Someone Else (Administrators, Parents, Etc) – While we wish physical education assessment didn’t have to be a means to justifying the subject, assessment can be a helpful way to showcase the ‘proof’ of what is going on in class. Often teachers can take assessment data and information and highlight key takeaways to showcase what is going on in physical education and its impact on students.

Formative Assessment For Physical Education

The Eberly Center at Carnegie Mellon has a simple way of defining formative assessments :

The goal of formative assessment is to monitor student learning to provide ongoing feedback that can be used by instructors to improve their teaching and by students to improve their learning. More specifically, formative assessments:

• help students identify their strengths and weaknesses and target areas that need work
• help faculty recognize where students are struggling and address problems immediately

In physical education, this can take the shape of many different types of assessments. Examples of formative assessments in physical education can include, but are not limited to,

• Beginning of class open-ended question
• Multiple choice survey
• Physical activity questionnaires
• Exit tickets
• Fitness/Skill Check In

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Weightlifting Example of Formative Assessment For Physical

At PLT4M, one of our favorite times to use formative assessment in physical education is while doing weightlifting or strength training.

Historically, a summative assessment of a ‘max out’ has been the preferred choice for physical education teachers and coaches. The assessment tasks students to perform a single rep of the heaviest weight possible.

While some students enjoy this ‘max-out’ assessment, it does have its drawbacks. Students could have an ‘off-day’ when it is time to assess, which can lead to an inaccurate reflection of progress. Often PE teachers will conduct this assessment at the beginning and end of the semester, leaving weeks in between where measuring change or progress is not possible.

Worksets As A Formative Assessment In Physical Education

An alternative to maxing out is what we like to call a workset. Worksets are a tool found in our weight-based programs, used to assess students’ maxes and automatically adjust them up or down in increments of 5 lbs, based on their performance.

Based on the result of a given workset, and the rules set in place by PLT4M (or you if you built your own program), the max will auto-update and show kids a corresponding message:

• Great Job: We’ve Increased your max 5 LBs
• Almost: We’re going to keep your max where it is at for another week
• Don’t Sweat it! We are going to take one step back to take two forward. Your max has been adjusted down 5 LBs, but don’t worry, you’ll have plenty of chances to go back up in future weeks. 

The benefit to this assessment style is that students can get feedback on a much more regular basis and start to see smaller improvements over time that can keep them engaged and motivated through a semester. Molly Collins, a PE teacher in Michigan, described the advantage of the workset for her physical education students,

“Worksets have made weightlifting more enjoyable for all my students in class. Instead of only the strongest kids feeling like they are improving, everyone can see the weekly feedback and know they are making progress. This is huge for an activity like weightlifting, which can be intimidating!”

Other Formative Assessment Physical Education Examples

Outside of just weightlifting, PE teachers can utilize a wide variety of fitness-based formative assessment strategies in class. Many PE teachers, because of the district or state requirements, will incorporate assessments like a 1-mile run, 1-minute squat, pacer, and 1-minute push-up test.

The important thing to remember with all of these examples is that students should only be compared to themselves. In the past, a norm assessment has been used to compare and contrast student performance with their peers. The problem with this assessment style is that it can leave students feeling like failures. Let’s use a hypothetical physical activity assessment with a student named Sarah as an example of this.

For example: Sarah ran the mile in 14:00. In a norm assessment she would be told she is in a certain percentile among her peers. Let’s say she was in the 20th percentile. When Sarah improved her mile time to 12:30, while she had a 1:30-minute personal improvement, she may only have moved up to the 25th percentile in her age group. Now Sarah feels as if her progress is not meaningful. This can have unintended consequences and people like Sarah overtime will learn to have a negative association to fitness.

But if we take a formative assessment approach with this mile example, her progress can be celebrated instead of making Sarah feel dejected. We can take that one-minute improvement and highlight that she made significant individual progress. A 10% improvement to be exact! This reframing of assessment and result can now better engage Sarah to continue working towards improvement, rather than disengagement and frustration.

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Technology’s Role in PE Assessments 

With all of the formative assessment physical education examples, it is important to note that technology in PE can help for a more streamlined assessment process. Collecting data on a regular basis can be a daunting task, but technology can allow for a more efficient and effective way to conduct assessment in PE.

Better yet, the use of technology can help you to achieve a better line of communication and processing of data for all stakeholders. Students can see progress and feedback mapped out over time. Teachers can better evaluate data at both an individual and class level. Administrators can see the top-line information.

Bonus Content! PE teacher Brandon Siegel describes data and assessment at his school! 

Key Takeaways on Assessments in Physical Education

When it comes to assessments in physical education, we should take the hypothetical example of Sarah from earlier and consider the larger theme of engagement and motivation. Yes, we want to know if what we are doing within our physical education curriculum is working, but not at the cost of leaving students embarrassed or frustrated. 

PE assessments can still give insights needed for teachers while still giving students the confidence that PE and physical activity is a positive in their lives. While you may still need to have a summative assessment for grading, it should not be tied around students’ ability to perform certain activities. Instead, it should consider the larger understanding of key concepts tied to whatever topic you cover.

This concept is not new to physical educators. Over the years, PE teachers have taken great steps to find ways that assessment is a low-stakes check-in that can improve their teachers and engender better student learning. Let’s continue to have open and honest conversations about what assessments in physical education can and should look like!

Have other ideas? Share them in the comments section!

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Systematic Review of Self-Assessment in Physical Education

Self-assessment is among the most impactful processes in student learning. Since no review of this process was found in the field of physical education (PE), the objective of this work was to perform a systematic review of the literature published over the last five years on the self-assessment of PE students in formal education contexts. The review was conducted in accordance with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) standards. Inclusion and exclusion criteria were established to select the articles. A total of three researchers independently applied the above criteria and obtained a total of thirteen studies. After synthesising the results by category, we found that: a majority of the studies were conducted in Europe; all 13 studies covered the educational stages of either secondary or higher education; an even number of qualitative and quantitative approaches were distributed among the studies; some studies focused on specific sports or contents, while others were applicable to any subject; and, finally, depending on the research design adopted, the results described self-assessment strategy processes, improvements in learning, drew descriptive portraits of students regarding health, or reflected students’ positive perceptions of self-assessment. It is necessary to conduct further studies on PE students’ self-assessment, especially in primary education.

1. Introduction

1.1. training and shared assessment in education.

Assessment cannot be considered as a mere technical process but as an action with ethical, ideological, and political connotations [ 1 ]. Therefore, depending on the purposes assigned to the assessment, these connotations acquire one meaning or another. It is not the same to assess in order to rate academic performance, control, punish, or supervise students than to assess as a means to verify the teaching–learning conditions to motivate students or to foster the inclusion of learners regardless of their abilities. The objective of the present study was to conduct a systematic review concerning this latter meaning of assessment, also referred to as formative and shared assessment [ 2 ]. The work by Black and William [ 3 ] may be regarded as the first study that gathered evidence on the benefits of formative and shared learning assessment. Nevertheless, despite the methodological limitations of Black and William’s study pointed out by some authors, there is another aspect brought about by formative and shared assessment that is worthy of mention beyond technical improvement: the educational and social nature of assessment as an inclusive process. The definition given by Alcaraz [ 4 ] seems accurate: “We claim that we are assessing students in order to check whether students are learning or not, but we are forgetting that the main function of assessment is less that of verifying the learning and more to ensure that the conditions for such learning to occur are being met.”

Therefore, as pointed out by López-Pastor and Pérez-Pueyo [ 2 ], we understand formative assessment as any process “whose main objective is to improve the teaching–learning processes that are taking place. It helps students to learn more (and/or correct their mistakes) and teachers to work better (to improve their teaching practice).” In this sense, Spain’s Formative and Shared Assessment Network in Education (REFyC) added the qualifier “shared” because of the critical role of the active participation of the different agents in the teaching–learning processes. In this line, scientific evidence is highly consistent regarding the positive impact of feedback on learning progress. A meta-analysis carried out by Lyster and Saito [ 5 ] verified the efficiency of oral feedback on improving one’s learning (with an average effect size of 0.76), especially when it was sustained over time. Other studies have demonstrated such influence in terms of the type of feedback to be used and its frequency, invariably leading to notably beneficial results for students [ 6 , 7 , 8 ]. The different degrees to which students take part in their own assessment were classified into several categories: self-assessment, coassessment, shared assessment, qualified dialogue, and self-qualification [ 9 ]. Self-assessment, the object of the present research review, is nothing more than an individual’s own assessment of a process and/or result.

1.2. Self-Assessment as a Formative and Shared Assessment Process in Physical Education

In the case of physical education (PE), the subject addressed in the present systematic review, there are two very different assessment models. The first model is oriented towards physical performance and seeks to measure the effectiveness of the students’ physical performance through exams and standardised tests. This conception does not contemplate the assessment’s formative value. Its intention is well summarised in the question expressed by López-Pastor [ 10 ]: “Why do we say assessment when what we really mean is qualification?” In this paradigm, students assume a passive role in the teaching–learning process. As opposed to the former, the student-participation model does have a high educational value. It focuses not only on the motor aspect but also contemplates the affective, social, and cognitive dimensions by involving students in the assessment. Furthermore, participation strategies such as self-assessment, dialogue qualification, or coassessment are possible in this evaluative model. In the case of PE, different studies have demonstrated the benefits of involving students by using self-assessment situations as well as peer assessment or coassessment [ 11 , 12 , 13 , 14 , 15 ]. Reviews of different works on assessment practices over a range of contexts and points in time in PE reveal that despite the prevalence of the formative assessment paradigm, grading models continue to predominate in PE teachers’ evaluative practices, with low student participation [ 16 , 17 , 18 ].

Moreover, the strategy of self-assessment as a student participation process within shared and formative assessment is closely linked to learning self-regulation. The concept of learning self-regulation involves a number of cognitive processes that fall into four big categories: metacognition, self-control, emotional self-regulation, and resilience [ 19 ]. Self-assessment is part of each. In the case of metacognition, for students to learn to learn, they must first evaluate their point of departure, and to do this, they must resort to self-assessment. The same applies to self-control and emotional self-regulation, where students learn to activate inhibitory control as they gain knowledge of their own emotions by evaluating themselves. We may ask: what effect do these self-assessment skills have on learning? The review by Bartimote-Aufflick et al. [ 20 ] revealed a highly consistent and strong association between self-efficacy and student learning outcomes. In the same way, in the 64 studies included in the review, self-efficacy was linked to processes that were directly linked to assessment such as self-control, intrinsic motivation, or self-regulation. In the case of PE, although some studies were directly related to some of these processes [ 15 , 21 , 22 , 23 , 24 , 25 , 26 , 27 ], we did not find a systematic review on students’ self-assessment that outlined these processes in PE classes in formal educational contexts. Therefore, the objective of this work was to conduct a systematic review of the literature over the last five years on PE students’ self-assessment in formal education contexts.

2. Materials and Methods

2.1. inclusion criteria.

The search keywords were “physical education” and “self-assessment.” Both were used as inclusion criteria in the review using the AND command within the fields “article,” “keywords,” and “abstract.” The period covered was limited to the last five years, between 2016 and 2020. In this sense, the term self-assessment was contextualised within the definition offered by the REFyC: “Assessments performed by people themselves on their own processes and/or results. Self-assessment may be performed by students or teachers. It can also refer to personal or group self-assessment” [ 2 ].

There are different types of reviews on a topic: narrative review, systematic review, and meta-analysis. Since the topic of this research is framed in the sciences of education, the systematic review was the selected modality. Systematic reviews represent a specific type of research in which the units of analysis are the original primary studies. The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines [ 28 ] were followed. The PRISMA statement standards consist of a 27-item checklist spread across the Title, Abstract, Introduction, Method, Results, and Discussion sections. The PRISMA statement items were checked for each article, one by one. Item Numbers 4 and 6 that refer to the PICO format were of particular interest: “Provide an explicit statement of questions being addressed with reference to participants, interventions, comparisons, outcomes, and study design (PICOS)” [ 28 ]. In the present study, the “participants” were the “educational stage” (primary, secondary, or higher education), the “interventions” corresponded to the “method” (qualitative and quantitative approaches), and comparisons were included in “self-assessment” as search criteria.

2.2. Exclusion Criteria

A total of 5 exclusion criteria were defined:

• The article was not included in the Web of Science or Scopus databases.
• The term ‘Self-assessment’ was not contextualised in the semantics of the REFyC.
• The research was based exclusively on the teacher’s self-assessment.
• The research was conducted in contexts other than regulated education.
• The article was published in a language other than English or Spanish.

2.3. Procedure

The study unfolded over 3 phases. The first and third phases were jointly performed by the three researchers. The second phase was carried out independently by each of them as a triple-blind study.

2.3.1. First Phase

The three researchers practised applying the inclusion and exclusion criteria. In the case of the inclusion criteria, it was found that the term “self-assessment” was the one used by the scientific community to designate the review’s object of study. Likewise, the exclusion criteria perspective was unified, and special attention was paid to number 2 (“The term “self-assessment” was not contextualised in the semantics of the REFyC”). To unify the criteria, several examples of somewhat ambiguous cases were given. To finish, the 27 PRISMA standard items were reviewed.

2.3.2. Second Phase

Based on the inclusion and exclusion criteria indicated above, we performed a search in three databases: Scopus, Web of Science, and ERIC. A first search produced a total result of 45 articles across the three databases ( Figure 1 ). All works had been published between 2016 and 2020. Subsequently, after applying the exclusion criteria from 1 to 5, the number of studies dropped to 29, distributed across each database, as illustrated in Figure 1 . The researchers eliminated the resulting duplicate articles after applying the inclusion and exclusion criteria. Finally, the PRISMA standards were verified, taking into account that the object of study mainly focused on educational sciences.

Flowchart describing phase two of the review process.

2.3.3. Third Phase

The three researchers shared the results of phase two, demonstrating a high level of agreement. Two researchers found the same final 13 studies, and a third researcher found 14. The exclusion criteria and the PRISMA standards were reapplied, the review finally resulting in 13 studies on PE students’ self-assessment in formal education contexts. An agreement was reached to organise the results into the following categories: (1) Author and year of publication; (2) Country: for this category, the location of the study was taken into account; (3) Educational stage: the educational stages addressed in the studies were taken into account or, where unspecified, were defined according to the students’ ages. Based on this criterion, the primary, secondary, and higher education stages categories were found; (4) Method and instrument: quantitative, qualitative as well as mixed model approaches were found; (5) Objectives: the objectives of the studies were explicitly included; (6) Content: this section included the type of PE-related content referred to in the study. In some cases, the content was not specified or was indifferent, so “All curricular contents” was indicated; (7) Results: the research results were synthesised. All phases were conducted between 15 September and 2 November 2020.

3. Results and Discussion

The seven categories listed in Table 1 (except author and year) were described and discussed in the 13 articles composed between 2016 and 2020.

Summary of articles about self-assessment in physical education (PE) published between 2016 and 2020.

3.1. Country

Europe, with twelve studies [ 27 , 29 , 30 , 31 , 32 , 33 , 34 , 35 , 36 , 37 , 38 , 39 , 40 ], and America [ 41 ], with one, were the only continents to be represented in the systematic review on self-assessment in physical education. In the case of Europe, Spain was the country with the most articles on the subject, with a total of five [ 30 , 33 , 35 , 37 , 40 ]. Other countries were represented on this continent such as Ukraine [ 38 , 39 ], Belgium [ 36 ], France [ 34 ], Norway [ 29 ], and Portugal [ 32 ]. The reason other continents were nonrepresented is that many articles met exclusion criteria such as self-assessments carried out in sport contexts (not educational ones) or referred to the self-assessment of PE teachers instead of students. Moreover, the high number of articles in Spain is due to the influence of the Shared and Formative Assessment Network led by López-Pastor [ 12 ] (University of Valladolid, Spain). This network has been investigating the processes of formative and shared assessment in physical education for over 30 years.

3.2. Educational Stage

In this category, it is worth noting that secondary and higher education (with seven and six studies, respectively) were the only educational stages addressed in articles on self-assessment in physical education. In the case of Spain, four [ 30 , 33 , 35 , 40 ] of its five articles focused on a university setting and only one [ 37 ] on secondary education. The two articles from Ukraine were also directed towards university teaching. The other articles centred on secondary education were distributed across Norway, Portugal, Chile, Belgium, and the United Kingdom. The absence of studies on self-assessment in physical education in the primary stage was conspicuous in this systematic review. These results do not coincide with the recent review conducted by Bores-García, Hortigüela-Alcalá González-Calvo, and Barba-Martín [ 42 ] on coassessment in physical education. In that study, the primary stage was represented by coassessment formative assessment strategies. In this sense, it could be interpreted that the self-assessment object of this review is a more appropriate cognitive process for stages with greater cognitive maturation. However, the excessive standardisation of primary education curricula in physical education hinders the existence of formative assessment practices. This conclusion is drawn from the studies by Otero-Saborido, Vázquez-Ramos, Cenizo-Benjumea, and González-Jurado [ 43 , 44 ] on PE curricula. These curricular models are based on the measurement of quantifiable behaviours through standards. For this reason, formative and shared assessment (self-assessment and coassessment) takes second place with respect to heteroassessment practices (teacher–student) oriented towards qualification.

3.3. Methods and Type of Research

The studies were heterogeneous in terms of design. Five papers exclusively used qualitative research [ 29 , 30 , 31 , 33 , 37 ]. Of these five studies, the works by Aarskon [ 29 ] and Macken, MacPhail, and Calderon [ 31 ] are worthy of mention regarding the wide range of qualitative instruments used. In the case of the first, participant observation, interviews, and video analysis were applied to collect students’ reflections on their PE learning processes. In the case of the second, the design was action research, where field notes, postlesson debriefing, reflective journals, semistructured interviews, and focus group interviews were used. In addition, these qualitative studies all shared the same object of research, i.e., the learning process and not its result.

A similar amount of works adopted a qualitative research approach, i.e., four articles [ 32 , 34 , 36 , 38 ]. In all these works, the instrument was a structured questionnaire. These quantitative studies shared a common understanding that PE self-assessment is the reflection that students make on the final result of their learning or physical activity habits, and not on the process leading up to those results. This type of “result-oriented” self-assessment overlooks the process and involves students in a testimonial way. For this reason, it may not always lead to improved student performance but rather serve the researchers’ descriptive objectives. This is the case of the study by De Meester et al [ 36 ], where 216 adolescents completed questionnaires on PA, sports participation, motivation for PE, and perceived motor competence, undertaking a series of tests to assess their actual motor competence.

Finally, out of the 13 studies, four used a mixed methodology that combined qualitative and quantitative instruments [ 35 , 39 , 40 , 45 ]. A general assessment of the type of research used shows that there was no traditional dominance of the positivist model based on quantitative instruments. In the present review, a balanced ratio was found between qualitative and quantitative paradigms.

3.4. Purpose and Content

Two big categories emerged: on the one hand, studies that did not focus on specific content or a specific objective, and on the other, studies that did focus on specific content and sports. In the case of the former, two subgroups could be defined: a first subgroup that focused on the learning process, without explicitly describing or detailing the content object of self-assessment [ 29 , 31 ]. This was the case of the study by Aarskon [ 29 ], that aimed “to explore how students themselves participate in the assessment processes that occur in PE.” Although floorball is mentioned on several occasions in this study, the text is narrated as if it were applicable to any content. Within this group of studies that did not focus on specific content or a specific objective, a second subgroup was found, which centred self-assessment on very general aspects of healthy habits, motor competence, motivation in PE classes, and specific populations [ 36 , 38 , 41 ]. This was the case of the study by Griban et al. [ 38 ], which aimed “To analyse the factors that affect the students’ health both positively and negatively and to evaluate the real health status of Ukrainian student youth.” In this latter work, the students assessed themselves by filling out questionnaires on aspects such as the weekly frequency with which they performed physical activity, drug use, or hours of sleep. Within the subgroup that did not specify the content, other examples include the research by De Meester et al. [ 36 ], in which the students’ self-assessment was not limited to sports or specific physical activities since the objective was “to explore how motor competence-based profiles relate to motivation for PE, PA levels, and organised sports participation.” Finally, another study worthy of mention is that of Marques et al. [ 32 ], which addressed the physical activity habits of students with spina bifida.

A second large group of studies addressed very specific content and sports. Two studies on gymnastics ([ 33 , 34 ] and corporal expression [ 30 , 35 ] were found, respectively. One study aimed “To design, implement and observe the motor response to a volleyball didactic unit based on nonlinear pedagogy principles” [ 37 ], and another dealt with aspects related to physical condition and health but in a very specific way. This was the case of the study by Hakman et al. [ 39 ], which sought “To determine the increase in indicators of physical qualities and circumference sizes of the body in students as a motivational component of physical self-improvement.”

3.5. Outcomes

Although all studies included self-assessment, the methodological approaches used and the objectives of the studies conditioned their results. A first group of studies used questionnaires as their main instrument and the self-assessment consisted of filling out a questionnaire on health habits and physical activity, the results of which consisted of drawing demographic profiles of physical activity and health, motivation, or motor competence of the sample. Examples include the studies by Griban et al., Marques et al., and Meester [ 32 , 36 , 38 ]. For example, in the case of Griban et al. [ 38 ], the students stated that the health factors they considered to be the most dangerous included drug use, radioactive contamination of the environment, smoking, alcohol abuse, stress, etc.

Other studies presented results that could be included within quasiexperimental studies or correlations. This type of research aims to determine how self-assessment influences or leads to learning progression. This was the case of the study by Potdevin et al. [ 34 ], which, based on a control and experimental group, evaluated the influence of self-assessment using video feedback on gymnastic skills and motivational profiles. The results showed statistically significant improvements in the experimental group in their execution of gymnastic skills. In the case of the study by Gómez-Criado and Valverde-Esteve [ 37 ], a high significant correlation was found between knowledge of the game and self-perception (self-assessment) of the competence of different technical skills in volleyball such as passing, receiving, the serve, the block, or the attack.

Moreover, a third group of studies described the entire process of student involvement or student perceptions without seeking to achieve statistical generalisations based on cause–effect relationships. This was the case of studies such as those by Aarskon [ 29 ] or Macken, MacPhail, and Calderon [ 31 ]. In the latter case, the results showed that the use of teacher educator modelling, mentoring, and scaffolding with primary school students, during upskill sessions and in situ during preservice teachers’ (PST) school placements, enhanced the primary preservice teachers’ (PST) assessment literacy in the enactment of assessment for learning in primary physical education to a greater extent than when implemented during the module with their PST peers. In the study by Romero-Martín and Asún, Chivite-Izco [ 35 ], physical education university students showed their satisfaction regarding the self-assessment system used in the Body Expression subject. A similar conclusion was reached by López-Pastor [ 40 ], who found that university students who performed self-assessment practices valued how the assessment criteria’s clarity and transparency made a very positive contribution to the teaching–learning process.

After synthesising the results we found that: a majority of the studies were conducted in Europe; all 13 studies covered the educational stages of either secondary or higher education; an even number of qualitative and quantitative approaches were distributed among the studies; some studies focused on specific sports or contents, while others were applicable to any subject; and finally, depending on the research design adopted, the results described self-assessment strategy processes, improvements in learning, drew descriptive portraits of students regarding health, or reflected students’ positive perceptions of self-assessment.

4. Conclusions

The main contribution of this research is that it is the first systematic review found to date on self-evaluation in physical education. At first, a large number of studies were found, but after applying the exclusion criteria, the number of works was reduced to 13. Some were excluded because the meaning of the word “self-assessment” was interpreted out of the educational context assumed in this research. Others were discarded because the studies were conducted in noneducational contexts (sometimes exclusively in the field of sport). The final results reflected that the number of studies on self-assessment in PE was very small and geographically limited to the European continent. University and secondary education were addressed in the studies to the detriment of primary education, where no works were found that did not meet the exclusion criteria. A numerical balance between quantitative and qualitative methods was found with respect to the research and/or applied self-assessment processes in PE. Nevertheless, although qualitative studies seek to reach a holistic understanding of the use of self-assessment in PE, in some quantitative studies, students’ self-assessments served descriptive purposes that did not necessarily improve students’ teaching–learning processes. Other quantitative studies seemed to show that the use of self-assessment improves students’ performance in the teaching–learning process. Students’ perceptions were generally highly positive about the use of self-assessment in PE. Further studies on PE self-assessment in educational contexts should be performed, particularly in primary education, for which no research was found.

Author Contributions

Conceptualization, F.M.O.-S. and V.T.-M.; methodology, formal analysis, writing—review and editing, F.M.O.-S., V.T.-M. and J.A.G.-J. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.

This research received no external funding.

Institutional Review Board Statement

Not applicable.

Informed Consent Statement

Conflicts of interest.

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Publisher’s Note: MDPI stays neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

• Pete Charrette

Understanding Assessment in Physical Education: Strategies, Examples and Best Practices

Physical education plays a vital role in the holistic development of students. It offers numerous benefits, including promoting physical fitness, enhancing motor skills, and instilling a lifelong appreciation for physical activity. However, the true potential of physical education is often overshadowed by the perceived difficulty of assessing student learning and achievement in this context. The aim of this article is to demystify the concept of assessment in physical education and provide PE teachers with comprehensive strategies to ensure student progress and enhance teaching practices.

As the field of education continues to evolve, so too must the methodologies applied in the classroom, including those in the gymnasium or on the sports field. Traditionally, physical education assessment was focused on the more easily quantifiable aspects of fitness levels and specific skills. But a more comprehensive approach incorporates diverse assessment methods that not only evaluate physical abilities but also account for personal improvement, student understanding, and knowledge of physical activities.

Understanding the Role of Assessment in Physical Education

Assessment in PE is crucial for gauging student progress, refining curriculum, and enhancing teaching strategies. It provides a reliable way to measure the development of specific skills, including motor abilities, knowledge, and understanding of various physical activities, and the personal and social growth that accompanies participation in physical education class. Consequently, physical education assessments offer invaluable data to teachers, students, and parents about student achievement, forming the basis for setting new goals, providing feedback, and making inferences about future instruction.

The role of assessment is not limited to the measurement of the students' physical abilities. It extends to the evaluation of cognitive growth, understanding of the rules and strategies of specific sports, and development of teamwork, leadership, and ethical behavior. Moreover, assessment in physical education plays a critical role in promoting students' self-evaluation skills, encouraging them to take responsibility for their learning.

Utilizing Rubrics in Physical Education Assessment

Rubrics serve as essential tools for PE teachers

when conducting assessments. These established scoring criteria help to evaluate a student's performance in an organized, consistent, and objective manner. They offer clarity about what is expected of students, providing them with specific performance expectations and a clearer understanding of what constitutes success.

Well-constructed rubrics detail varying levels of proficiency for each learning objective, allowing teachers to pinpoint where a student is excelling and where improvement is needed. Additionally, rubrics facilitate constructive feedback, enabling students to understand their strengths and weaknesses better. They also promote consistency in evaluation and make the

assessment process transparent, promoting student understanding and fairness.

Formative Assessment in Physical Education

Formative assessment, also known as assessment for learning, is an ongoing process that occurs during instruction. It allows teachers to monitor student learning, provide feedback, and adjust instructional strategies to enhance student achievement. In the context of physical education, formative assessments can include peer assessment, self-assessment, exit assessment slips, and exit checks.

Peer assessment: Peer assessment encourages students to constructively critique each other's performance. It promotes the development of communication skills and a better understanding of the learning objectives. This form of assessment can be particularly effective in team sports and group physical activities, where students can give and receive feedback about specific skills or teamwork strategies.

Self-assessment: Self-assessment promotes self-reflection and personal improvement. Students assess their own performance, identify their strengths and weaknesses, and set goals for improvement. This formative assessment method fosters a sense of responsibility and accountability for one's own learning and progress.

Exit assessment slips: These are quick assessments at the end of a lesson where students write what they learned, questions they might have, or difficulties they experienced. They help teachers understand the effectiveness of the lesson and provide insight into students' understanding.

Exit checks: These quick checks at the end of class assess student understanding of the day's lesson. Students can point to or touch a visual on the way out of class to self-assess their performance for the day.

Summative Assessment in Physical Education

While formative assessments focus on ongoing feedback during the learning process, summative assessments occur at the end of a unit, semester, or school year. They provide an overall measure of student learning and achievement. Examples of summative assessments in physical education include fitness tests, skill performance assessments, written assessments, or team sport participation.

Summative assessments are useful for making inferences about student achievement over time and their readiness for the next level of physical education. They also help physical education teachers report student progress to parents and school administrators.

Authentic Assessment in Physical Education

Authentic assessment in physical education refers to evaluating students in situations that replicate real-world activities rather than contrived testing scenarios. For example, rather than simply testing a student's ability to kick a soccer ball, an authentic assessment would involve evaluating the student's performance during an actual game, taking into account their skill execution, decision-making, and teamwork.

Authentic assessment offers a comprehensive view of a student's abilities. It values the learning process, rewards meaningful learning, and mirrors the kind of work students are likely to encounter outside of the school environment.

Utilizing Assessment Data in Physical Education

Assessment data from a PE class serves as valuable resource for a physical education teacher. The data offers insights into students' physical abilities, understanding of PE concepts, and progress in various skills and objectives. By evaluating this data, teachers can identify trends, spot challenges, and tailor their instruction to better meet students' needs.

For instance, if PE assessment data show that many students struggle with a specific skill, the teacher might revisit that skill in subsequent lessons, provide additional practice opportunities, or adapt their teaching strategies to improve student understanding and performance. Furthermore, assessment data can also help professionals teaching physical education communicate more effectively with parents about their child's progress and learning needs in PE.

The Four Essential Components of Physical Education Assessment

There are four essential components to effective physical education assessment:

1 - Ongoing evaluation: Assessing student performance and progress should be a regular part of the physical education class. Consistent evaluation provides timely feedback to students and informs instruction.

2 - Diverse assessment methods: Utilizing a mix of formative, summative, and authentic assessments ensures a comprehensive evaluation of student learning.

3 - Student involvement: Engaging students in the assessment process through peer and self-assessment encourages active participation in their learning journey.

4 - Data-informed decision-making: Utilizing assessment data to inform teaching strategies and learning objectives ensures that physical education is responsive and tailored to students' needs.

Final Thoughts

Physical education plays a critical role in student development, promoting physical fitness, motor skills, and a love for physical activity. However, to fully realize its benefits, a comprehensive and effective assessment strategy is necessary. Through a combination of rubrics, formative, summative, and authentic assessments, physical educators can track student progress, adapt their teaching strategies, and enhance student learning.

Assessment in physical education is not just about evaluating student performance but is an essential tool for improving teaching practices and promoting student achievement. It allows teachers to create a learning environment that meets students' unique needs, encourages personal growth, and prepares them for a lifetime of physical activity.

As we move forward, we must embrace a broader vision of assessment in physical education—one that views each student holistically, values their personal improvement, and uses assessment data to continually enhance the quality of physical education.

How do you assess your students (formative and summative) during PE? Let us know in the comments below?

FREE Assessment Rubric Visual for Your Learning Space!

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Fill out the form below to download the physical education rubric visual that you can use to reference when assessing your students. PE Poster: 4 Point Rubric- Olympic Themed (Go for the Gold) - in 5 color schemes displays the 3 Olympic medals as motivation to improve PE assessment scores and provides a descriptor statement and graphical icons to help students easily relate to each score point.

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Download 24 practical assessment sets for several skill and movement actions for physical education students from 2nd to 8th Grade! The PE Assessment Series: Super Bundle: 24 Skill and Movement Assessment Sets is a comprehensive bundle of teacher, peer and self-assessment visuals teachers and students can easily use for formative and summative assessment in a PE setting.

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Each assessment format can be used by a physical education teacher for formative or summative assessment purposes. The different sheets share the same visuals, element descriptors and basic rubric system. The teacher versions (Pre/Post-test and Single test variation) allow for scoring to be conducted by the teacher while the peer and self-reflection versions provide an area for student reflection.

What Skills and Movements are included in the PE Assessment Series Super Bundle?

PE Assessment Series: Bundle 1

1. Catching a Ball

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4. Throwing a Football

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PE Assessment Series: Bundle 2

7. Foot Dribbling

8. Forehand Strike ️

9. Hockey Stick Handling

10. Kicking a Ball

11. Punting a Ball

12. Striking with a Bat

PE Assessment Series: Bundle 3

13. Forward Roll

14. Jumping Rope

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PE Assessment Series: Bundle 4

19. Galloping

20. Leaping

21. One Foot Hopping

22. Skipping

23. Slide Stepping

24. Two Foot Jumping

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Én kommentar

Great, well written article. I use a lot of iPad video work to help with self and peer assessments I have found that to be incredibly powerful.

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Formative, Summative, and More Types of Assessments in Education

All the best ways to evaluate learning before, during, and after it happens.

When you hear the word assessment, do you automatically think “tests”? While it’s true that tests are one kind of assessment, they’re not the only way teachers evaluate student progress. Learn more about the types of assessments used in education, and find out how and when to use them.

Diagnostic Assessments

Formative assessments, summative assessments.

• Criterion-Referenced, Ipsative, and Normative Assessments

What is assessment?

In simplest terms, assessment means gathering data to help understand progress and effectiveness. In education, we gather data about student learning in variety of ways, then use it to assess both their progress and the effectiveness of our teaching programs. This helps educators know what’s working well and where they need to make changes.

There are three broad types of assessments: diagnostic, formative, and summative. These take place throughout the learning process, helping students and teachers gauge learning. Within those three broad categories, you’ll find other types of assessment, such as ipsative, norm-referenced, and criterion-referenced.

What’s the purpose of assessment in education?

In education, we can group assessments under three main purposes:

• Of learning
• For learning
• As learning

Assessment of learning is student-based and one of the most familiar, encompassing tests, reports, essays, and other ways of determining what students have learned. These are usually summative assessments, and they are used to gauge progress for individuals and groups so educators can determine who has mastered the material and who needs more assistance.

When we talk about assessment for learning, we’re referring to the constant evaluations teachers perform as they teach. These quick assessments—such as in-class discussions or quick pop quizzes—give educators the chance to see if their teaching strategies are working. This allows them to make adjustments in action, tailoring their lessons and activities to student needs. Assessment for learning usually includes the formative and diagnostic types.

Assessment can also be a part of the learning process itself. When students use self-evaluations, flash cards, or rubrics, they’re using assessments to help them learn.

Let’s take a closer look at the various types of assessments used in education.

Diagnostic assessments are used before learning to determine what students already do and do not know. This often refers to pre-tests and other activities students attempt at the beginning of a unit.

How To Use Diagnostic Assessments

When giving diagnostic assessments, it’s important to remind students these won’t affect their overall grade. Instead, it’s a way for them to find out what they’ll be learning in an upcoming lesson or unit. It can also help them understand their own strengths and weaknesses, so they can ask for help when they need it.

Teachers can use results to understand what students already know and adapt their lesson plans accordingly. There’s no point in over-teaching a concept students have already mastered. On the other hand, a diagnostic assessment can also help highlight expected pre-knowledge that may be missing.

For instance, a teacher might assume students already know certain vocabulary words that are important for an upcoming lesson. If the diagnostic assessment indicates differently, the teacher knows they’ll need to take a step back and do a little pre-teaching before getting to their actual lesson plans.

Examples of Diagnostic Assessments

• Pre-test: This includes the same questions (or types of questions) that will appear on a final test, and it’s an excellent way to compare results.
• Blind Kahoot: Teachers and kids already love using Kahoot for test review, but it’s also the perfect way to introduce a new topic. Learn how Blind Kahoots work here.
• Survey or questionnaire: Ask students to rate their knowledge on a topic with a series of low-stakes questions.
• Checklist: Create a list of skills and knowledge students will build throughout a unit, and have them start by checking off any they already feel they’ve mastered. Revisit the list frequently as part of formative assessment.

Formative assessments take place during instruction. They’re used throughout the learning process and help teachers make on-the-go adjustments to instruction and activities as needed. These assessments aren’t used in calculating student grades, but they are planned as part of a lesson or activity. Learn much more about formative assessments here.

How To Use Formative Assessments

As you’re building a lesson plan, be sure to include formative assessments at logical points. These types of assessments might be used at the end of a class period, after finishing a hands-on activity, or once you’re through with a unit section or learning objective.

Once you have the results, use that feedback to determine student progress, both overall and as individuals. If the majority of a class is struggling with a specific concept, you might need to find different ways to teach it. Or you might discover that one student is especially falling behind and arrange to offer extra assistance to help them out.

While kids may grumble, standard homework review assignments can actually be a pretty valuable type of formative assessment . They give kids a chance to practice, while teachers can evaluate their progress by checking the answers. Just remember that homework review assignments are only one type of formative assessment, and not all kids have access to a safe and dedicated learning space outside of school.

Examples of Formative Assessments

• Exit tickets : At the end of a lesson or class, pose a question for students to answer before they leave. They can answer using a sticky note, online form, or digital tool.
• Kahoot quizzes : Kids enjoy the gamified fun, while teachers appreciate the ability to analyze the data later to see which topics students understand well and which need more time.
• Flip (formerly Flipgrid): We love Flip for helping teachers connect with students who hate speaking up in class. This innovative (and free!) tech tool lets students post selfie videos in response to teacher prompts. Kids can view each other’s videos, commenting and continuing the conversation in a low-key way.
• Self-evaluation: Encourage students to use formative assessments to gauge their own progress too. If they struggle with review questions or example problems, they know they’ll need to spend more time studying. This way, they’re not surprised when they don’t do well on a more formal test.

Find a big list of 25 creative and effective formative assessment options here.

Summative assessments are used at the end of a unit or lesson to determine what students have learned. By comparing diagnostic and summative assessments, teachers and learners can get a clearer picture of how much progress they’ve made. Summative assessments are often tests or exams but also include options like essays, projects, and presentations.

How To Use Summative Assessments

The goal of a summative assessment is to find out what students have learned and if their learning matches the goals for a unit or activity. Ensure you match your test questions or assessment activities with specific learning objectives to make the best use of summative assessments.

When possible, use an array of summative assessment options to give all types of learners a chance to demonstrate their knowledge. For instance, some students suffer from severe test anxiety but may still have mastered the skills and concepts and just need another way to show their achievement. Consider ditching the test paper and having a conversation with the student about the topic instead, covering the same basic objectives but without the high-pressure test environment.

Summative assessments are often used for grades, but they’re really about so much more. Encourage students to revisit their tests and exams, finding the right answers to any they originally missed. Think about allowing retakes for those who show dedication to improving on their learning. Drive home the idea that learning is about more than just a grade on a report card.

Examples of Summative Assessments

• Traditional tests: These might include multiple-choice, matching, and short-answer questions.
• Essays and research papers: This is another traditional form of summative assessment, typically involving drafts (which are really formative assessments in disguise) and edits before a final copy.
• Presentations: From oral book reports to persuasive speeches and beyond, presentations are another time-honored form of summative assessment.

Find 25 of our favorite alternative assessments here.

More Types of Assessments

Now that you know the three basic types of assessments, let’s take a look at some of the more specific and advanced terms you’re likely to hear in professional development books and sessions. These assessments may fit into some or all of the broader categories, depending on how they’re used. Here’s what teachers need to know.

Criterion-Referenced Assessments

In this common type of assessment, a student’s knowledge is compared to a standard learning objective. Most summative assessments are designed to measure student mastery of specific learning objectives. The important thing to remember about this type of assessment is that it only compares a student to the expected learning objectives themselves, not to other students.

Many standardized tests are criterion-referenced assessments. A governing board determines the learning objectives for a specific group of students. Then, all students take a standardized test to see if they’ve achieved those objectives.

Find out more about criterion-referenced assessments here.

Norm-Referenced Assessments

These types of assessments do compare student achievement with that of their peers. Students receive a ranking based on their score and potentially on other factors as well. Norm-referenced assessments usually rank on a bell curve, establishing an “average” as well as high performers and low performers.

These assessments can be used as screening for those at risk for poor performance (such as those with learning disabilities) or to identify high-level learners who would thrive on additional challenges. They may also help rank students for college entrance or scholarships, or determine whether a student is ready for a new experience like preschool.

Learn more about norm-referenced assessments here.

Ipsative Assessments

In education, ipsative assessments compare a learner’s present performance to their own past performance, to chart achievement over time. Many educators consider ipsative assessment to be the most important of all , since it helps students and parents truly understand what they’ve accomplished—and sometimes, what they haven’t. It’s all about measuring personal growth.

Comparing the results of pre-tests with final exams is one type of ipsative assessment. Some schools use curriculum-based measurement to track ipsative performance. Kids take regular quick assessments (often weekly) to show their current skill/knowledge level in reading, writing, math, and other basics. Their results are charted, showing their progress over time.

Learn more about ipsative assessment in education here.

Have more questions about the best types of assessments to use with your students? Come ask for advice in the We Are Teachers HELPLINE group on Facebook.

Plus, check out creative ways to check for understanding ..

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Explore 100 Free PE Assessments with DynamicPEASAP.com!

DynamicPEASAP.com is designed as a time-saving, adaptable way for teachers to create their own lesson plans. No lesson plan is complete without an efficient, useful standards-based, grade level outcome driven assessment. This video provides an overview of the formative assessments provided in the curriculum. Visit my other blog on Dynamic PE ASAP for an in-depth look at the free curriculum.

DynamicPEASAP.com is a diverse curriculum addressing many outcomes. For this reason, a many types of assessments are provided. The intent is to demonstrate several strategies and methods of assessment to give teachers a turnkey, ready to go assessment per lesson. Teachers also have models of other types of assessments they can create if desired. This variety allows teachers to adapt their assessments based on their available technology and resources.

DynamicPEASAP.com offers more than 100 assessments addressing over 100 grade level outcomes based on SHAPE National Standards and written especially for this curriculum. Throughout the curriculum, the following six types of assessment are used.

Teacher Questioning for Understanding

Teacher Questioning is an excellent strategy to probe student understanding and provide time for student reflection. Teacher Questioning (TQ) assessments are developed to assist teachers in prompting students to reflect about a specific concept or lesson purpose. The questions are intended to be modified by the teacher to fit their needs and adapt to the nature of the discussion.

Teacher Checklist  for Observation

Teacher Checklists are designed to help teachers efficiently observe student performance. These assessments are process based in that they emphasize student demonstration of performance cues taught by the teacher. That is, can the student perform the cues for throwing rather than throw to hit a target? To this end, the outcomes that accompany the assessments are focused on the performance cues. Teachers are encouraged to modify the TCs provided to include their own cues if needed.

Self-Assessment  

Self-Assessments are great formative assessment tools and they give students the chance to take ownership of their learning by assessing themselves. Self-Assessments (SA) are used to give students the opportunity to assess their own skills, knowledge, attitude, behavior, or effort. Many SA tools use a DPE exclusive scheme designed to reinforce the learning process. In this scheme the following terms are used:

Learning – This describes a student who has just been introduced to a skill or concept. Some might say this is a beginner level. It is important to note and to let students know, this is not a “negative level”. This is simply where everyone starts in the learning process.

Practicing – This describes a student who is beginning to refine a skill or advance in understanding of a concept. This indicates a student has made progress but is still progressing.

Refining – This describes a student who is making refinements to their performance and may be ready for additional challenges. While the student has made great progress, it is important to emphasize this does not suggest the end of the learning process. This teaches students that learning is an ongoing process or cycle.

This sequence is important because it reinforces that as students of any skill or concept, we are never “done”. Learning is an ongoing process with skills and knowledge constantly being polished. Throughout life, skill or knowledge acquisition requires progressing through learning, to practicing, to refining in a cyclical fashion. Learning that early during Physical Education will help enhance student experiences

This scheme can be used as a written assessment where the student circles the term that best describes his/her performance for the outcome. Another approach is to create posters of each term to place on a wall, typically near the door students exit. When leaving the teaching space, students “high five” the term that best describes their performance on the outcome that day. Finally, teachers could have students face away from the teacher with their hand behind their back. Students then evaluate themselves using a 1 – Learning, 2 – Practicing, or 3 – Refining with fingers to show their self-assessment.

Peer Assessment

Peer Assessments let students showcase their learning in multiple ways. One, the peer who is assessing must demonstrate a grasp of the concept being assessed. Two, the peer being observed has the opportunity demonstrate his/her learning as well. Third, in this experience, students must learn how to give and receive feedback from a peer. DynamicPEASAP.com peer assessments are in the form of a process-based checklist or a “walkie talkie” peer discussion while walking.

Written Exit Slips for Reflection

Written Exit Slips are designed for efficiency and reflection. Regardless of the protocol established by the teacher, following an activity, students quickly retrieve the necessary equipment and quickly complete the Exit Slip. These slips assess learning via short answer or multiple-choice items. Alternatives to paper/pencil assessments include apps such as Plickers and projecting items on a large screen for students to answer via movements (e.g. A = Jumping Jacks, B = Hop in place, C = Frankensteins, D = Sprinklers).

Bike Rack  for Assessing Understanding

Bike Rack assessments are an efficient strategy for assessing student understanding. These formative assessments provide an allocated space for students to share their learning. This space can be as simple as a piece of paper for reflection and brainstorming, a whiteboard at a station to address a specific question, or a wall with Post-it notes for students to share their learning/experiences.

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Thank you for sharing for activities and Lessons geared for the lower elementary level. Are there resources available for middle school and high school level?

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Physical Education Assessments

Assessments in PE?

Assessing student learning has always been an important aspect in physical education, but has often been underutilized. Having formal and summative assessments integrated in regular classroom instruction is an imperative aspect of documenting student growth alongside teaching effectiveness. Physical education gives students a break from their usual structured classroom setting, and these written assessments bring back the formality of classroom activities. Let’s be honest, students dread written work in a class designated to increase physical activity and improve social skills. We can make these assessments more exciting and fun for students. Yeah, that’s right, fun assessments .

Storyboard That offers the ability for students to express their comprehension of psychomotor, cognitive, and affective domains in a formal but fun format. Bring a class to the computer lab for half the class or use an iPad/laptop cart as a station during a regular class. This can be especially useful during observations or the colder seasons, when there is an abundance of students in one gymnasium at a time. Do you have students who cannot participate in activities for medical reasons? Here is a way to include them in a more interactive way. The following assessments are examples of how to use Storyboard That and can be modified to different cognitive levels with various unit plans.

Cognitive Domain Assessment

Assessments that focus in the cognitive domain are designed to measure student understanding and knowledge of various aspects in specific classroom topics. The following example assesses student learning on tennis rules and this activity could be used as a formal, formative assessment. Adapting this assessment to any sport, activity, or concept in the classroom is easily done. Questions can be tailored for a specific sport. In the case of tennis, asking the students what type of hit is being used (forehand, backhand, etc.) is a great way to check their understanding of multiple aspects of the game. It reinforces basic student understanding of foundation skills for game play.

Cognitive assessments using Storyboard That can include having students create visuals of different rules of games and sports. Examples include asking students to differentiate between a ground rule double and an automatic double, or college football touchdown rules and professional football touchdown rules, or showing the different areas covered in zone defense. These assessments can also look into strategies in a game situation, such as asking students to show what a "give-n-go" strategy looks like vs. a "pick-n-roll". Students may also practice different strategies by creating plays, routes, or other plans within a storyboard. This will help them better conceptualize plans of action and make them ready for a game setting.

The following activity can be used as a summative assessment of a student’s ability to analyze a situation in a game setting. Giving the students the scenarios on the left and asking the student to complete the cells on the right will allow students to analyze a game situation. Asking students to create both cells will help them think critically about the game as a whole and challenge students on a higher cognitive level. Using two examples will allow you to see a bigger picture of the student's comprehension.

Psychomotor Domain Assessment

Assessments in the psychomotor domain measure student’s understanding of motor skills during gameplay or specific activities . This example assessment evaluates student understanding of proper volleyball form as a summative assessment. The activity does not challenge the ability to perform, but gauges student's concept of form and techniques. Specifically, the focal point is on the proper form of a bump in volleyball.

Other psychomotor assessments might include different types of performance like variations of pitches in baseball. Concepts like adding spin on the ball using different tennis strokes can be easily understood as a visual concept. Asking students to create extensive form examples for the bump, set, and spike in volleyball could also be a great summative assessment.

Affective Domain Assessment

Assessments in the affective domain determine students' values, attitudes, and feelings about different aspects of a sport, game, or physical activity. Proper sportsmanship, effort, and teamwork are all measurable aspects of the affective domain and are assessed in the example below. This assessment could be used as a formal formative or summative assessment at all grade levels. Teachers can easily modify this to a higher grade level by setting improvement goals.

The affective aspects of game-play is critical in the early stages of development. If students recognize how to make sports fair, they will be likely to participate as life-long player. A great way to do this could be providing scenarios where a student is being challenged by someone from the opposite team. Ask students to create positive support scenes for opposing teams that help to foster more gracious winners and less sore losers. Failing in front of people is tough, but even the professionals strike out sometimes. Having the students create a three-cell story with the first showing a failure, second cell showing practice, and the final cell showing success, will help get the message across that hard work pays off.

How to Design Skill-Based Assessments in Physical Education

Identify the key skills:.

Determine the specific skills you want to assess in your physical education class. Consider the objectives of your curriculum and identify the fundamental skills that students should develop.

Define Assessment Criteria:

Clearly define the criteria for each skill you will assess. Break down the skill into its key components and determine the essential elements students need to demonstrate proficiency in.

Select Appropriate Assessment Methods:

Choose assessment methods that align with the nature of the skill being assessed. Consider using a combination of formative and summative assessments, such as skill demonstrations, performance tasks, observations, or video recordings.

Design Assessment Tasks:

Develop assessment tasks that provide students with opportunities to showcase their skill mastery. Ensure that the tasks are authentic and relevant to real-life physical activities or sports. Consider incorporating both individual and group-based assessment tasks to assess various aspects of skill development.

Develop Clear Rubrics:

Create rubrics that clearly outline the assessment criteria and performance expectations for each skill. Include detailed descriptors or indicators for different levels of performance. Make the rubrics student-friendly and easily understandable.

Provide Feedback and Growth Opportunities:

Use assessment results to provide meaningful feedback to students. Highlight areas of strength and areas for improvement, and provide specific suggestions for growth. Offer opportunities for students to practice and refine their skills based on the feedback received.

Frequently Asked Questions about PE Assessment

Why is it important to have physical education assessments in the classroom.

Assessments in physical education are important as they allow educators to measure a student's progress and identify areas that need improvement. Assessments can be used to track physical development, skill acquisition, and overall fitness. Regular assessments also provide students with a sense of achievement and progress in their physical abilities.

What are some common physical education assessment templates?

Some common assessment templates used in physical education include fitness assessments, skills tests, and rubrics. Fitness assessments may include measuring endurance, strength, and flexibility, while skills tests may focus on specific sports or activities. Rubrics can be used to evaluate performance in a specific skill or activity and provide a detailed breakdown of performance.

How should teachers design physical education assessments?

Teachers should design physical education assessments based on their learning objectives and student needs. They should ensure that the assessment aligns with the curriculum and provides a clear indication of student progress. Teachers should also consider the specific needs and abilities of their students and adjust the assessment accordingly.

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Improving Assessment Practices in Physical Education Settings

This is an excerpt from measurement and evaluation in human performance with web study guide-5th edition by james morrow, jr.,dale mood,james disch & minsoo kang..

The purpose of this chapter is not to convince people that performance-based assessments are the solution to the assessment dilemmas that teachers in kindergarten through grade 12 schools face. Performance-based assessments do expand the possible ways in which teachers can assess their students and are probably best used along with other traditional forms of assessment. For example, skills tests are a good way to look at skills in a closed situation. They are excellent formative assessments that can provide feedback to students and teachers about current levels of student ability. Consider the following example that uses both types of assessment:

Mrs. Gaylor is an experienced teacher who has selected pickleball to teach net and wall tactics. She wants her students to be able to play pickleball at the conclusion of the unit and has decided that she will use a rubric to assess game play to determine students' overall abilities to play the game during a class doubles tournament. The rubric used for assessing game play will require students to use correct form when executing shots, to strategically place the ball away from the opponent, to work with a partner, to demonstrate positive sport behaviors toward the partner and opponent, to know the rules, and to use the serve to gain an offensive advantage (e.g., not just get it over the net, but put spin on it and place it away from the opponent if possible). She will not assess individual skills during the game because often form is sacrificed as players make an attempt at an errant ball. Instead, skills tests will be used for evaluating the volley shot, the serve, and a continuous rally. All of the skills tests are done against a wall so that a student doing the skills test does not need to depend on another student to demonstrate his or her own skillfulness. Although knowledge of rules will be one of the categories on the game play rubric, an additional written test (selected response, short answer essay) will be given so that lower-skilled students who might know the rules but not be able to demonstrate them during game play will have the opportunity to demonstrate that knowledge.

On the first day of the unit, Mrs. Gaylor informs students of her expectations, demonstrates the skills tests, and provides students with the game play rubric, which is also posted on the wall so that students can refer to it when needed. During the unit, Mrs. Gaylor incorporates the skills tests into her teaching progressions. Students are allowed to take the skills tests before and after the instructional part of class and during the class tournament when they are not playing a game. Students can take the skills tests multiple times - the goal is to reach the criterion scores that Mrs. Gaylor gave when explaining the tests. At the start of class, students pick up a 3-inch × 5-inch (7.6 cm × 12.7 cm) note card that has a place to record practice trials and results (this is a participation log). Students are allowed 10 minutes at the beginning of class to dress for class and practice their skills. Those students demonstrating more effort change their clothes quickly and have more opportunity to test, practice for the skills tests, or both. By looking at the practice logs (the note cards) Mrs. Gaylor can see which skills need more work and use this information while planning her lessons. Additionally, Mrs. Gaylor is keeping track of those students passing their skills tests and knows which skills need additional instruction, the students who need more assistance, and the students who need additional challenges because they have achieved the basic level of competence.

The tasks used for instruction are designed to teach students the skills and tactics needed to play pickleball. The content of the lessons is guided by the information (data) that Mrs. Gaylor is getting from her formative assessments. Before the start of game play, a rules test is given to ensure that all students have cognitive knowledge of the rules. When students start to play games, she will observe them multiple times using the game play rubric. The areas of lower performance will be addressed in future lessons. Classes conclude with students completing exit slips that require them to answer questions about the content of the day's lesson. On the exit slip, students also have an opportunity to ask any questions about things from the class that they didn't understand, request additional instruction on an area that is proving difficult for them to learn, or ask for challenges such as additional skills or game play tactics to help them continue to improve.

As physical educators and instructors strive to improve the quality of their programs, many will heed the reform initiatives of education experts who propose that standards-based education and performance-based assessment offer great promise for enhancing the education system. To improve the preparation of physical education teachers and other physical activity specialists so that they are able to conduct meaningful assessments, our profession needs to embrace a new way of thinking about assessment. Although this chapter proposes that physical education teachers include performance-based assessment techniques in their repertoire of assessment methods, it is not suggesting that teachers completely abandon traditional, standardized testing techniques. As shown in the example, there is a need for both, depending on the purpose of the assessment. Regardless of the approach taken, teachers should use meaningful assessment in physical education class or other physical activity settings. The design and incorporation of clear, developmentally appropriate, and explicitly defined scoring rubrics are essential to ensure valid inferences about learning, consistency, and fairness.

Stiggins (1987) suggested that the most important element in designing performance-based assessments is the explicit definition of the performance criteria. Moreover, Herman, Aschbacher, and Winters (1992) stated that criteria for judging student performance lie at the heart of performance-based assessment. If performance-based assessments are to realize their promise and live up to expectations, then it is essential that high-quality assessments be accompanied by clear, meaningful, and credible scoring criteria.

The following guidelines (adapted from Gronlund 1993) provide ways to improve the credibility and usefulness of performance-based assessment in physical education.

• Ensure that assessments are congruent with the intended outcomes and instructional practices of the class.
• Recognize that, together, observation and informed judgment with written results compose a legitimate and meaningful method of assessment.
• Use an assessment procedure that will provide the information needed to make a judgment about the intended student learning.
• Use authentic tasks in a realistic setting, thus providing contextualized meaning to the assessment.
• Design and incorporate clear, explicitly defined scoring rubrics with the assessment.
• Provide scoring rubrics and evaluative criteria to students and other interested persons.
• Be as objective as possible in observing, judging, and recording performance.
• Record assessment results during the observation.
• Use multiple assessments whenever possible.
• Use assessment to enhance student learning.

A balanced approach to assessment is the prudent path to follow. The issue is not whether one form of assessment is intrinsically better than another. No assessment model is suited for every purpose. The real issue is determining what type of performance indicator best serves the purpose of the assessment and then choosing an appropriate assessment method that is suitable for providing this type of information.

Mastery Item 14.10

Identify the types of student learning that Mrs. Gaylor can document using the procedure just explained. How do traditional skill assessments work with performance-based assessments to enhance student learning?

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The Role of Laboratory Work in Improving Physics Teaching and Learning pp 71–81 Cite as

Formative Assessment in Physics Teaching and Learning

• Nikos Papadouris 3 &
• Costas P. Constantinou 3  
• First Online: 04 November 2018

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Formative Assessment constitutes an integral component of teaching and learning. The extant research literature reports substantial empirical evidence illustrating its potential to facilitate learning. Formative assessment involves the collection of evidence about the current state of students’ learning and its use for influencing the ongoing teaching-learning process. It has received considerable attention within science education and this has led to significant insights that could inform attempts to usefully integrate formative assessment strategies in teaching and learning processes. This chapter seeks to illustrate essential features of formative assessment in a particular topic drawn from physics teaching, i.e., the energy conservation principle. It focuses on three pivotal aspects of formative assessment: (a) collecting useful assessment information, (b) interpreting this information to diagnose the current state of student learning, and (c) acting on this interpretation to facilitate learning. The chapter concludes with a brief discussion of significant open issues in contemporary research on formative assessment and considers specific future research avenues.

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Papadouris, N., Constantinou, C.P. (2018). Formative Assessment in Physics Teaching and Learning. In: Sokołowska, D., Michelini, M. (eds) The Role of Laboratory Work in Improving Physics Teaching and Learning. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-96184-2_6

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