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The Purpose of Assessment and Its Methods

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• Gravells, A (2008) Preparing to teach in the LLS
• Ministry of Education (2014) Purpose of Assessment [Online] Available at: http://assessment.tki.org.nz/Assessment-in-the-classroom/Assessment-for-learning-in-principle/Purposes-of-assessment Accessed on 20/03/14
• Rust. C (2005) Developing a variety of assessment methods page 150 Mansfield: Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education Sellors.
• A (2014) Different forms of formative assessment in lesson plans [Online] Available at: http://everydaylife.globalpost.com/different-forms-formative-assessment-lesson-plans-34048.html Accessed on 19/03/14
• Tummons. J (2007) Becoming a professional tutor in the lifelong learning sector Chapter 3 UK: Learning Matters Ltd The University of Texas at Austin (2013) Methods of Assessment [Online] Available at: https://ctl.utexas.edu/assessment/methods Accessed on 19/03/14
• University of Exeter (2005) Principles of Assessment [Online] Available at: https://as.exeter.ac.uk/support/staffdevelopment/aspectsofacademicpractice/assessmentandfeedback/principlesofassessment/typesofassessment-definitions/ Accessed on 22/03/14
• Willis. J (2007) The Neuroscience of Joyful Education Volume 64 UK: Educational Leadership Weaver. B (2014) Formal vs. Informal Assessments [Online] Available at: http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/article/formal-versus-informal-assessments Accessed on 20/03/14

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Assessing student writing, what does it mean to assess writing.

• Suggestions for Assessing Writing

Means of Responding

Rubrics: tools for response and assessment, constructing a rubric.

Assessment is the gathering of information about student learning. It can be used for formative purposes−−to adjust instruction−−or summative purposes: to render a judgment about the quality of student work. It is a key instructional activity, and teachers engage in it every day in a variety of informal and formal ways.

Assessment of student writing is a process. Assessment of student writing and performance in the class should occur at many different stages throughout the course and could come in many different forms. At various points in the assessment process, teachers usually take on different roles such as motivator, collaborator, critic, evaluator, etc., (see Brooke Horvath for more on these roles) and give different types of response.

One of the major purposes of writing assessment is to provide feedback to students. We know that feedback is crucial to writing development. The 2004 Harvard Study of Writing concluded, "Feedback emerged as the hero and the anti-hero of our study−powerful enough to convince students that they could or couldn't do the work in a given field, to push them toward or away from selecting their majors, and contributed, more than any other single factor, to students' sense of academic belonging or alienation" (http://www.fas.harvard.edu/~expos/index.cgi?section=study).

Source: Horvath, Brooke K. "The Components of Written Response: A Practical Synthesis of Current Views." Rhetoric Review 2 (January 1985): 136−56. Rpt. in C Corbett, Edward P. J., Nancy Myers, and Gary Tate. The Writing Teacher's Sourcebook . 4th ed. New York: Oxford Univ. Press, 2000.

Suggestions for Assessing Student Writing

Be sure to know what you want students to be able to do and why. Good assessment practices start with a pedagogically sound assignment description and learning goals for the writing task at hand. The type of feedback given on any task should depend on the learning goals you have for students and the purpose of the assignment. Think early on about why you want students to complete a given writing project (see guide to writing strong assignments page). What do you want them to know? What do you want students to be able to do? Why? How will you know when they have reached these goals? What methods of assessment will allow you to see that students have accomplished these goals (portfolio assessment assigning multiple drafts, rubric, etc)? What will distinguish the strongest projects from the weakest?

Begin designing writing assignments with your learning goals and methods of assessment in mind.

Plan and implement activities that support students in meeting the learning goals. How will you support students in meeting these goals? What writing activities will you allow time for? How can you help students meet these learning goals?

Begin giving feedback early in the writing process. Give multiple types of feedback early in the writing process. For example, talking with students about ideas, write written responses on drafts, have students respond to their peers' drafts in process, etc. These are all ways for students to receive feedback while they are still in the process of revising.

Structure opportunities for feedback at various points in the writing process. Students should also have opportunities to receive feedback on their writing at various stages in the writing process. This does not mean that teachers need to respond to every draft of a writing project. Structuring time for peer response and group workshops can be a very effective way for students to receive feedback from other writers in the class and for them to begin to learn to revise and edit their own writing.

Be open with students about your expectations and the purposes of the assignments. Students respond better to writing projects when they understand why the project is important and what they can learn through the process of completing it. Be explicit about your goals for them as writers and why those goals are important to their learning. Additionally, talk with students about methods of assessment. Some teachers have students help collaboratively design rubrics for the grading of writing. Whatever methods of assessment you choose, be sure to let students in on how they will be evaluated.

 Do not burden students with excessive feedback. Our instinct as teachers, especially when we are really interested in students´ writing is to offer as many comments and suggestions as we can. However, providing too much feedback can leave students feeling daunted and uncertain where to start in terms of revision. Try to choose one or two things to focus on when responding to a draft. Offer students concrete possibilities or strategies for revision.

Allow students to maintain control over their paper. Instead of acting as an editor, suggest options or open-ended alternatives the student can choose for their revision path. Help students learn to assess their own writing and the advice they get about it.

Purposes of Responding We provide different kinds of response at different moments. But we might also fall into a kind of "default" mode, working to get through the papers without making a conscious choice about how and why we want to respond to a given assignment. So it might be helpful to identify the two major kinds of response we provide:

• Formative Response: response that aims primarily to help students develop their writing. Might focus on confidence-building, on engaging the student in a conversation about her ideas or writing choices so as to help student to see herself as a successful and promising writer. Might focus on helping student develop a particular writing project, from one draft to next. Or, might suggest to student some general skills she could focus on developing over the course of a semester.
• Evaluative Response: response that focuses on evaluation of how well a student has done. Might be related to a grade. Might be used primarily on a final product or portfolio. Tends to emphasize whether or not student has met the criteria operative for specific assignment and to explain that judgment.

We respond to many kinds of writing and at different stages in the process, from reading responses, to exercises, to generation or brainstorming, to drafts, to source critiques, to final drafts. It is also helpful to think of the various forms that response can take.

• Conferencing: verbal, interactive response. This might happen in class or during scheduled sessions in offices. Conferencing can be more dynamic: we can ask students questions about their work, modeling a process of reflecting on and revising a piece of writing. Students can also ask us questions and receive immediate feedback. Conference is typically a formative response mechanism, but might also serve usefully to convey evaluative response.
• Written Comments on Drafts
• Local: when we focus on "local" moments in a piece of writing, we are calling attention to specifics in the paper. Perhaps certain patterns of grammar or moments where the essay takes a sudden, unexpected turn. We might also use local comments to emphasize a powerful turn of phrase, or a compelling and well-developed moment in a piece. Local commenting tends to happen in the margins, to call attention to specific moments in the piece by highlighting them and explaining their significance. We tend to use local commenting more often on drafts and when doing formative response.
• Global: when we focus more on the overall piece of writing and less on the specific moments in and of themselves. Global comments tend to come at the end of a piece, in narrative-form response. We might use these to step back and tell the writer what we learned overall, or to comment on a pieces' general organizational structure or focus. We tend to use these for evaluative response and often, deliberately or not, as a means of justifying the grade we assigned.
• Rubrics: charts or grids on which we identify the central requirements or goals of a specific project. Then, we evaluate whether or not, and how effectively, students met those criteria. These can be written with students as a means of helping them see and articulate the goals a given project.

Rubrics are tools teachers and students use to evaluate and classify writing, whether individual pieces or portfolios. They identify and articulate what is being evaluated in the writing, and offer "descriptors" to classify writing into certain categories (1-5, for instance, or A-F). Narrative rubrics and chart rubrics are the two most common forms. Here is an example of each, using the same classification descriptors:

Example: Narrative Rubric for Inquiring into Family & Community History

An "A" project clearly and compellingly demonstrates how the public event influenced the family/community. It shows strong audience awareness, engaging readers throughout. The form and structure are appropriate for the purpose(s) and audience(s) of the piece. The final product is virtually error-free. The piece seamlessly weaves in several other voices, drawn from appropriate archival, secondary, and primary research. Drafts - at least two beyond the initial draft - show extensive, effective revision. Writer's notes and final learning letter demonstrate thoughtful reflection and growing awareness of writer's strengths and challenges.

A "B" project clearly and compellingly demonstrates how the public event influenced the family/community. It shows strong audience awareness, and usually engages readers. The form and structure are appropriate for the audience(s) and purpose(s) of the piece, though the organization may not be tight in a couple places. The final product includes a few errors, but these do no interfere with readers' comprehension. The piece effectively, if not always seamlessly, weaves several other voices, drawn from appropriate archival, secondary, and primary research. One area of research may not be as strong as the other two. Drafts - at least two beyond the initial drafts - show extensive, effective revision. Writer's notes and final learning letter demonstrate thoughtful reflection and growing awareness of writer's strengths and challenges.

A "C" project demonstrates how the public event influenced the family/community. It shows audience awareness, sometimes engaging readers. The form and structure are appropriate for the audience(s) and purpose(s), but the organization breaks down at times. The piece includes several, apparent errors, which at times compromises the clarity of the piece. The piece incorporates other voices, drawn from at least two kinds of research, but in a generally forced or awkward way. There is unevenness in the quality and appropriateness of the research. Drafts - at least one beyond the initial draft - show some evidence of revision. Writer's notes and final learning letter show some reflection and growth in awareness of writer's strengths and challenges.

A "D" project discusses a public event and a family/community, but the connections may not be clear. It shows little audience awareness. The form and structure is poorly chosen or poorly executed. The piece includes many errors, which regularly compromise the comprehensibility of the piece. There is an attempt to incorporate other voices, but this is done awkwardly or is drawn from incomplete or inappropriate research. There is little evidence of revision. Writer's notes and learning letter are missing or show little reflection or growth.

An "F" project is not responsive to the prompt. It shows little or no audience awareness. The purpose is unclear and the form and structure are poorly chosen and poorly executed. The piece includes many errors, compromising the clarity of the piece throughout. There is little or no evidence of research. There is little or no evidence of revision. Writer's notes and learning letter are missing or show no reflection or growth.

Chart Rubric for Community/Family History Inquiry Project

All good rubrics begin (and end) with solid criteria. We always start working on rubrics by generating a list - by ourselves or with students - of what we value for a particular project or portfolio. We generally list far more items than we could use in a single rubric. Then, we narrow this list down to the most important items - between 5 and 7, ideally. We do not usually rank these items in importance, but it is certainly possible to create a hierarchy of criteria on a rubric (usually by listing the most important criteria at the top of the chart or at the beginning of the narrative description).

Once we have our final list of criteria, we begin to imagine how writing would fit into a certain classification category (1-5, A-F, etc.). How would an "A" essay differ from a "B" essay in Organization? How would a "B" story differ from a "C" story in Character Development? The key here is to identify useful descriptors - drawing the line at appropriate places. Sometimes, these gradations will be precise: the difference between handing in 80% and 90% of weekly writing, for instance. Other times, they will be vague: the difference between "effective revisions" and "mostly effective revisions", for instance. While it is important to be as precise as possible, it is also important to remember that rubric writing (especially in writing classrooms) is more art than science, and will never - and nor should it - stand in for algorithms. When we find ourselves getting caught up in minute gradations, we tend to be overlegislating students´- writing and losing sight of the purpose of the exercise: to support students' development as writers. At the moment when rubric-writing thwarts rather than supports students' writing, we should discontinue the practice. Until then, many students will find rubrics helpful -- and sometimes even motivating.

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17.6: What are the benefits of essay tests?

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• Jennfer Kidd, Jamie Kaufman, Peter Baker, Patrick O'Shea, Dwight Allen, & Old Dominion U students
• Old Dominion University

Learning Objectives

• Understand the benefits of essay questions for both Students and Teachers
• Identify when essays are useful

Introduction

Essays, along with multiple choice, are a very common method of assessment. Essays offer a means completely different than that of multiple choice. When thinking of a means of assessment, the essay along with multiple choice are the two that most come to mind (Schouller).The essay lends itself to specific subjects; for example, a math test would not have an essay question. The essay is more common in the arts, humanities and the social sciences(Scouller). On occasion an essay can be used used in both physical and natural sciences as well(Scouller). As a future history teacher, I will find that essays will be an essential part of my teaching structure.

The Benefits for Students

By utilizing essays as a mean of assessments, teachers are able to better survey what the student has learned. Multiple choice questions, by their very design, can be worked around. The student can guess, and has decent chance of getting the question right, even if they did not know the answer. This blind guessing does not benefit the student at all. In addition, some multiple choices can deceive the student(Moore). Short answers, and their big brother the essay, work in an entirely different way. Essays remove this factor. in a addition, rather than simply recognize the subject matter, the student must recall the material covered. This challenges the student more, and by forcing the student to remember the information needed, causes the student to retain it better. This in turn reinforces understanding(Moore). Scouller adds to this observation, determining that essay assessment "encourages students' development of higher order intellectual skills and the employment of deeper learning approaches; and secondly, allows students to demonstrate their development."

"Essay questions provide more opportunity to communicate ideas. Whereas multiple choice limits the options, an essay allows the student express ideas that would otherwise not be communicated." (Moore)

The Benefits for Teachers

The matter of preparation must also be considered when comparing multiple choice and essays. For multiple choice questions, the instructor must choose several questions that cover the material covered. After doing so, then the teacher has to come up with multiple possible answers. This is much more difficult than one might assume. With the essay question, the teacher will still need to be creative. However, the teacher only has to come up with a topic, and what the student is expected to cover. This saves the teacher time. When grading, the teacher knows what he or she is looking for in the paper, so the time spent reading is not necessarily more. The teacher also benefits from a better understanding of what they are teaching. The process of selecting a good essay question requires some critical thought of its own, which reflects onto the teacher(Moore).

Multiple Choice. True or False. Short Answer. Essay. All are forms of assessment. All have their pros and cons. For some, they are better suited for particular subjects. Others, not so much. Some students may even find essays to be easier. It is vital to understand when it is best to utilize the essay. Obviously for teachers of younger students, essays are not as useful. However, as the age of the student increase, the importance of the essay follows suit. That essays are utilized in essential exams such as the SAT, SOLs and in our case the PRAXIS demonstrates how important essays are. However, what it ultimately comes down to is what the teacher feels what will best assess what has been covered.

Exercise \(\PageIndex{1}\)

1)What Subject would most benefit from essays?

B: Mathematics for the Liberal Arts

C: Survey of American Literature

2)What is an advantage of essay assessment for the student?

A) They allow for better expression

B) There is little probability for randomness

C) The time taken is less overall

D) A & B

3)What is NOT a benefit of essay assessment for the teacher

A)They help the instructor better understand the subject

B)They remove some the work required for multiple choice

C)The time spent on preparation is less

D) There is no noticeable benefit.

4)Issac is a teacher making up a test. The test will have multiple sections: Short answer, multiple choice, and an essay. What subject does Issac MOST LIKELY teach?

References Cited

1)Moore, S.(2008) Interview with Scott Moore, Professor at Old Dominion University

2)Scouller, K. (1998). The influence of assessment method on students' learning approaches: multiple Choice question examination versus assignment essay. Higher Education 35(4), pp. 453–472

Center for Teaching

Assessing student learning.

Forms and Purposes of Student Assessment

Assessment is more than grading, assessment plans, methods of student assessment, generative and reflective assessment, teaching guides related to student assessment, references and additional resources.

Student assessment is, arguably, the centerpiece of the teaching and learning process and therefore the subject of much discussion in the scholarship of teaching and learning. Without some method of obtaining and analyzing evidence of student learning, we can never know whether our teaching is making a difference. That is, teaching requires some process through which we can come to know whether students are developing the desired knowledge and skills, and therefore whether our instruction is effective. Learning assessment is like a magnifying glass we hold up to students’ learning to discern whether the teaching and learning process is functioning well or is in need of change.

To provide an overview of learning assessment, this teaching guide has several goals, 1) to define student learning assessment and why it is important, 2) to discuss several approaches that may help to guide and refine student assessment, 3) to address various methods of student assessment, including the test and the essay, and 4) to offer several resources for further research. In addition, you may find helfpul this five-part video series on assessment that was part of the Center for Teaching’s Online Course Design Institute.

What is student assessment and why is it Important?

In their handbook for course-based review and assessment, Martha L. A. Stassen et al. define assessment as “the systematic collection and analysis of information to improve student learning” (2001, p. 5). An intentional and thorough assessment of student learning is vital because it provides useful feedback to both instructors and students about the extent to which students are successfully meeting learning objectives. In their book Understanding by Design , Grant Wiggins and Jay McTighe offer a framework for classroom instruction — “Backward Design”— that emphasizes the critical role of assessment. For Wiggins and McTighe, assessment enables instructors to determine the metrics of measurement for student understanding of and proficiency in course goals. Assessment provides the evidence needed to document and validate that meaningful learning has occurred (2005, p. 18). Their approach “encourages teachers and curriculum planners to first ‘think like an assessor’ before designing specific units and lessons, and thus to consider up front how they will determine if students have attained the desired understandings” (Wiggins and McTighe, 2005, p. 18). [1]

Not only does effective assessment provide us with valuable information to support student growth, but it also enables critically reflective teaching. Stephen Brookfield, in Becoming a Critically Reflective Teacher, argues that critical reflection on one’s teaching is an essential part of developing as an educator and enhancing the learning experience of students (1995). Critical reflection on one’s teaching has a multitude of benefits for instructors, including the intentional and meaningful development of one’s teaching philosophy and practices. According to Brookfield, referencing higher education faculty, “A critically reflective teacher is much better placed to communicate to colleagues and students (as well as to herself) the rationale behind her practice. She works from a position of informed commitment” (Brookfield, 1995, p. 17). One important lens through which we may reflect on our teaching is our student evaluations and student learning assessments. This reflection allows educators to determine where their teaching has been effective in meeting learning goals and where it has not, allowing for improvements. Student assessment, then, both develop the rationale for pedagogical choices, and enables teachers to measure the effectiveness of their teaching.

The scholarship of teaching and learning discusses two general forms of assessment. The first, summative assessment , is one that is implemented at the end of the course of study, for example via comprehensive final exams or papers. Its primary purpose is to produce an evaluation that “sums up” student learning. Summative assessment is comprehensive in nature and is fundamentally concerned with learning outcomes. While summative assessment is often useful for communicating final evaluations of student achievement, it does so without providing opportunities for students to reflect on their progress, alter their learning, and demonstrate growth or improvement; nor does it allow instructors to modify their teaching strategies before student learning in a course has concluded (Maki, 2002).

The second form, formative assessment , involves the evaluation of student learning at intermediate points before any summative form. Its fundamental purpose is to help students during the learning process by enabling them to reflect on their challenges and growth so they may improve. By analyzing students’ performance through formative assessment and sharing the results with them, instructors help students to “understand their strengths and weaknesses and to reflect on how they need to improve over the course of their remaining studies” (Maki, 2002, p. 11). Pat Hutchings refers to as “assessment behind outcomes”: “the promise of assessment—mandated or otherwise—is improved student learning, and improvement requires attention not only to final results but also to how results occur. Assessment behind outcomes means looking more carefully at the process and conditions that lead to the learning we care about…” (Hutchings, 1992, p. 6, original emphasis). Formative assessment includes all manner of coursework with feedback, discussions between instructors and students, and end-of-unit examinations that provide an opportunity for students to identify important areas for necessary growth and development for themselves (Brown and Knight, 1994).

It is important to recognize that both summative and formative assessment indicate the purpose of assessment, not the method . Different methods of assessment (discussed below) can either be summative or formative depending on when and how the instructor implements them. Sally Brown and Peter Knight in Assessing Learners in Higher Education caution against a conflation of the method (e.g., an essay) with the goal (formative or summative): “Often the mistake is made of assuming that it is the method which is summative or formative, and not the purpose. This, we suggest, is a serious mistake because it turns the assessor’s attention away from the crucial issue of feedback” (1994, p. 17). If an instructor believes that a particular method is formative, but he or she does not take the requisite time or effort to provide extensive feedback to students, the assessment effectively functions as a summative assessment despite the instructor’s intentions (Brown and Knight, 1994). Indeed, feedback and discussion are critical factors that distinguish between formative and summative assessment; formative assessment is only as good as the feedback that accompanies it.

It is not uncommon to conflate assessment with grading, but this would be a mistake. Student assessment is more than just grading. Assessment links student performance to specific learning objectives in order to provide useful information to students and instructors about learning and teaching, respectively. Grading, on the other hand, according to Stassen et al. (2001) merely involves affixing a number or letter to an assignment, giving students only the most minimal indication of their performance relative to a set of criteria or to their peers: “Because grades don’t tell you about student performance on individual (or specific) learning goals or outcomes, they provide little information on the overall success of your course in helping students to attain the specific and distinct learning objectives of interest” (Stassen et al., 2001, p. 6). Grades are only the broadest of indicators of achievement or status, and as such do not provide very meaningful information about students’ learning of knowledge or skills, how they have developed, and what may yet improve. Unfortunately, despite the limited information grades provide students about their learning, grades do provide students with significant indicators of their status – their academic rank, their credits towards graduation, their post-graduation opportunities, their eligibility for grants and aid, etc. – which can distract students from the primary goal of assessment: learning. Indeed, shifting the focus of assessment away from grades and towards more meaningful understandings of intellectual growth can encourage students (as well as instructors and institutions) to attend to the primary goal of education.

Barbara Walvoord (2010) argues that assessment is more likely to be successful if there is a clear plan, whether one is assessing learning in a course or in an entire curriculum (see also Gelmon, Holland, and Spring, 2018). Without some intentional and careful plan, assessment can fall prey to unclear goals, vague criteria, limited communication of criteria or feedback, invalid or unreliable assessments, unfairness in student evaluations, or insufficient or even unmeasured learning. There are several steps in this planning process.

• Defining learning goals. An assessment plan usually begins with a clearly articulated set of learning goals.
• Defining assessment methods. Once goals are clear, an instructor must decide on what evidence – assignment(s) – will best reveal whether students are meeting the goals. We discuss several common methods below, but these need not be limited by anything but the learning goals and the teaching context.
• Developing the assessment. The next step would be to formulate clear formats, prompts, and performance criteria that ensure students can prepare effectively and provide valid, reliable evidence of their learning.
• Integrating assessment with other course elements. Then the remainder of the course design process can be completed. In both integrated (Fink 2013) and backward course design models (Wiggins & McTighe 2005), the primary assessment methods, once chosen, become the basis for other smaller reading and skill-building assignments as well as daily learning experiences such as lectures, discussions, and other activities that will prepare students for their best effort in the assessments.
• Communicate about the assessment. Once the course has begun, it is possible and necessary to communicate the assignment and its performance criteria to students. This communication may take many and preferably multiple forms to ensure student clarity and preparation, including assignment overviews in the syllabus, handouts with prompts and assessment criteria, rubrics with learning goals, model assignments (e.g., papers), in-class discussions, and collaborative decision-making about prompts or criteria, among others.
• Administer the assessment. Instructors then can implement the assessment at the appropriate time, collecting evidence of student learning – e.g., receiving papers or administering tests.
• Analyze the results. Analysis of the results can take various forms – from reading essays to computer-assisted test scoring – but always involves comparing student work to the performance criteria and the relevant scholarly research from the field(s).
• Communicate the results. Instructors then compose an assessment complete with areas of strength and improvement, and communicate it to students along with grades (if the assignment is graded), hopefully within a reasonable time frame. This also is the time to determine whether the assessment was valid and reliable, and if not, how to communicate this to students and adjust feedback and grades fairly. For instance, were the test or essay questions confusing, yielding invalid and unreliable assessments of student knowledge.
• Reflect and revise. Once the assessment is complete, instructors and students can develop learning plans for the remainder of the course so as to ensure improvements, and the assignment may be changed for future courses, as necessary.

Let’s see how this might work in practice through an example. An instructor in a Political Science course on American Environmental Policy may have a learning goal (among others) of students understanding the historical precursors of various environmental policies and how these both enabled and constrained the resulting legislation and its impacts on environmental conservation and health. The instructor therefore decides that the course will be organized around a series of short papers that will combine to make a thorough policy report, one that will also be the subject of student presentations and discussions in the last third of the course. Each student will write about an American environmental policy of their choice, with a first paper addressing its historical precursors, a second focused on the process of policy formation, and a third analyzing the extent of its impacts on environmental conservation or health. This will help students to meet the content knowledge goals of the course, in addition to its goals of improving students’ research, writing, and oral presentation skills. The instructor then develops the prompts, guidelines, and performance criteria that will be used to assess student skills, in addition to other course elements to best prepare them for this work – e.g., scaffolded units with quizzes, readings, lectures, debates, and other activities. Once the course has begun, the instructor communicates with the students about the learning goals, the assignments, and the criteria used to assess them, giving them the necessary context (goals, assessment plan) in the syllabus, handouts on the policy papers, rubrics with assessment criteria, model papers (if possible), and discussions with them as they need to prepare. The instructor then collects the papers at the appropriate due dates, assesses their conceptual and writing quality against the criteria and field’s scholarship, and then provides written feedback and grades in a manner that is reasonably prompt and sufficiently thorough for students to make improvements. Then the instructor can make determinations about whether the assessment method was effective and what changes might be necessary.

Assessment can vary widely from informal checks on understanding, to quizzes, to blogs, to essays, and to elaborate performance tasks such as written or audiovisual projects (Wiggins & McTighe, 2005). Below are a few common methods of assessment identified by Brown and Knight (1994) that are important to consider.

According to Euan S. Henderson, essays make two important contributions to learning and assessment: the development of skills and the cultivation of a learning style (1980). The American Association of Colleges & Universities (AAC&U) also has found that intensive writing is a “high impact” teaching practice likely to help students in their engagement, learning, and academic attainment (Kuh 2008).

Things to Keep in Mind about Essays

• Essays are a common form of writing assignment in courses and can be either a summative or formative form of assessment depending on how the instructor utilizes them.
• Essays encompass a wide array of narrative forms and lengths, from short descriptive essays to long analytical or creative ones. Shorter essays are often best suited to assess student’s understanding of threshold concepts and discrete analytical or writing skills, while longer essays afford assessments of higher order concepts and more complex learning goals, such as rigorous analysis, synthetic writing, problem solving, or creative tasks.
• A common challenge of the essay is that students can use them simply to regurgitate rather than analyze and synthesize information to make arguments. Students need performance criteria and prompts that urge them to go beyond mere memorization and comprehension, but encourage the highest levels of learning on Bloom’s Taxonomy . This may open the possibility for essay assignments that go beyond the common summary or descriptive essay on a given topic, but demand, for example, narrative or persuasive essays or more creative projects.
• Instructors commonly assume that students know how to write essays and can encounter disappointment or frustration when they discover that this is sometimes not the case. For this reason, it is important for instructors to make their expectations clear and be prepared to assist, or provide students to resources that will enhance their writing skills. Faculty may also encourage students to attend writing workshops at university writing centers, such as Vanderbilt University’s Writing Studio .

Exams and time-constrained, individual assessment

Examinations have traditionally been a gold standard of assessment, particularly in post-secondary education. Many educators prefer them because they can be highly effective, they can be standardized, they are easily integrated into disciplines with certification standards, and they are efficient to implement since they can allow for less labor-intensive feedback and grading. They can involve multiple forms of questions, be of varying lengths, and can be used to assess multiple levels of student learning. Like essays they can be summative or formative forms of assessment.

Things to Keep in Mind about Exams

• Exams typically focus on the assessment of students’ knowledge of facts, figures, and other discrete information crucial to a course. While they can involve questioning that demands students to engage in higher order demonstrations of comprehension, problem solving, analysis, synthesis, critique, and even creativity, such exams often require more time to prepare and validate.
• Exam questions can be multiple choice, true/false, or other discrete answer formats, or they can be essay or problem-solving. For more on how to write good multiple choice questions, see this guide .
• Exams can make significant demands on students’ factual knowledge and therefore can have the side-effect of encouraging cramming and surface learning. Further, when exams are offered infrequently, or when they have high stakes by virtue of their heavy weighting in course grade schemes or in student goals, they may accompany violations of academic integrity.
• In the process of designing an exam, instructors should consider the following questions. What are the learning objectives that the exam seeks to evaluate? Have students been adequately prepared to meet exam expectations? What are the skills and abilities that students need to do well on the exam? How will this exam be utilized to enhance the student learning process?

Self-Assessment

The goal of implementing self-assessment in a course is to enable students to develop their own judgment and the capacities for critical meta-cognition – to learn how to learn. In self-assessment students are expected to assess both the processes and products of their learning. While the assessment of the product is often the task of the instructor, implementing student self-assessment in the classroom ensures students evaluate their performance and the process of learning that led to it. Self-assessment thus provides a sense of student ownership of their learning and can lead to greater investment and engagement. It also enables students to develop transferable skills in other areas of learning that involve group projects and teamwork, critical thinking and problem-solving, as well as leadership roles in the teaching and learning process with their peers.

Things to Keep in Mind about Self-Assessment

• Self-assessment is not self-grading. According to Brown and Knight, “Self-assessment involves the use of evaluative processes in which judgement is involved, where self-grading is the marking of one’s own work against a set of criteria and potential outcomes provided by a third person, usually the [instructor]” (1994, p. 52). Self-assessment can involve self-grading, but instructors of record retain the final authority to determine and assign grades.
• To accurately and thoroughly self-assess, students require clear learning goals for the assignment in question, as well as rubrics that clarify different performance criteria and levels of achievement for each. These rubrics may be instructor-designed, or they may be fashioned through a collaborative dialogue with students. Rubrics need not include any grade assignation, but merely descriptive academic standards for different criteria.
• Students may not have the expertise to assess themselves thoroughly, so it is helpful to build students’ capacities for self-evaluation, and it is important that they always be supplemented with faculty assessments.
• Students may initially resist instructor attempts to involve themselves in the assessment process. This is usually due to insecurities or lack of confidence in their ability to objectively evaluate their own work, or possibly because of habituation to more passive roles in the learning process. Brown and Knight note, however, that when students are asked to evaluate their work, frequently student-determined outcomes are very similar to those of instructors, particularly when the criteria and expectations have been made explicit in advance (1994).
• Methods of self-assessment vary widely and can be as unique as the instructor or the course. Common forms of self-assessment involve written or oral reflection on a student’s own work, including portfolio, logs, instructor-student interviews, learner diaries and dialog journals, post-test reflections, and the like.

Peer Assessment

Peer assessment is a type of collaborative learning technique where students evaluate the work of their peers and, in return, have their own work evaluated as well. This dimension of assessment is significantly grounded in theoretical approaches to active learning and adult learning . Like self-assessment, peer assessment gives learners ownership of learning and focuses on the process of learning as students are able to “share with one another the experiences that they have undertaken” (Brown and Knight, 1994, p. 52).  However, it also provides students with other models of performance (e.g., different styles or narrative forms of writing), as well as the opportunity to teach, which can enable greater preparation, reflection, and meta-cognitive organization.

Things to Keep in Mind about Peer Assessment

• Similar to self-assessment, students benefit from clear and specific learning goals and rubrics. Again, these may be instructor-defined or determined through collaborative dialogue.
• Also similar to self-assessment, it is important to not conflate peer assessment and peer grading, since grading authority is retained by the instructor of record.
• While student peer assessments are most often fair and accurate, they sometimes can be subject to bias. In competitive educational contexts, for example when students are graded normatively (“on a curve”), students can be biased or potentially game their peer assessments, giving their fellow students unmerited low evaluations. Conversely, in more cooperative teaching environments or in cases when they are friends with their peers, students may provide overly favorable evaluations. Also, other biases associated with identity (e.g., race, gender, or class) and personality differences can shape student assessments in unfair ways. Therefore, it is important for instructors to encourage fairness, to establish processes based on clear evidence and identifiable criteria, and to provide instructor assessments as accompaniments or correctives to peer evaluations.
• Students may not have the disciplinary expertise or assessment experience of the instructor, and therefore can issue unsophisticated judgments of their peers. Therefore, to avoid unfairness, inaccuracy, and limited comments, formative peer assessments may need to be supplemented with instructor feedback.

As Brown and Knight assert, utilizing multiple methods of assessment, including more than one assessor when possible, improves the reliability of the assessment data. It also ensures that students with diverse aptitudes and abilities can be assessed accurately and have equal opportunities to excel. However, a primary challenge to the multiple methods approach is how to weigh the scores produced by multiple methods of assessment. When particular methods produce higher range of marks than others, instructors can potentially misinterpret and mis-evaluate student learning. Ultimately, they caution that, when multiple methods produce different messages about the same student, instructors should be mindful that the methods are likely assessing different forms of achievement (Brown and Knight, 1994).

These are only a few of the many forms of assessment that one might use to evaluate and enhance student learning (see also ideas present in Brown and Knight, 1994). To this list of assessment forms and methods we may add many more that encourage students to produce anything from research papers to films, theatrical productions to travel logs, op-eds to photo essays, manifestos to short stories. The limits of what may be assigned as a form of assessment is as varied as the subjects and skills we seek to empower in our students. Vanderbilt’s Center for Teaching has an ever-expanding array of guides on creative models of assessment that are present below, so please visit them to learn more about other assessment innovations and subjects.

Whatever plan and method you use, assessment often begins with an intentional clarification of the values that drive it. While many in higher education may argue that values do not have a role in assessment, we contend that values (for example, rigor) always motivate and shape even the most objective of learning assessments. Therefore, as in other aspects of assessment planning, it is helpful to be intentional and critically reflective about what values animate your teaching and the learning assessments it requires. There are many values that may direct learning assessment, but common ones include rigor, generativity, practicability, co-creativity, and full participation (Bandy et al., 2018). What do these characteristics mean in practice?

Rigor. In the context of learning assessment, rigor means aligning our methods with the goals we have for students, principles of validity and reliability, ethics of fairness and doing no harm, critical examinations of the meaning we make from the results, and good faith efforts to improve teaching and learning. In short, rigor suggests understanding learning assessment as we would any other form of intentional, thoroughgoing, critical, and ethical inquiry.

Generativity. Learning assessments may be most effective when they create conditions for the emergence of new knowledge and practice, including student learning and skill development, as well as instructor pedagogy and teaching methods. Generativity opens up rather than closes down possibilities for discovery, reflection, growth, and transformation.

Practicability. Practicability recommends that learning assessment be grounded in the realities of the world as it is, fitting within the boundaries of both instructor’s and students’ time and labor. While this may, at times, advise a method of learning assessment that seems to conflict with the other values, we believe that assessment fails to be rigorous, generative, participatory, or co-creative if it is not feasible and manageable for instructors and students.

Full Participation. Assessments should be equally accessible to, and encouraging of, learning for all students, empowering all to thrive regardless of identity or background. This requires multiple and varied methods of assessment that are inclusive of diverse identities – racial, ethnic, national, linguistic, gendered, sexual, class, etcetera – and their varied perspectives, skills, and cultures of learning.

Co-creation. As alluded to above regarding self- and peer-assessment, co-creative approaches empower students to become subjects of, not just objects of, learning assessment. That is, learning assessments may be more effective and generative when assessment is done with, not just for or to, students. This is consistent with feminist, social, and community engagement pedagogies, in which values of co-creation encourage us to critically interrogate and break down hierarchies between knowledge producers (traditionally, instructors) and consumers (traditionally, students) (e.g., Saltmarsh, Hartley, & Clayton, 2009, p. 10; Weimer, 2013). In co-creative approaches, students’ involvement enhances the meaningfulness, engagement, motivation, and meta-cognitive reflection of assessments, yielding greater learning (Bass & Elmendorf, 2019). The principle of students being co-creators of their own education is what motivates the course design and professional development work Vanderbilt University’s Center for Teaching has organized around the Students as Producers theme.

Below is a list of other CFT teaching guides that supplement this one and may be of assistance as you consider all of the factors that shape your assessment plan.

• Active Learning
• An Introduction to Lecturing
• Beyond the Essay: Making Student Thinking Visible in the Humanities
• Bloom’s Taxonomy
• Classroom Assessment Techniques (CATs)
• Classroom Response Systems
• How People Learn
• Service-Learning and Community Engagement
• Syllabus Construction
• Teaching with Blogs
• Test-Enhanced Learning
• Assessing Student Learning (a five-part video series for the CFT’s Online Course Design Institute)

Angelo, Thomas A., and K. Patricia Cross. Classroom Assessment Techniques: A Handbook for College Teachers . 2 nd edition. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 1993. Print.

Bandy, Joe, Mary Price, Patti Clayton, Julia Metzker, Georgia Nigro, Sarah Stanlick, Stephani Etheridge Woodson, Anna Bartel, & Sylvia Gale. Democratically engaged assessment: Reimagining the purposes and practices of assessment in community engagement . Davis, CA: Imagining America, 2018. Web.

Bass, Randy and Heidi Elmendorf. 2019. “ Designing for Difficulty: Social Pedagogies as a Framework for Course Design .” Social Pedagogies: Teagle Foundation White Paper. Georgetown University, 2019. Web.

Brookfield, Stephen D. Becoming a Critically Reflective Teacher . San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 1995. Print

Brown, Sally, and Peter Knight. Assessing Learners in Higher Education . 1 edition. London ;Philadelphia: Routledge, 1998. Print.

Cameron, Jeanne et al. “Assessment as Critical Praxis: A Community College Experience.” Teaching Sociology 30.4 (2002): 414–429. JSTOR . Web.

Fink, L. Dee. Creating Significant Learning Experiences: An Integrated Approach to Designing College Courses. Second Edition. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass, 2013. Print.

Gibbs, Graham and Claire Simpson. “Conditions under which Assessment Supports Student Learning. Learning and Teaching in Higher Education 1 (2004): 3-31. Print.

Henderson, Euan S. “The Essay in Continuous Assessment.” Studies in Higher Education 5.2 (1980): 197–203. Taylor and Francis+NEJM . Web.

Gelmon, Sherril B., Barbara Holland, and Amy Spring. Assessing Service-Learning and Civic Engagement: Principles and Techniques. Second Edition . Stylus, 2018. Print.

Kuh, George. High-Impact Educational Practices: What They Are, Who Has Access to Them, and Why They Matter , American Association of Colleges & Universities, 2008. Web.

Maki, Peggy L. “Developing an Assessment Plan to Learn about Student Learning.” The Journal of Academic Librarianship 28.1 (2002): 8–13. ScienceDirect . Web. The Journal of Academic Librarianship. Print.

Sharkey, Stephen, and William S. Johnson. Assessing Undergraduate Learning in Sociology . ASA Teaching Resource Center, 1992. Print.

Walvoord, Barbara. Assessment Clear and Simple: A Practical Guide for Institutions, Departments, and General Education. Second Edition . San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass, 2010. Print.

Weimer, Maryellen. Learner-Centered Teaching: Five Key Changes to Practice. Second Edition . San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass, 2013. Print.

Wiggins, Grant, and Jay McTighe. Understanding By Design . 2nd Expanded edition. Alexandria,

VA: Assn. for Supervision & Curriculum Development, 2005. Print.

[1] For more on Wiggins and McTighe’s “Backward Design” model, see our teaching guide here .

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Jun 29, 2023

Evaluation Essay Examples: Master the Art of Critical Assessment with Examples and Techniques

Want to turn good evaluation essays into great ones? We've got you covered with the guidance and insights you need. Join us as we delve into the art of critical assessment!

An evaluation paper's main purpose is to assess entities like a book, movie, restaurant, or product and provide constructive criticism. This writing style can be approached with serious objectivity or with humor and sarcasm. Reviewing is a common form of academic writing that serves to assess something and is often used in various fields as a research method. For example, research papers might include literature reviews or case studies, using evaluation as an analytical tool.

Evaluation reports can also take the form of analyses and critiques. A critique of a scientific study would look at its methodology and findings, while an analysis of a novel would focus on its themes, characters, and writing style. It's essential to consider your audience and your purpose before starting an evaluation document.

Evaluation papers are a versatile and meaningful writing form that can both educate and entertain audiences. Regardless of whether the tone is serious or humorous, objective or subjective, a well-written review can engage and educate.

To understand everything about evaluation essays, from their definition and purpose to potential topics and writing tips, read on.

What are Evaluation Essays?

An evaluation essay allows the author to make a claim and offer a verdict on a topic. This essay type can be used to identify the best option among several alternatives, or to analyze a specific method, product, or situation. It is a common academic task across all levels. Evaluation essays come in different forms, from online product reviews to business cases prepared by management professionals.

In contrast to a descriptive essay, an evaluation essay aims to express the author's judgment. However, this essay type is defined by an objective tone. The author's judgment should be based on careful examination of the available evidence. This differs from a persuasive essay, which seeks to convince the reader to adopt the author's point of view. An evaluation essay starts with the facts and forms conclusions based on these facts.

How to Write an Evaluation Essay?

To write an effective evaluation essay, follow these essential writing tips:

1. Select a Topic

The essay topic is crucial. It should be both educational and interesting, providing enough information to fill an entire essay.

2. Draft an Evaluation Essay Outline

Professional writers always advise creating an evaluation essay outline before writing the essay itself. This aids in writing and ensures content coherence. An outline is also easier to modify than a complete essay. Think about what should be included and excluded when designing your essay's outline. However, skipping this step and diving straight into the essay writing can create extra work later, as it can mean editing and revising the entire piece.

The general components of an evaluation essay outline include:

a. Introduction

The introduction is vital as it forms the readers' first impression. It should engage readers and arouse their interest in the topic. The aspects to consider when writing the introduction are as follows:

Begin with a compelling hook statement to capture the reader's interest.

Provide background information on the topic for better understanding.

Formulate a clear and concise thesis statement, outlining the main objective of the evaluation.

b. Body Section

The body of the essay consists of three paragraphs. Each paragraph should deliver several related ideas and flow seamlessly from start to finish. The key ideas to cover in the body paragraphs include:

Start with a sentence that presents your view on the topic.

Provide arguments that support the topic sentence and your stance.

Present a well-rounded argument to show impartiality.

Compare the subject to a different topic to showcase its strengths and weaknesses.

Present the evaluation from various angles, applying both approving and critical thinking.

c. Conclusion

This is your final chance to convince the reader of your viewpoint. The conclusion should summarize the essay and present the overall evaluation and final assessment. When composing an evaluation essay's conclusion, keep the following points in mind:

Restate your main points and arguments from the essay body.

Present evidence to support your thesis.

Conclude your argument convincingly, ultimately persuading the reader of your assessment.

3. Review, Edit, and Proofread

The final steps after writing the essay are editing and proofreading. Carefully reading your essay will help identify and correct any unintentional errors. If necessary, review your draft multiple times to ensure no mistakes are present.

Structure of an Evaluation Essay

An evaluation essay, like any good piece of writing, follows a basic structure: an introduction, body, and conclusion. But to make your evaluation essay standout, it's crucial to distinctly outline every segment and explain the process that led you to your final verdict. Here's how to do it:

Introduction

Start strong. Your introduction needs to captivate your readers and compel them to read further. To accomplish this, begin with a clear declaration of purpose. Provide a brief background of the work being evaluated to showcase your expertise on the topic.

Next, rephrase the essay prompt, stating the purpose of your piece. For example, "This essay will critically assess X, utilizing Y standards, and analyzing its pros and cons." This presents your comprehension of the task at hand.

Wrap up your introduction with a thesis statement that clearly outlines the topics to be discussed in the body. This way, you set the stage for the essay's content and direction, sparking curiosity for the main body of the work.

Body of the Essay

Dive deep, but not without preparation. Before delving into the assessment, offer an unbiased overview of the topic being evaluated. This reaffirms your understanding and familiarity with the subject.

Each paragraph of the body should focus on one evaluation criterion, presenting either support or criticism for the point. This structured approach ensures clarity while presenting evidence to substantiate each point. For instance, discussing the benefits of a product, you can outline each advantage and back it up with supporting evidence like customer reviews or scientific studies.

Ensure a smooth flow of thoughts by linking paragraphs with transitional phrases like "in addition," "moreover," and "furthermore." Each paragraph should have a clear topic sentence, explanation, and supporting evidence or examples for easy understanding.

Your conclusion is where you make your final, compelling argument. It should focus on summarizing the points made according to your evaluation criteria. This isn't the place for new information but rather a concise summary of your work.

To conclude effectively, revisit your thesis and check whether it holds up or falls short based on your analysis. This completes the narrative arc and provides a solid stance on the topic. A thoughtful conclusion should consider the potential impact and outcomes of your evaluation, illustrating that your findings are based on the available data and recognizing the potential need for further exploration.

Evaluation Essay Examples

Now that we've covered the structure, let's take a look at some examples. Remember, an evaluation essay is just one type of essay that can be generated using tools like Jenni.ai. This AI-powered software can produce high-quality essays on any topic at impressive speeds. Here are some ideas to kickstart your assessment essay writing journey.

Evaluation Essay: Online Teaching vs. On-campus Teaching

In the face of technological evolution, education has seen a shift in teaching styles, with online learning platforms providing an alternative to traditional on-campus teaching. This essay will evaluate and compare the effectiveness of these two teaching styles, delving into various factors that contribute to their strengths and weaknesses.

The landscape of education has transformed significantly with the advent of online learning. This essay will scrutinize and juxtapose the effectiveness of online teaching against traditional on-campus teaching. The evaluation will take into account numerous factors that contribute to the success of each teaching style, focusing on their individual benefits and drawbacks.

On-campus Teaching

On-campus teaching, the time-tested method of education, has proven its effectiveness repeatedly. The physical classroom setting provides students direct access to their teachers, promoting immediate feedback and real-time interaction. Moreover, the hands-on learning, group discussions, and collaborative projects intrinsic to on-campus teaching cultivate crucial soft skills like communication and teamwork.

A study by the National Bureau of Economic Research reveals that students attending on-campus classes show higher academic performance and are more likely to complete their degrees compared to those in online classes (Bettinger & Loeb, 2017). However, on-campus teaching isn't without its challenges. It offers limited flexibility in scheduling and requires physical attendance, which can be inconvenient for students residing far from campus or those with mobility constraints.

Online Teaching

Online teaching, propelled by technological advancements and digital learning platforms, offers a compelling alternative. The most significant benefit of online teaching is its scheduling flexibility. Students can access classes and course materials from anywhere, at any time, providing a superior balance for work, family, and other commitments.

Online teaching democratizes education by enabling access for students in remote areas or with mobility challenges. The use of innovative teaching methods like interactive multimedia and gamification enhances engagement and enjoyment in learning.

Despite its numerous advantages, online teaching presents its own set of challenges. A major drawback is the lack of direct interaction with teachers and peers, potentially leading to delayed feedback and feelings of isolation. Furthermore, online classes demand a higher degree of self-motivation and discipline, which may be challenging for some students.

Both online teaching and on-campus teaching present their unique benefits and drawbacks. While on-campus teaching fosters direct interaction and immediate feedback, online teaching provides unmatched flexibility and accessibility. The choice between the two often depends on factors such as the course content, learning objectives, and student preferences.

A study by the University of Massachusetts reports that the academic performance of students in online classes is on par with those attending on-campus classes (Allen & Seaman, 2017). Furthermore, online classes are more cost-effective, eliminating the need for physical classrooms and related resources.

In conclusion, while both teaching styles have their merits, the effectiveness of each is heavily dependent on the subject matter, learning objectives, and the individual needs and preferences of students.

Citations: Allen, I. E., & Seaman, J. (2017). Digital learning compass: Distance education enrollment report 2017. Babson Survey Research Group. Bettinger, E., & Loeb, S. (2017). Promises and pitfalls of online education. Brookings Papers on Economic Activity, Spring 2017, 347-384.

Evaluation essay: Analyze how the roles of females and males changed in recent romantic movies

Romantic movies have long been a popular genre, offering a glimpse into the complex and varied world of relationships. Over the years, the portrayal of gender roles in romantic movies has evolved significantly. This essay aims to evaluate and analyze how the roles of females and males have changed in recent romantic movies.

Historical Context of Gender Roles in Romantic Movies:

Gender roles have played a significant role in shaping the portrayal of romantic relationships in movies. In the past, traditional gender roles were often reinforced, with women playing the role of the damsel in distress, and men playing the role of the protector and provider.

However, over the years, the feminist movement and other social changes have led to a more nuanced portrayal of gender roles in romantic movies. Women are no longer just passive objects of desire, and men are not just dominant figures. Instead, both genders are portrayed as complex and multifaceted individuals with their desires, needs, and struggles.

Analysis of Recent Romantic Movies:

In recent years, romantic movies have become more diverse and inclusive, featuring a wider range of gender identities, sexual orientations, and cultural backgrounds. As a result, the portrayal of gender roles in these movies has also become more nuanced and complex.

One significant trend in recent romantic movies is the portrayal of female characters as strong, independent, and empowered. Female characters are no longer just passive objects of desire, waiting for the male lead to sweep them off their feet. Instead, they are shown to be capable of taking charge of their own lives, pursuing their goals, and making their own decisions.

For example, in the movie "Crazy Rich Asians," the female lead, Rachel, is portrayed as a strong and independent woman who stands up for herself and refuses to be intimidated by the wealthy and powerful people around her. Similarly, in the movie "The Shape of Water," the female lead, Elisa, is portrayed as a determined and resourceful woman who takes action to rescue the creature she has fallen in love with.

Another trend in recent romantic movies is the portrayal of male characters as vulnerable and emotionally expressive. Male characters are no longer just stoic and unemotional but are shown to have their insecurities, fears, and vulnerabilities.

For example, in the movie "Call Me By Your Name," the male lead, Elio, is shown to be sensitive and emotional, struggling with his feelings for another man. Similarly, in the movie "Moonlight," the male lead, Chiron, is shown to be vulnerable and emotionally expressive, struggling with his identity and his relationships with those around him.

However, while there have been significant changes in the portrayal of gender roles in recent romantic movies, there are still some aspects that remain problematic. For example, female characters are still often portrayed as objects of desire, with their value determined by their physical appearance and sexual appeal. Male characters are still often portrayed as dominant and aggressive, with their masculinity tied to their ability to assert control over others.

Conclusion:

In conclusion, the portrayal of gender roles in recent romantic movies has evolved significantly, with female characters being portrayed as strong, independent, and empowered, and male characters being portrayed as vulnerable and emotionally expressive. These changes reflect the shifting social norms and values of our society and offer a more nuanced and complex portrayal of romantic relationships.

However, there are still some problematic aspects of the portrayal of gender roles in romantic movies, such as the objectification of female characters and the perpetuation of toxic masculinity. Filmmakers and audiences need to continue to push for greater diversity, inclusivity, and nuance in the portrayal of gender roles in romantic movies so that everyone can see themselves reflected in these stories.

"Crazy Rich Asians" Directed by Jon M. Chu, performances by Constance Wu, Henry Golding, and Michelle

Final Thoughts

The step-by-step guide and examples provided should have equipped you with the skills necessary to write a successful evaluation essay. However, crafting the perfect essay isn't a simple task; it demands practice, patience, and experience.

Incorporate Jenni.ai into your academic journey to revolutionize your writing experience. This advanced AI writing tool is designed to assist with a range of academic writing projects. With Jenni.ai, you can confidently tackle essays on any topic, easing your writing tasks considerably. Don't hesitate to register with Jenni.ai today ! Discover a world of writing opportunities and take your essay writing skills to new heights!

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• Our Mission
• Why Is Assessment Important?

Asking students to demonstrate their understanding of the subject matter is critical to the learning process; it is essential to evaluate whether the educational goals and standards of the lessons are being met.

Assessment is an integral part of instruction, as it determines whether or not the goals of education are being met. Assessment affects decisions about grades, placement, advancement, instructional needs, curriculum, and, in some cases, funding. Assessment inspire us to ask these hard questions: "Are we teaching what we think we are teaching?" "Are students learning what they are supposed to be learning?" "Is there a way to teach the subject better, thereby promoting better learning?"

Today's students need to know not only the basic reading and arithmetic skills, but also skills that will allow them to face a world that is continually changing. They must be able to think critically, to analyze, and to make inferences. Changes in the skills base and knowledge our students need require new learning goals; these new learning goals change the relationship between assessment and instruction. Teachers need to take an active role in making decisions about the purpose of assessment and the content that is being assessed.

Grant Wiggins, a nationally recognized assessment expert, shared his thoughts on performance assessments, standardized tests, and more in an Edutopia.org interview . Read his answers to the following questions from the interview and reflect on his ideas:

• What distinction do you make between 'testing' and 'assessment'?
• Why is it important that teachers consider assessment before they begin planning lessons or projects?
• Standardized tests, such as the SAT, are used by schools as a predictor of a student's future success. Is this a valid use of these tests?

Do you agree with his statements? Why or why not? Discuss your opinions with your peers.

When assessment works best, it does the following:

• What is the student's knowledge base?
• What is the student's performance base?
• What are the student's needs?
• What has to be taught?
• What performance demonstrates understanding?
• What performance demonstrates knowledge?
• What performance demonstrates mastery?
• How is the student doing?
• What teaching methods or approaches are most effective?
• What changes or modifications to a lesson are needed to help the student?
• What has the student learned?
• Can the student talk about the new knowledge?
• Can the student demonstrate and use the new skills in other projects?
• Now that I'm in charge of my learning, how am I doing?
• Now that I know how I'm doing, how can I do better?
• What else would I like to learn?
• What is working for the students?
• What can I do to help the students more?
• In what direction should we go next?

Continue to the next section of the guide, Types of Assessment .

This guide is organized into six sections:

• Introduction
• Types of Assessment
• How Do Rubrics Help?
• Workshop Activities
• Resources for Assessment

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Essay assessments ask students to demonstrate a point of view supported by evidence. They allow students to demonstrate what they've learned and build their writing skills.

An essay question prompts a written response, which may vary from a few paragraphs to a number of pages.

Essay questions are generally open-ended. They differ from short answer questions in that they:

• require more time
• are less structured
• require students to integrate information and interpretation.

When to use an essay

Essays can be used to test students' higher order thinking.

Advantages and limitations

• Limitations
• Test analysis, reasoning, synthesis and evaluation skills.
• Are open ended. This allows students to answer the question in a variety of ways and demonstrate depth and creativity.
• Allow for deep learning and connections.
• Allow students to draw on research and reasoning to provide justification and show integration.
• Opportunity to assess a student’s writing ability.
• Can be quicker to prepare than other item/assessment types.
• Can be structured in different ways.
• Can limit the range of assessable content and the number of assessment items that can be used.
• Favour students with good writing skills.
• not too open ended
• align with content and learning outcomes.
• Can allow for plagiarism.
• Can be difficult to moderate.
• Time consuming to assess.
• Markers need to identify knowledge and understanding, despite levels of expression, i.e. elegant language can mask superficial thinking, while clumsy language can disguise understanding of ideas.

Guidelines for developing essay assessments

Essay question.

Effective essay questions provide students with a focus (types of thinking and content) to use in their response.

Make sure your essay question:

• is aligned with the intended learning outcome
• is an appropriate length
• contains a clear task or a specific problem situation
• is worded and structured in such a way that it will be clear to the students what they are expected to do
• is not indeterminate, vague or open to numerous and/or subjective interpretations
• contains verbs that match the intended learning outcomes (if you use verbs like discuss or explain , indicate which points should be discussed/explained)
• defines the scope of the task to avoid students going off on an unrelated tangent
• allows for answers at different levels, i.e. a basic, satisfactory response and an extended, high level response
• includes differentiating aspects in the way the question is written.

Review the question and improve using the following questions:

• Does the question align with the learning outcome?
• Is the focus clear?
• Is the scope specific and clear enough?
• Is there enough direction to guide the student to the expected response?

Alignment to learning outcomes

To ensure the assessment item aligns with learning outcomes:

• prepare a model answer or an outline of major points that should be included in the answer
• critically review the essay item for clarity
• check the question is aligned with the intended learning outcome and model answer.

Student preparation

Make sure your students are prepared by:

• teaching them how to approach essays
• scaffold learning so there are opportunities to guide and practise essay writing
• ensuring students know the recommended time for completing their answer
• ensuring students know the weighting of the essay.

Examples of essay question verbs

In the table below you will find lists of verbs that are commonly used in essay questions. These words:

• relate to learning outcomes
• can be thought of as aligning with critical essay questions or descriptive essay questions
• can be used as starting points for the development of essay questions.

Assessment & Feedback: Types of Assessment

• Types of Assessments
• Presentations
• Poster Presentations
• Understanding your assessment task
• Assessment Criteria
• Interpreting & implementing feedback

What types of assessment will I do?

Essays and exams are traditional types of assessment that you might have encountered, but at university there is a wide range of assessment types that will often be different depending on the discipline you are studying.  Coursework is quite broad and course specific, ranging from traditional essays to vlogs, poster presentations, leaflets, policy briefs, business reports and much more. Depending on your course, you might also attend field trips, conduct work labs or studios, complete internships or attend clinical placements.

Your assessments will be either summative or formative.

What is a summative assessment? Summative means that assessment is designed for you to show how you meet the learning outcomes of the course and is weighted towards your final grade.

What is a formative assessment? Formative is to help you practice and the best opportunity for you to get feedback.

Below are some examples of assessments you may do. This is not an exhaustive list and you may encounter some other types depending on your discipline.

You can find detailed assessment guides for the following;

• Academic Writing
• Dissertations

Types of assessments

• Case Studies
• Research Proposals
• Lab Reports

An essay is a traditional approach to academic assessment, a structured piece of written of work based on meeting learning outcomes/ assessment criteria using academic standards of writing. You may be asked to write different types of essays throughout your course.

Argument essays

• Argument or argumentative essays are similar to discussion essays in that you have to explore different sides of an argument. 
• However, the argumentative essay will focus more on one aspect of the argument, so you will have to find strong evidence to support your line of argument.
• This does not mean that you can ignore counter arguments, but it does mean that you have to try and persuade the reader that you are making a good case.

Compare and Contrast essays

• Compare and contrast essays explore the similarities and differences of two or more things (e.g., two theories, methods or historical periods)
• There are two main ways to structure this kind of essay using a block approach or a point-by-point approach.
• The block approach involves giving all the arguments for and against for one subject first before moving on to consider all the arguments for and against for another subject. 
• The point-by-point structure considers all similarities and differences for one subject. 
• The point-by-point structure is generally clearer because it ensures that similarities and differences are stated immediately.

Reflective Essays

• Reflective writing is common in practical courses such as education and health.
• In this kind of writing, you may have to explore the relationship between theory and your own professional practice.  
• It may also involve personal reflection on your experiences of an aspect of practice using a particular model of reflection (e.g., Gibbs or Kolb’s Reflective Cycle).
• As with all assignments, essay requirements can vary, so study the essay instructions very carefully.
• A case study requires you to analyse a specific situation and to explore how its different characteristics relate to theory, legislation and professional standards.  
• The case may refer to a real-life or hypothetical event, organisation, individual or group of people and/or issue.  
• Sometimes, you may have to think of solutions or recommendations for future action.
• Make sure you check the assessment task very carefully so that you are clear on the exact nature of the task and of the case study itself.
• The structure of case study can vary from discipline to discipline but may include a Table of contents—Introduction—Discussion/Analysis—Conclusion—Reference List—Appendices.
• A report is a structured document that provides information, such as factual data, insights and recommendations, about a particular topic, issue, event, or subject matter.
• It is typically written to convey the findings, analysis, and conclusions of a research study, investigation, or inquiry.
• Reports are often used in disciplines such as accounting, finance or management and marketing.
• They often focus on case studies from the real world of business and require you to apply theory to real-world situations in order to explore problems and to suggest solutions or make recommendations.
• If a simulated situation is being used as the basis for your report, you may have to think carefully about your audience (e.g., the CEO of a company) and how this may affect your report.
• As with all assessment types, read the task carefully and structure your report accordingly.

You can find more guidance on reports here .

A portfolio is a collection of work that you have created and compiled over a period of time.  It helps to demonstrate your skills and abilities, as it makes your learning or artistic/academic development more concrete and visible. 

These are often produced as part of a project or placement, consisting of a collection of writing produced on a regular basis and then collated together into one larger piece of work.

Depending on whether your portfolio is part of your course assessment or developed for prospective employers, your portfolio should:

• Demonstrate your engagement in higher levels of thinking through enquiry and reflection
• Display your level of artistic/intellectual skill
• Present your capacity to translate your life experiences, including work, education, community service, extra-curricular or travel into evidence or artifact for learning and creativity
• Serve as an interesting conversation starter that will help you stand out as an artist or practitioner.

You can find more guidance on portfolios here .

Presentations require you to usually produce a visual element such as a poster/ creative artefact/ PowerPoint as well as verbally present your work. This may be on your own or as part of a group.

You can find more guidance and support on Presentations here .

For guidance on Poster Presentations please check here .

• A research proposal is usually a concise summary or overview of your proposed research.
• It outlines the central questions you intend to explore and provides a brief review of the literature in your chosen area.
• In other words, it provides the reader with a good idea of what is already known about the research area.
• A typical structure might include an introduction – literature review – methodology and reference list.

You can find more information on research proposals here .

• The requirements for dissertations may vary from subject to subject, so always check with your department before you begin.
• It involves an extensive review of existing literature and research, the formulation of a hypothesis or research objective, data collection, analysis, and interpretation of findings.
• Find out as much as you can, for example the word count and any requirements regarding structure.
• Longer pieces of writing like this may contain a number of different sections including an abstract—introduction—Literature review—Results—Discussion –Conclusion—References—Appendices.
• For extended pieces of writing and research, it is important to manage your time and your workload as effectively as possible.

You can find more information about dissertations here .

• Laboratory reports are also called scientific or experimental reports and they represent an important assessment type in the sciences.
• Typically, laboratory reports document the reasons for conducting experiments – the procedure or methodology used – the results or findings from the experiment—a discussion about the implications of the findings and finally a conclusion and recommendations.
• Laboratory reports should be clearly written so that, in theory, the reader could replicate the same experiment.
• A blog can be seen as a collection of short writings, often posted online format, on a regular basis.
• When creating blogs for academic purpose the assignment brief often requires you to focus on reflective writing about a particular topic or practice or project.

Vlogs is short for video blogs which are visual recording of you academically discussing a given topic/s. You are often still expected to use academic and/ or professional language as well as keep to academic standards by ensuring what you are talking about is backed by evidence and references.

The requirements and guidance for video assignments will be given to you by your course tutor. You may be producing a video on your own or with a small group of peers. The content of the video will depend on the individual assignment.

Further Reading

• Next: Types of Assessments >>
• Last Updated: Sep 4, 2023 2:54 PM
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Uncovering the True Purpose of Assessment

Assessment. What comes to mind when most people hear this word is testing, grading, final exams, and quizzes. It conjures images of scantrons and feelings of anxiety. The purpose of assessment in the 20th century industrial model of education was explicitly to sort students for efficiency purposes. It was also based in racist notions of “natural intelligence” and the bell curve that manifested in the creation of standardized testing (see this article from the National Education Association). Joe Feldman talks in “ Grading for Equity ” about the roots of grading and assessment in this model, and how these ideas and practices invite bias, demotivate students, stifle risk-taking and trust, and support a “commodity of grades”.

However, the word assess comes from the Latin root assidere, which means to sit beside. If we take this definition of assessment to heart, we begin to see it as an opportunity to glean information about what students know and are able to do, so we as educators can facilitate and guide their next steps. It is also an opportunity for the learner to reflect on what they know and are able to do so they themselves can determine and plan for their next steps.

This perspective on assessment changes the experience entirely, for both students and educators. In a learner-centered classroom, assessment is not done to but rather with the learner. Assessment becomes less about determining what a student doesn’t know or can’t do – which is how most of my own educational assessment experiences felt – but instead the emphasis shifts to providing opportunities for students to show what they do know and can do. With this definition, we see a more equitable and asset-framed assessment system where all students are expected to and given the opportunity to demonstrate proficiency. It eliminates the notion of “failure,” because when we sit beside learners and determine gaps in understanding or skills, we work with them to see growth and improvement.

With this reimagined purpose of assessment, to support learners in growing, there are three powerful assessment approaches that each serve a unique purpose in a learner’s journey and ultimately measure what matters: assessment for learning, assessment of learning and assessment as learning.

Assessment FOR Learning: Assessment that drives a feedback and growth cycle

If we recognize the true definition of assessment as “to sit beside” and not “to sort,” we can begin to envision the new model that Joe Feldman promotes. The purpose of assessment becomes feedback and growth. John Hattie cites feedback as the biggest impact on student learning in the classroom in his study on Visible Learning . When feedback and growth are the purpose of assessment, we are helping students see where they are going, where they currently are, and what they need to do next. In order to provide this feedback, assessment systems should be balanced in their use of summative and formative assessment. Formative assessment, or assessment FOR learning, is an important element in a balanced assessment system that provides feedback to learners early in the learning process. This is like a basketball coach at practice, or even in the middle of a game, pulling the team aside, telling them how they are playing, and giving concrete suggestions for how the players can adjust. Traditional assessment models focus heavily on standardized summative assessment. This is why so many of us think of scantron tests and timed essays anytime we hear the word assessment. However, if the purpose of assessment is not about sorting but instead about informing learning, we must focus much more heavily on formative assessment.

Katie Martin shares 3 key criteria for assessing to drive learning .

Assessment OF Learning: Assessment that documents progress over time

In addition to a stronger focus on formative assessment, it is important to reevaluate the purpose of summative assessment. No longer are summative assessments, or assessment OF learning, meant to rank or sort but they do remain an important tool for providing a snapshot in time for a student’s growth. I think of this as a child marking their height on the kitchen wall every six months; it’s a joyful moment for a learner to look at how much they’ve grown since the last measurement. As the outcomes shift, the shape of these summative assessments also shifts. Summative assessments should ideally be measuring the outcomes that are important skills for students of the 21st century to be demonstrating such as communication and critical thinking. This takes place through performance tasks, design thinking challenges, project-based learning and many other authentic learning and assessment strategies. Summative assessments should not, however, be asking students to memorize historical facts when Google has the market on that skill.

Assessment AS Learning: Assessment that empowers student agency

Finally, when assessment means to sit beside the learner and help them determine their next steps, there is a third form of assessment that becomes crucial: assessment AS learning. This is the holy grail for most educators; close your eyes and envision students reflecting on their learning to set goals, curating a portfolio, and determining their own next steps based on self-reflection (as well as peer and educator feedback). In order to empower student agency, educators must build in opportunities for students to participate in assessment AS learning. At this stage, learners are no longer victims to grades given to them by an external force. Instead, they’re actively engaged in the assessment process and can turn the feedback into action. In fact, it’s the best time to sit beside the learner and reflect with them.

Bryanna Hanson is the Director of Learning Design at Learner-Centered Collaborative. She taught Spanish K-12 in a variety of settings and is passionate about creating real-world learning experiences with students. She believes that a learner-centered instruction and assessment system will lead to more equitable outcomes for all students. To learn more about working with Bryanna and team to bring learner-centered assessment practices to your learning community, get in touch .

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Students in School: Importance of Assessment Essay

Are tests important for students? Why? How should learning be assessed? Essays like the one on this page aim to answer these questions.

Introduction

Assessment of students is a vital exercise aimed at evaluating their knowledge, talents, thoughts, or beliefs (Harlen, 2007). It involves testing a part of the content taught in class to ascertain the students’ learning progress. Assessment should put into consideration students’ class work and outside class work. For younger kids, the teacher should focus on language development.

This will enhance the kids’ confidence when expressing their ideas whenever asked. As in organizations, checks on the performance of students’ progress should be undertaken regularly. Notably, organizations have a high probability of investing in futility because they lack opportunity for correction.

However, in schools there are more chances of correcting mistakes. Similarly, teachers and parents should have a basis of nurturing and correcting the students. This is only possible through assessment of students at certain intervals during their learning progress. Equally, parents or teachers can use tests as they teach as a means of offering quick solutions to challenges experienced by students while learning.

All trainers should work together with their students with the aim of achieving some goals. To evaluate if the goals are met, trainers use various assessment methods depending on the profession. This is exactly true when it comes to assessment in schools. Assessment should focus on the student learning progress.

It should be employed from the kindergarten to the highest levels of learning institutions such as the university. The most essential fact about assessment is that it has to be specific. This implies that each test should try to evaluate if a student is able to demonstrate the understanding of certain concepts taught in class. Contrary to what most examiners believe, assessment should never be used as a means of ranking students.

I this case the key aims of assessment will be lost. Ranking is not bad, but to some extent it might create a negative impression and demoralize the students who are not ranked at top in class. They feel that they are foolish, which is not the case. In general, assessment should be used for evaluation of results and thus creating and formulation of strategies for improving the students’ learning and performance.

Importance of assessment in school

Assessment forms an important part of learning that determines whether the objectives of education have been attained or not (Salvia, 2001). For important decision making concerning the student’s performance, assessment is inevitable. It is very crucial since it determines what course or career can the student partake depending on class performance.

This is not possible without an exam assessment. It engages instructors with a number of questions, which include whether they are teaching the students what they are supposed to be taught or not, and whether their teaching approach is suitable for students.

Students should be subjected to assessment beyond class work, because the world is changing and they are supposed to adapt to dynamics they encounter in their everyday lives. Assessment is important for parents, students, and teachers.

Teachers should be able to identify the students’ level of knowledge and their special needs. They should be able to identify skills, design lesson plans, and come up with the goals of learning. Similarly, instructors should be able to create new learning arrangements and select appropriate learning materials to meet individual student’s needs.

Teachers have to inform parents about the student’s progress in class. This is only possible with the assessment of the students through either exam or group assessment. The assessment will make teachers improve learning mechanisms to meet the needs and abilities of all students. It provides teachers with a way of informing the public about the student’s progress in school.

Whenever parents are informed about the results of their children, they have to contribute to decision making concerning the student’s education needs (Harlen, 2007). Parents are able to select and pay for the relevant curriculum for their students. They can hire personal tutors or pay tuition to promote the learning of the student.

Students should be able to evaluate their performance and learning in school with the use of assessment results. It forms the basis of self-motivation as through it students are able to put extra efforts in order improve their exam performance. Without results, a student might be tempted to assume that he or she has mastered everything taught in class.

Methods of assessment

Various mechanisms can be used to assess the students in school. These include both group assessment and various examinations issued during the learning session. The exam could be done on a weekly, monthly, or terminal basis. Through this, a student is required to submit a written paper or oral presentation. Assignments are normally given with a fixed date of submission.

The teacher determines the amount of time required depending on the complexity of the assignment. It can take a day, a week, or even a month and this ensures that the student does not only rely on class work. It promotes research work and instills the self-driven virtue to the student. In addition, short time exam gives a quick feedback to the teacher about the student performance.

Exam methods of assessment

Before looking at the various methods of exam assessment, it is important to understand the major role that the assessment plays in the learning of the student. Carrying out an assessment at regular intervals allows the teachers to know how their students are progressing over time with respect to their previous assessments (Harlen, 2007).

Actually, testing of students helps in their learning and creates motivation to learn more and improve their performance in the future examination. It also guides the teacher on ways of passing on the knowledge to the students. There are three purposes of assessment and these include assessment for learning, assessment to learning, and assessment of learning.

All these help the teacher in planning of his lessons and means of getting feedback from students. Moreover, these three factors of learning join the efforts of parents, student, and teachers in the process of learning. There are several repercussions realized when parents do not monitor closely the performance of their kids.

Education experts assert that parents who fail to monitor their children’s learning progress are like farmers who sow seeds during planting season and wait to reap during the harvesting season yet they did nothing about it. The success of the student is easily achieved when there is harmony among the parents, teachers, and the students.

Methods of assessment can be categorized into three steps: baseline, formative and summative (Stefanakis, 2010). The baseline is considered as the basic and marks the beginning of learning. The summative one carries the bigger weight than the formative in the overall performance of the student. It carries more marks and it is usually done at the end of the teaching period in the term paper.

The aim is to check for the overall understanding of the unit or topic by the student. As the formative assessment is a continuous process during the learning session in the classroom, the instructor should use the general feedback and observations while teaching. It can provide an immediate solution to the teacher because the area that troubles the student is easily identified and the teacher takes appropriate action.

Teachers should never ignore the formative or wait for the summative at the end of the learning term. Even if the teacher discovers weakness of the student, it might be less useful since there will be no room for improvement. Actually, it is more of a reactive measure rather than proactive summative assessment. Various mechanisms can be used to realize the formative assessment.

These include surveys, which involve collecting of students’ opinions, attitudes, and behaviors during class (Nitko, 2001). They help the instructor to interact with the student more closely, creating a supportive learning environment for the student. The teacher is able to clear any existing misconception from the students due to prior knowledge. It can also involve reflections of the student.

Here, the student is required to take some time and reflect on what was taught. It necessitates the student to ask several questions regarding what was taught, for instance, questions about the hottest topic, new concepts, or questions left unanswered. It also involves the teacher asking questions during a teaching session. This makes the teacher to point out the areas the students have not understood.

By doing so, the teacher is able to focus and put more effort on some topics as compared to others. The teacher can also decide to issue homework or assignments to students. This gives students an opportunity to build confidence on the knowledge acquired during class work (Stefanakis, 2010).

Most importantly, the teacher could include the objectives and expectations of each lesson and this can be in form of questions. These questions create awareness and curiosity of students about the topic.

For the above methods of assessment, various formats have been adopted. First is the baseline assessment, which aims at examining individual’s experience as well as the prior knowledge. There are pencil and paper easement method, which is a written test. It can be a short essay or multiple choice questions. It checks for the student’s understanding of certain concepts.

The third is the embedded assessment. It deals with testing the students in contextual learning and it is done in the formative stage. The fourth involves oral reports that aim at capturing the student’s communication and scientific skills. They are carried out in the formative stage. Interviews evaluate the group and individual performance during the formative stage.

There is also a performance task, which requires the student to work on an action related to the problem while explaining a scientific idea. Usually, it is assessed both in the summative and formative stages. All these formats ensure the objective of the assessment is achieved (Harlen, 2007). The above exam method promotes learning and acquiring of knowledge among the students.

Group methods of assessment

Assessment is a flexible activity as what is done to an individual during assessment can also be done in a group and still achieve the objectives of the assessment. Group work aims to ensure that students work together. The method is not as smooth as that of an individual’s assessment since awarding of grades is a bit tricky and not straightforward.

The instructors will not know which student has contributed a lot in the group work, unless the same grade is given to group members to create fairness in the process of assessment (Paquette, 2010). It is advisable to consider both the process and finished product when assessing group work.

By just looking at the final work of the group, no one can tell who did what and did not. Individual contributions are implicit in the final project. The teacher should employ some other measures to be able to distribute grades fairly.

The solutions of assessing group include consideration of the process and the final work. The instructor should assess the process involved in the development of the final work. The aspect of the project includes punctuality, cooperation and contribution of the individual student to the group work (Stefanakis, 2010). The participation of each student and teamwork should be assessed.

Fair grading requires looking at the achievement of the objectives of the project. In addition, the instructors can let the students assess and evaluate themselves through group participation. This enhances group teamwork and yields a fair distribution of grades. This is realized because the members of the group know how to research and present written analysis of their work.

Self-assessment aims at realizing respect, promptness, and listening to minority views within the group. Another effective way of ensuring that group work becomes successful is by holding group members accountable. This actually curbs the issue of joy riding among the group members. Individuals are allocated with a certain portion of the entire job.

This involves asking members to demonstrate what they have learned and how they have contributed into the group. In addition, the products and processes are assessed. Another interesting scenario is realized when the instructor gives students the opportunity to evaluate the work of other team members. The gauging of individuals involves the investigating of various aspects of the projects.

These include communication skills, efforts, cooperation, and participation of individual members. It is facilitated by the use of forms, which are completed by the students.

Group work aims at improving both accountability of individuals and vital information due to dynamics experienced in the group. To some extent, an instructor can involve the external feedbacks. These feedbacks are finally incorporated into the final score of the student’s group grade.

There are various mechanisms for assessing and grading the group. First, there is shared grading. Through this, the submitted work of the group is assessed and same grade to all members is awarded without considering the individual’s contribution. Secondly, there is averaging of the group grade. Through this, each member is required to submit the portion allocated.

After assessing the individual’s work, an average of all the members is evaluated and this grade is awarded to group members. This average group grade promotes members to focus on group and individual work. There is also individual grading, where the student’s allocated work is assessed and grades given to individuals.

This enhances efforts during working with all the members. In fact, this method is the fairest way of grading group work. There is also an individual report grading in which each member is required to write individual report. After submitting, assessment is done and a grade is given to the student.

Finally, there is an individual examination grading where questions are examined based on the project. This encourages students to participate fully during the project. It is hard to answer the questions if you have not participated in the group work.

How assessment prepares students for higher education/ workforce/ student character

It is a fact that in any institution exam is an inevitable criterion of assessing students. Whichever the system adopted by the governments of various countries worldwide, exam is an important event as teachers are able to allow those students who perform well to progress in their learning (Stefanakis, 2010). Those who have not met the minimum grading will require extra tuition before they are promoted.

This will involve the initiatives of parents to hire tutors for the student. Exam assessment prepares the student for higher levels of learning, because the higher institutions of learning have exam assessment too. Therefore, it is important for the students to get used to exam as well as research, which will boost the student understanding during lectures in the university or in college.

Similarly, at the end of a university degree course the students are required to carry out a project either as individual or group work. The knowledge and experience of teamwork gained during the lower study levels will play a great role in successful completion of tasks in the university.

Another important factor of assessment is that it helps a student to develop his or her character from childhood to adulthood. For the first time a student joins the school the test should be initiated.

From small things the student is asked by the teacher or by other colleagues, he or she learns how to associate with other students especially during the group work tasks. The student learns and embraces teamwork, cooperation, and accountability. These virtues are a foundation for character. In addition, the student acquires communication skills especially during the presentation of project work or during class sessions.

These small facts about life accumulate and contribute to life outside the school. The student is able to work in any environment. The exam credentials are vital requirements in the job market. All firms base their employment qualification on exams. More often, employers choose best workers based on their exam papers.

This approach has been vital since employers might not have time to assess ability to demonstrate their skills (Stefanakis, 2010). Therefore, the underlying basis is both exam and group assessment. Group assessment helps to build teamwork, which is a vital virtue in the workplace. Most projects in an organization are done in groups. Hence, teamwork aspects are very crucial during implementation.

The student utilizes the knowledge and experience of group work during school. The working environment is not so much different from socialization in school. In any organization, the success of a company is determined by the teamwork and unity of the workers. These vital virtues are learnt and developed in school and are enhanced by assessment.

Harlen, W. (2007). Assessment of learning . Los Angeles, CA: SAGE Publications.

Nitko, A. J. (2001). Educational assessment of students (3rd ed.). Upper Saddle River, N.J.: Merrill.

Paquette, K. R. (2010). Striving for the perfect classroom instructional and assessment strategies to meet the needs of today’s diverse learners . New York: Nova Science Publishers.

Salvia, J. (2001). Assessment (8th ed.). Boston: Houghton Mifflin.

Stefanakis, E. H. (2010). Differentiated assessment how to assess the learning potential of every student . San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

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Image courtesy of   Lagos Techie.  Unsplash

Assessment always has a purpose. We need to be clear on that purpose in our learning design work. But that purpose can vary. In this article aimed at educators, we explore assessment of, for, and as learning to think about the purpose of assessment and to help us think about integrated summative assessment.

In a  previous article about online assessment , we asked ‘How do we know if students are learning?’ We spoke about the value of formative assessment as part of activity-based teaching and learning. We suggested that formative assessment activities form an important part of an integrated summative assessment strategy.

But what do we mean? Traditionally,

"Formative assessment  occurs  before or   during  teaching. It is a way of assessing students’ progress, providing feedback and making decisions about further instructional activities. It is assessment  for  learning purposes.  Summative assessment  is conducted  after  instruction primarily as a way to document what students know, understand and can do. It is an assessment  of  learning and its aim is to ‘sum up’ the learning that has taken place." (Waspe, 2020)

But Waspe goes on to say:

"There isn’t always a clear split between formative and summative assessment: some activities may fall somewhere in the middle. For example, a test at the end of a section of material may be used for marks (summative) but the lecturer may also analyse it to identify which competences need strengthening going forward (formative)." (Waspe, 2020)

Assessment and learning

We know there is an integral relationship between assessment and learning. We can see this when we unpack three important forms of assessment:

Assessment  of learning

Assessment of learning measures the knowledge, skills, attitudes, and values students have demonstrated at the end of a learning cycle.

Assessment  for  learning

Assessment for learning checks what students understand and can do as part of the learning process. It helps to identify any misunderstandings, difficulties, or gaps in knowledge so educators can adjust teaching to address these.

Assessment  as  learning

Assessment as learning involves the student ‘thinking about how they are thinking’ and using what they discover to make adjustments to how they approach learning. Assessment as learning helps students notice their own thoughts and processes, called  metacognition , and make changes to those thoughts and processes, called  self-regulation .

Let’s think about these three forms of assessment in relation to formative and summative assessment.

In his article about assessment for learning, Wiliam (2011) agrees with Bennett (2009) that it is unhelpful, and simplistic, to equate assessment for learning with formative assessment and assessment of learning with summative assessment. Bennett suggests that assessments designed primarily to serve a summative function may also function formatively, while those designed primarily to serve a formative function may also function summatively.

Let’s look at an example:

This is an example of an activity in which students are learning about the impact of globalisation in an economics course. Let’s analyse the activity for opportunities for assessment of learning, assessment for learning, and assessment as learning.

Example adapted from OER Africa: https://www.oerafrica.org/supporting-distance- learners/case-studies-using-asynchronous-communication

In this example, we believe we can identify all three forms of assessment:

Integrated activity-based summative assessment

What does this mean for how we think about integrated summative assessment?

Most definitions of integrated assessment include ideas about gathering and presenting evidence for judgement against standards, outcomes and criteria, using a combination of assessment methods and instruments, in different contexts, supporting learners to demonstrate understanding of theory in practice.

When we integrate assessment of, for, and as learning into activity-based teaching and learning, we design integrated (summative) assessment that supports integrated learning. In certain cases, it might be useful to think about summative (and formative) assessment as gathering evidence for the purposes of marking, recording, and promotion. But when we want to ‘stop worrying about testing and start thinking about learning’ and we are challenged to think about assessment differently for whatever reason, we can use activity-based teaching that integrates assessment for, of, and as learning to support and guide students’ learning towards success.

In the ‘Impact of globalisation’ example above, we saw the integration of assessment of, for, and as learning in a single activity. But integrated summative assessment could also be the integration of formative and summative assessment over a series of activities for a whole unit or module of study, or even a whole course.

The same basic rules of assessment will apply, so that activities are fair, reliable, and valid. Let’s consider what criteria and elements activity-based design would need to incorporate in order to constitute valid, fair, reliable, and integrated assessment of, for, and as learning:

• Do the activities have a clear purpose that is clear to students?
• Are the activities aligned to one or more outcomes?
• Are the activities logically sequenced along a learning pathway?
• Are the activities and tasks fit for purpose for different students in different contexts?
• Is there a range of activities or tasks that give students the opportunity to engage and learn in different ways?
• Are there clear guidelines that help students understand what they are expected to do individually or collaboratively?
• Are all the activities accessible to all students, whether they have an Internet connection or not, whether they are on campus or not, whether they have access to devices or not?
• Do all students have access to the resources necessary to do the activities?
• Do the activities provide sufficient opportunities for students to collaborate?
• Do the activities provide sufficient opportunities for students to reflect on their own and each other’s learning (self and peer reflection)?
• Do the activities encourage students to give and receive feedback in meaningful ways?

Consider an assessment activity or task you have recently given to students. To what extent does the activity promote assessment of, for, and as learning? Which of the above criteria and elements does the activity address? What tasks can you add to the activity to ensure students have opportunities for assessment of learning, for learning, and as learning? What activities could you add, before or after this activity, to create a more integrated activity-based learning and assessment pathway as part of your materials design?

Bennett, R. E. (2009).  A critical look at the meaning and basis of formative assessment  (ETS RM-09-06). Princeton, NJ: Educational Testing Service.

Waspe, T and Louton, B. (2020).  Rethinking TVET Assessment , Advanced Diploma Technical and Vocational Training, DHET. (See also https://nols.gov.za/dhetnols/ )

Wiliam, Dylan. (2011). ‘What is assessment for learning?’  Studies in Educational Evaluation . 37. 3-14. 10.1016/j.stueduc.2011.03.001.

Related articles

• Online assessment: How do we know if students are learning successfully? (16 September, 2020)
• Open pedagogy (19 April, 2021)
• How has COVID-19 highlighted the need for open access? (23 July, 2021)

Access the OER Africa Communications Archive here

Following the adoption of the OER Recommendation in 2019, UNESCO initiated a programme to support governments and educational institutions in implementing it.

One aspect of this programme was the development of a series of five guidelines to inform implementation of each Action Area in the Recommendation.

Image courtesy of Ismail Salad Osman Hajji dirir, Unsplash

As the digital age continues to reshape the global educational landscape in fundamental ways, the need for governments and educational institutions to champion Open Educational Resources (OER) has never been more relevant. Freely accessible, openly licensed educational content can help tackle some of the most pressing needs in education systems, including equity, access, and quality.

Following the adoption of the UNESCO Recommendation on OER at the 40th UNESCO General Conference in Paris on 25th November 2019, UNESCO initiated a programme to support governments and educational institutions in implementing the Recommendation.

One such action was the development of a series of five guidelines for governments . These guidelines were developed through a comprehensive consultative process and in cooperation with OER experts worldwide. They draw heavily on in-depth background papers prepared by OER experts from around the world in each of the five Action Areas of the OER Recommendation: Prof. Melinda dP. Bandalaria (building the capacity of stakeholders to create, access, re-use, adapt and redistribute OER); Dr Javiera Atenas (developing supportive policy); Dr Ahmed Tlili (encouraging inclusive and equitable quality OER); Dr Tel Amiel (nurturing the creation of sustainability models for OER), and Ms Lisbeth Levey (facilitating international cooperation).

OER Africa has provided logistical and editorial assistance to UNESCO on this work as part of a formal cooperation agreement with UNESCO to provide support in implementation of the OER Recommendation.

Aimed at governments and educational institutions, each set of guidelines has the following structure:

• An overview of recommendations in the Action Area;
• An introduction to the main issues surrounding the Action Area;
• A matrix of possible actions recommended for governments and institutions to implement each point in the Action Area;
• An in-depth discussion of the key issues surrounding the Action Area; and
• Examples of good practice.

By actively supporting and implementing the OER Recommendation, governments and educational institutions can not only make high quality education more accessible but can also promote transformation in their education systems. This commitment to OER is essential for building resilient, adaptable education systems that can meet the demands of a rapidly changing world.

Access the guidelines here

• What are the benefits of open textbooks in the Global South?
• African Librarians Support the UNESCO OER Recommendation
• The Revised Open Knowledge Primer for African Universities

With the ever-increasing costs of textbooks, how can university students get access to the resources they need to study? This article examines the benefits of using open textbooks in the Global South.

Image: CC0 (Public domain)

With the ever-increasing costs of textbooks, how can university students get access to the resources they need to study?

Worldwide, university students find it difficult to purchase textbooks for their courses as they are too expensive. Already in 2014 in South Africa [1] , and in 2011 in the United States [2] , there were reports that students didn’t buy textbooks due to expense. The situation has not improved in recent years; for example, in a study of nearly fifty thousand respondents in South African universities, nearly two thirds indicated that they spent between R500 and R2500 on textbooks, and while 87% of students’ first semester modules had prescribed textbooks, 27% of students did not buy any prescribed books in the first semester of 2020. Students were opting not to purchase textbooks either because of a lack of affordability, because they did not find them contextually relevant, or because a course would only use a small portion of the textbook.  [3]

Open textbooks can be regarded as a subset of Open Educational Resources (OER). They are digital textbooks published under an open licence, which means that they are freely downloadable and adaptable to suit a range of contexts (as long as the licence permits adaptation). The right to adapt is particularly important for educators who may want to tailor the textbook to their specific curriculum. An open textbook can be published with different Creative Commons licences, [4]  depending on how open or restrictive the author wishes the licence to be. The principal advantages of an open textbook are its accessibility and affordability to the students, as long as they have a digital device, or have access to print at low or no cost. However, open textbooks have other advantages as well. These include: [5]

• Local Contexts : Open textbooks can be regularly updated, and tailored to suit the local context, providing cultural relevance and addressing specific needs of students.
• Partial  Use : In some courses, only a portion of the overall textbook content is relevant. Students may hesitate to purchase an expensive textbook when they will only use a few chapters. In contrast, open textbooks allow educators to select and integrate specific sections, reducing unnecessary costs.
• Collective  Authorship : Open textbooks encourage collaborative authorship strategies. Locally produced open textbooks can involve input from multiple experts, resulting in richer and more contextually relevant content with diverse perspectives.
• Flexibility : Open textbooks can be accessed in different formats and stored digitally, so that they are easy to share and adapt.

Of course, open textbooks also have some disadvantages, namely:

• Availability : We provide examples of open textbook repositories below, but educators may find that there is limited selection for certain subjects or specialised topics. 
• Quality : There may be inconsistencies in writing style, accuracy, and depth of content but these can be easily mitigated by evaluating the textbooks prior to use, as should be done for all resources to be used, including commercial textbooks.
• Author incentives : Authors of traditional textbooks normally receive royalties from publishers as their books are sold. The open licence by which open textbooks are released means that other forms of incentive may be needed, for example in the form of grants, that may not be sufficiently enticing for many potential authors.

Research on open textbooks

Most research has been carried out in the Global North. For example, a meta-analysis of 22 studies of 100,012 students found that there were no differences between open and commercial textbooks for learning performance. [6]  A research study  Adoption and impact of OER in the Global South [7]  had similar findings, with open textbooks being more effective that traditional ones in several instances. However, the studies reported that careful pedagogical scaffolding, including a mix of OER, produced the most effective learning. Within Africa, research findings from the Digital Open Textbooks for Development (DOT4D) Project [8]  found that open textbooks addressed economic, cultural, and political injustices faced by their students, issues not considered by traditional textbooks. Summarising the research overall, we can say that open textbooks have several advantages over traditional ones, as listed above, and in terms of learning, they are equivalent. 

Examples of African institutions who have benefited from using open textbooks

Probably the best example of collaborative development of open textbooks is the University of Cape Town’s DOT4D Project. If you want to learn about the experiences of their staff and students, read  UCT Open Textbook Journeys which documents the stories of 11 academics at the University who embarked on open textbook development initiatives to provide their students more accessible and locally relevant learning materials.

Other African universities’ libraries list sites where open textbooks and other OER are available, usually from outside the continent. Finding open textbooks for your own institution is not always easy. Here we list three sites where you can search for open textbooks. Bear in mind that, if you choose an American or European textbook, you may need to spend time adapting it for your own context. 

University of Cape Town Catalogue

26 textbook titles ranging from medical texts, through sustainable development to marketing, but also many other titles on  OpenUCT .

Open Textbook Library

Based at the University of Minnesota in the United States, this repository has 1,403 titles. The view shown here groups the titles by subject.

University of Stellenbosch 

This LibGuide lists 17 platforms where you can search for open access textbooks and other free books.

Resources on developing and using open textbooks

Below is a list of resources to help you explore this growing field. The first three assist you to develop an open textbook, while the last two guide you to adopt or modify an existing open textbook.

• Commonwealth of Learning Guide to Developing Open Textbooks
• Open Education Network: Authoring Open Textbooks
• Rebus Community: A guide to making open textbooks with students
• BC Campus: Steps to Adopting an Open Textbook
• Open Education Network: Modifying an Open Textbook: What You Need to Know

Finally, although they are not designed for higher education, the open textbooks developed by  Siyavula  for high school mathematics, technology, and sciences may be useful for colleges and access courses in universities.

In summary, there are considerable benefits to using open textbooks, but with a few exceptions, African institutions have not yet taken on the challenge of producing open textbooks themselves. Clearly, funding is required for the development of open textbooks, and institutions might consider making funding applications to create (or adapt) these highly useful open education resources for the benefit of more African students.

Related resources:

• Researching OER initiatives in African higher education
• Self-Publishing Guide: BC Open Textbook

  Access the OER Africa communications archive here

[1]  Nkosi, B. (2014). Students hurt by pricey textbooks. Mail & Guardian. Retrieved from  https://mg.co.za/article/2014-10-03-students-hurt-by-pricey-textbooks/

[2]  Redden, M. (2011). 7 in 10 Students Have Skipped Buying a Textbook Because of Its Cost, Survey Finds. The Chronicle of Higher Education. Retrieved from  https://www.chronicle.com/article/7-in-10-students-have-skipped-buying-a-textbook-because-of-its-cost-survey-finds/

[3]  Department of Higher Education. (2020). Students’ Access to and use of Learning Materials—Survey Report 2020. Retrieved from  https://www.usaf.ac.za/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/DHET_SAULM-Report-2020.pdf

[4]  See  https://creativecommons.org/share-your-work/cclicenses/#:~:text=Creative%20Commons%20licenses%20give%20everyone,creative%20work%20under%20copyright%20law .

[5]  Digital Open Textbooks for Development. (2021). ‘Open Textbooks in South African Higher Education’ Roundtable Report. University of Cape Town. Retrieved from https://open.uct.ac.za/server/api/core/bitstreams/3a7e1a09-0617-4ba4-b6dd-4572bd870d60/content

[6]   Clinton, V. and Khan, S. (July 2019).  ‘Efficacy of Open Textbook Adoption on Learning Performance and Course Withdrawal Rates: A Meta-Analysis’  AERA Open.  5  (3): 233285841987221.  doi : 10.1177/2332858419872212 .  ISSN   2332-8584 .

[7]  Hodgkinson-Williams, C. & Arinto, P. B. (2017).  ‘Adoption and impact of OER in the Global South’ . Cape Town & Ottawa: African Minds, International Development Research Centre & Research on Open Educational Resources. DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.1005330 

[8]  See  https://ched.uct.ac.za/dot4d

OER Africa is honoured to have contributed two chapters to the recently published book ‘Does Distance Education in the Developing Context Need More Research? Building Practice into Theory’. Edited by Dr Folake Ruth Aluko and Prof. Daniella Coetzee, the book explores the reciprocal relationship between theory and practice in distance education.

Research can have a transformative impact on any field, and distance education is no exception. It can, for example,  contribute to more effective use of new educational strategies, provide insights into technological advancements, and contribute to our understanding of the key successes and challenges in distance education delivery.

While the concept of distance education dates back more than a century, research in this area is relatively nascent when compared to the development of educational research in general. [1]  The body of literature on the practice, influence, and impact of distance education is therefore limited, and even more so when considering developing world contexts. This, combined with the fact that distance education is experiencing significant shifts in terms of new demands and evolving technologies that provide new potential and pitfalls alike, mean that the recently published book  Does Distance Education in the Developing Context Need More Research? Building Practice into Theory  is a critical addition to the distance education research literature.

The book explores the reciprocal relationship between theory and practice in distance education, and OER Africa is honoured to have contributed two chapters to it. Edited by Dr Folake Ruth Aluko and Prof. Daniella Coetzee, the book is divided into two volumes which explore various themes:

Volume 1  focusses on the history, approaches and paradigms in distance education; building frameworks in distance education research; and praxis in this area.

Volume 2  moves on to address regional trends and gaps in distance education research; scholarship in this area; and quality assurance.

The two chapters that we contributed focus on the intersection of distance education and catalysing open education praxis, with each chapter approaching this intersection from a different angle. Each is outlined below.

Chapter 12 - Approaches To Continuing Professional Development For Open Education Practices In Africa

The COVID-19 pandemic brought the importance of professional development on effective teaching and learning for university academics into sharp relief. Universities found themselves having to close their campuses and were unable to teach their students face-to-face. Universities in Africa resorted to various strategies to reach students, ranging from no teaching taking place, through emergency remote teaching (ERT) with some form of online teaching, to fully implemented e-learning. Whatever form the teaching has taken, academics have found that traditional lecturing has not been effective when implementing ERT or online teaching. Those who are experienced in adult pedagogies have been expressing the inadequacies of the lecture mode for many years, and the realities of the new forms of teaching required have brought such shortcomings to the fore. Several recent opinion pieces have expressed the need for continuing professional development (CPD) of academic staff, especially with respect to their teaching competence, arguing that it needs to be a central strategy within higher educational institutions (HEIs) around the world, supporting academics with digital teaching and communities of practice.

This chapter opens with a review of successful and innovative CPD models and approaches used in HEIs around the world. It examines recent CPD activities created by OER Africa and describes their development, piloting, and deployment, together with the implications the pilot findings have for ODL institutions and research in the field. 

Chapter 13 - Measuring implementation of UNESCO’s OER Recommendation: A possible framework

Drawing on a comprehensive literature review of best practice in OER measurement, as well as experience of working with UNESCO to support implementation of the Recommendation, this chapter presents an initial framework for the measurement of the effectiveness of the OER Recommendation and proposes indicators that regions, countries, and/or institutions could adopt or adapt to rigorously measure both how OER is used and its effectiveness for improving learning. Putting in place shared understandings of what counts as effectiveness for OER is critical to inform ongoing developments and improvements in the field. Such measures can also provide an evidence base that can be used for advocacy work around the importance of OER for quality open and distance learning.

Access both volumes below:

• How can we plan professional development in universities?
• The UNESCO OER Recommendation and effective, inclusive, equitable access to quality OER
• Continuing Professional Development strategies in Higher Education Institutions Report

[1]  Zawacki-Richter and Naidu (2016) quoted in Aluko, F.R. and Coetzee, D. (2023). Chapter 1: Setting the scene – Why research distance education? In  Does Distance Education in the Developing Context Need More Research? Building Practice into Theory. ESI Press:

Part II: Types of Assessments and Their Purposes

The purpose of assessment is to diagnose, monitor, and direct student learning, make informed decisions about your curriculum and instructional methods, and ultimately evaluate students. As you begin to think more about the importance of assessment in evaluating the effectiveness of your teaching and assessing student learning, ask yourself: 

How can I best monitor student progress toward the course learning outcomes or lesson objectives?

What is the most effective and authentic (i.e., close to real-world applications) way to evaluate student mastery of these CLOs?

What do the student assessment results tell me about my curriculum and instructional choices (i.e., Are these effective? Do I need to augment materials or activities? etc.)?

Let's look at two types of assessment: Formative and Summative (Scriven, 1981).

Formative Assessment Strategies:

If our goal is to improve student performance and persistence, then we must employ frequent and diverse forms of formative, low-stakes (or no-stakes) assessments and use the results to inform future lessons.  These results should also inform students about their progress and perhaps illuminate where they might need to focus their attention and study. Some possible strategies are:

Application-oriented in-class learning activities/exercises (e.g., labs, creating concept maps; solving problems)

Brief reflections (e.g., minute papers, exit tickets, entrance tickets)

Weekly quizzes as low stakes, checks for understanding among students. These could be a mixture of lower-level terminology items and higher-level analysis, synthesis, and/or application questions. 

Non-graded quizzes; iclicker questions; polling; minute papers; reflective entrance or exit tickets; lab reports; weekly exercises/homework, etc. to help students monitor their own progress.

Open book/Open notes exams (or even collaboratively with a peer).

Multiple choice and/or short answer exam questions that ask them to synthesize information.

Authentic tasks, case studies, completed individually or in small groups.

Require students to extrapolate from data and apply it to a situation they have not yet encountered in the class.

Summative Assessment Strategies:

Grading student performance in relation to the course learning outcomes is an important part of the instructor's job.  In addition to the variety of formative assessments along one's journey toward mastery of core concepts and competencies, you will want to employ some more evaluative assessments to judge mastery of the CLOs.  These summative assessments can be as diverse as the ways in which students learn.  For example:

Traditional mid-term and final exams

Papers, essays, poster sessions

Special performances

Podcasts or video demonstrations

Open-ended, complex, and authentic projects or design challenges

In student-centered classrooms ...

The purpose of assessment shifts from the assessment “of” student learning (i.e., for the purpose of grading, reporting, and evaluating) to the assessment “for” and "as" student learning (i.e., to make decisions that improve student learning and development).

Instructors utilize ongoing, informal formative assessment techniques that commonly (but not always) have nothing to do with grading ( Saroyan & Amundsen, 2004).  These techniques include written reflections (e.g., the clearest and muddiest point, exit ticket, iClicker or polling questions), discussions, non-verbal behavior (e.g., deer-in-the-eyes), conversations before or after class, journals, practice performances, and class participation. Again, most often these are no- or -low-stakes assessments.

Rather than use frequent assessments as accountability measures to ensure students are reading and showing up to class (i.e., reward/punishment), instructors design a variety of assessment activities that

• diagnose needs before instruction; 
• monitor student progress during instruction (i.e., uncover misunderstandings, misconceptions, and knowledge gaps; facilitate deeper processing of the content);
• make a final judgment about the learning at a particular time (Scriven, 1981; Saroyan & Amundsen, 2004).

Instructors are concerned with developing self-directed, autonomous learners.  Giving students choice has been shown to increase student motivation, performance, and autonomy (Ambrose, et al., 2010; Evans & Boucher, 2015).

Who said everyone needs to write a final paper?  Why not let students have a say in how they demonstrate their learning? If the assignment expectations and grading criteria are clearly communicated to students (see rubric information below), there is no need to force everyone into the same type of performance. This does not imply that you won't ever require the same assignment of all students; rather, that you will think about when different performances or products can demonstrate the same expectations.

Review the type(s) of assessment (formative and/or summative) currently being used in your course.  Are you currently providing students with multiple, no- or low-stakes opportunities to assess their own progress and adjust their efforts?  Are students being asked to apply new information and skills in ways that are authentic to the discipline?  In what ways might you do a better job of assessing the different types of knowledge?

References:

Evans, M., & Broucher, A. (2015). Optimizing the power of choice: Supporting student autonomy to foster motivation and engagement in learning. Mind, Brain, and Education, Vol 9 (2), 87-91. DOI: 10.1111/mbe.12073

Saroyan & Amundsen, (2004). Rethinking teaching in higher education: From a course design workshop to a faculty development framework. Sterling, VA: Stylus Pub.

Scriven, M. (1081) Evaluation thesaurus (3rd ed.). Inverness, CA: Routledge.

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College Minor: Everything You Need to Know

14 fascinating teacher interview questions for principals, tips for success if you have a master’s degree and can’t find a job, 14 ways young teachers can get that professional look, which teacher supplies are worth the splurge, 8 business books every teacher should read, conditional admission: everything you need to know, college majors: everything you need to know, 7 things principals can do to make a teacher observation valuable, 3 easy teacher outfits to tackle parent-teacher conferences, the real purpose of assessments in education.

Assessment is a key part of today’s educational system. Assessment serves as an individual evaluation system, and as a way to compare performance across a spectrum and across populations. However, with so many different kinds of assessments for so many different organizations available (and often required) these days, it can sometimes be hard to keep the real purpose of assessing in view. So, what’s really at the heart of all these assessments?

The purpose of assessment is to gather relevant information about student performance or progress, or to determine student interests to make judgments about their learning process. After receiving this information, teachers can reflect on each student’s level of achievement, as well as on specific inclinations of the group, to customize their teaching plans.

Continuous assessment provides day-to-day feedback about the learning and teaching process. Assessment can reinforce the efficacy of teaching and learning. It also encourages the understanding of teaching as a formative process that evolves over time with feedback and input from students. This creates good classroom rapport. Student assessments are necessary because:

• Throughout a lesson or unit, the teacher might want to check for understanding by using a formative assessment.
• Students who are experiencing difficulties in learning may benefit from the administration of a diagnostic test, which will be able to detect learning issues such as reading comprehension problems, an inability to remember written or spoken words, hearing or speech difficulties, and problems with hand–eye coordination.
• Students generally complete a summative assessment after completing the study of a topic. The teacher can determine their level of achievement and provide them with feedback on their strengths and weaknesses. For students who didn’t master the topic or skill, teachers can use data from the assessment to create a plan for remediation.
• Teachers may also want to use informal assessment techniques. Using self-assessment, students express what they think about their learning process and what they should work on. Using peer assessment, students get information from their classmates about what areas they should revise and what areas they’re good at.

Some standardized assessment procedures are designed to compare the academic achievement of students from different schools, states, nationwide or worldwide. For example:

• The Trends in Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) was administered to random samples of fourth graders in 36 countries and eighth graders in 48 countries.
• The Program for International Student Achievement (PISA) was last administered in 2012. It tests functional skills in reading, math, and science on a 3-year cycle. American students scored below the international average on the last test.
• Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS) focuses on reading comprehension on a 5-year cycle. It was last administered in 2011. Before you administer an assessment, be sure you understand what its purpose is. What is it testing? Who is it testing? What entity will the results be reported to? Understanding the makeup of each assessment you give will help you better prepare your students to match up to it.

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What Is Summative Assessment? (+Types, Examples, Benefits & Strategies)

Matthew Tang

eLearning & Instructional Design Expert

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Matthew Tang is a highly skilled eLearning consultant with over two decades of experience in delivering exceptional learning products. He has taught students in public schools and online, led online ... Read more

Matthew Tang is a highly skilled eLearning consultant with over two decades of experience in delivering exceptional learning products. He has taught students in public schools and online, led online education for a Fortune 50 company, partnered with university researchers to pioneer new learning technologies, and delivered expert learning solutions to clients of all sizes. With a genuine passion for helping individuals succeed and reach their academic or business goals, Matthew continually improves and innovates educational technology solutions, making him a trusted authority in eLearning. Read less

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Vipul is a seasoned e-learning expert, specializing in crafting impactful learning experiences and designing employee training assessments. His passion lies in writing about tools that enhance online learning and training outcomes.

Embarking on the educational journey, we often celebrate the milestones, the moments of reflection and achievement that punctuate our path. Summative Assessments are just that—a culmination of our collective efforts in teaching and learning. 

More than just a final mark, they embody the depth and breadth of understanding that students have garnered over time. As educators, we recognize their profound impact not only on grading but on guiding our teaching strategies and curriculum development. 

This piece delves into the essence of summative assessments, unwrapping their meaning, purpose, significance, and strategies for maximizing their potential. 

Let’s dive in.

What Is Summative Assessment?

Summative assessment is the final check on a student’s or employee’s learning at the end of a unit, semester, course, or training program. It aims to capture everything they have learned, offering a clear picture of their knowledge and skills.

Unlike formative assessments , which help guide learning as it happens, summative assessments are about giving final grades or scores.

They are crucial for understanding how much a learner has learned after a period of teaching, using methods like tests, exams, projects, or presentations to gauge student achievement.

Watch: How to Create an Online Assessment Test

What Is the Purpose of Summative Assessment?

Summative assessments do more than just give out final grades; they have several key roles in education:

• Measure Learning: They check how much students have learned at the end of a teaching period, showing their knowledge and skills.
• Inform Everyone: They provide valuable information to students, parents, and teachers about a student’s progress and the effectiveness of teaching methods.
• Improve Teaching: The results help teachers figure out what works well and what needs changing in their lessons and curriculum.
• Ensure Standards: These assessments help make sure that schools and teachers are doing their job well, keeping education quality high.
• Confirm Understanding: These assessments are often needed for students to move on to the next level of education or to meet job requirements, proving they’ve learned what they were supposed to.

Summative assessments are a key part of education, wrapping up learning periods and ensuring students meet learning goals.

Types & Examples of Summative Assessments

Summative assessments are integral in measuring student learning at the end of an instructional period. Each type is designed to evaluate various skills and knowledge areas comprehensively. Here are several key types:

• Standardized Tests: These are broad assessments designed to gauge proficiency against national or state standards. 

For example, standardized tests might evaluate students’ reading and math skills, providing a comparative analysis of performance across different educational institutions.

• Final Exams : As comprehensive assessments, final exams test a student’s understanding of all course content. In a literature course, a final exam could involve essay questions about themes, character analysis, and critical interpretations of texts, challenging students to integrate and articulate their learning.

Watch: How to Create Online Tests or Exams

• Projects: Projects allow students to apply their knowledge to practical or creative tasks, encouraging problem-solving and innovation. 

A project in a geography class might involve researching and presenting climate change effects in different world regions, showcasing students’ ability to apply geographic concepts to current issues.

• Portfolios: Portfolios are collections of work demonstrating a student’s learning progress and achievements. In disciplines like art or writing, a portfolio could include various pieces that reflect the student’s improvement and mastery over time, coupled with self-reflective commentaries.
• Performances or Presentations: These assessments evaluate the ability to present knowledge or skills publicly. For instance, in a music class, a performance assessment might involve students performing a piece that demonstrates their technical skills and emotional expression.
• Essays & Written Assignments: This type assesses analytical and writing skills, requiring students to construct well-argued and coherent pieces. An essay in a history class might ask students to compare different causes of a historical event, evaluating their ability to analyze and synthesize information.
• Practical Exams & Lab Work: In subjects that emphasize hands-on skills, such as science or vocational training, practical exams test the application of theoretical knowledge in real-life or laboratory settings. 

A chemistry lab exam, for example, might assess students’ ability to conduct experiments safely and accurately, analyzing results to draw valid conclusions.

• Oral Examinations: This assessment type involves students answering questions orally, providing a dynamic way to gauge understanding, critical thinking, and communication skills. 

Whether conducted in person, through video conferencing tools, or via audio or video responses in an online quiz, oral examinations challenge students to articulate their knowledge spontaneously and coherently. 

This format is particularly useful in language learning , history, or any subject where verbal articulation and reasoning are crucial. It offers educators a direct insight into the student’s thought processes and proficiency in verbal communication.

Watch: How to Create an Audio/Video Response Quiz

These varied summative assessment types enable educators to get a holistic view of student learning, aligning evaluation methods with educational objectives for a comprehensive measurement of student achievement.

How to Create Summative Assessments: Essential Strategies

Creating summative assessments that accurately reflect student learning requires careful planning and strategic design. Here are some key strategies to ensure your assessments are effective:

• Align With Learning Goals 

Every aspect of your summative assessment should directly relate to the learning objectives of your course or unit. This ensures that you’re accurately measuring what you intend to evaluate, whether it’s knowledge, skills, or application.

• Establish Clear Criteria 

For assessments like essays or projects, develop detailed rubrics that outline expectations for every performance level. Clear criteria help maintain objectivity in grading and clarify expectations for students.

• Ensure Fairness and Accessibility 

Design your assessments with all students in mind, including those with special educational needs. Adjust formats, settings, or timing as needed to provide an equitable assessment environment for everyone.

• Incorporate Real-World Connections 

Make assessments relevant by linking them to real-world scenarios or problems. This not only engages students but also shows the practical application of their learning, enhancing the value of the educational experience.

• Test and Refine 

Before finalizing your assessment, conduct a pilot run to test its effectiveness. Seek feedback on clarity, relevance, and level of challenge. Use this input to refine your assessment, ensuring it meets its intended goals.

• Feedback Is Key 

Offer constructive feedback to students after the assessment. Even though summative assessments conclude a learning period, feedback can guide students in their ongoing learning journey, highlighting strengths and areas for growth.

• Diversify Assessment Types 

Incorporate a variety of assessment forms to address different learning styles and skills. Mixing written exams, projects, presentations, and practical evaluations can provide a fuller picture of student understanding and abilities.

💡 Pro Tip:  

If you’re creating an online quiz for your summative assessment, make sure you have a mix of question types. Also, include interactive formats, such as drag & drop, hotspot, and video response, to make the assessment more engaging.     

Watch: 15+ Question Types for Online Learning & Assessment

Implementing these strategies can help you design summative assessments that are not only comprehensive and aligned with learning objectives but also fair, engaging, and informative for both educators and students.

What Are the Benefits of Summative Assessments?

The thoughtful design and implementation of summative assessments offer numerous benefits that extend beyond the simple measurement of academic achievement. Here are some of the key advantages:

• Clarifies Learning Expectations: Summative assessments provide a clear target for students, outlining what they need to learn and achieve. This helps in focusing their study efforts and enhancing their learning strategies throughout the course.
• Motivates Student Engagement: The knowledge that their understanding will be evaluated at the end of a learning period can motivate students to engage more deeply with the material, attend classes regularly, and participate in learning activities.
• Informs Teaching Practices: The results from summative assessments can offer valuable insights into teaching effectiveness. Educators can use this data to identify areas of the curriculum that may need adjustment, refinement, or enhancement.
• Facilitates Curriculum Development: By highlighting student competencies and gaps in knowledge, summative assessments can guide curriculum developers in making informed decisions about curriculum adjustments, ensuring that educational programs remain relevant and effective.
• Encourages Reflection and Self-Assessment: For students, summative assessments can serve as a mirror reflecting their learning journey, encouraging them to reflect on their progress, identify their strengths, and acknowledge areas needing improvement.
• Validates Educational Quality: Summative assessments, especially standardized tests, can serve as benchmarks of educational quality, providing stakeholders with evidence of the institution’s effectiveness in delivering education.
• Prepares Students for Future Challenges: By mimicking conditions students might face in standardized testing or professional certification exams, summative assessments can prepare students for future academic and career-related challenges, building their test-taking confidence and skills.

Watch: How DMS Boosted Student Scores

The strategic use of summative assessments not only enhances the learning and teaching experience but also contributes to a more informed, motivated, and prepared educational community.

Challenges in Conducting Summative Assessments 

While summative assessments are critical for evaluating student learning, conducting these evaluations comes with its set of challenges. Addressing these effectively is key to ensuring the integrity and effectiveness of the assessment process. Here are some notable challenges:

• Maintaining Academic Integrity: One of the foremost challenges in summative assessments, especially in online settings, is preventing cheating. The shift to digital platforms has necessitated innovative solutions to uphold academic integrity.
• Diverse Learning Needs: Accommodating the varied learning and assessment needs of a diverse student population can be difficult. Assessments must be designed to be fair and accessible to all students, including those with disabilities.
• Assessment Anxiety: High-stakes summative assessments can induce significant anxiety among students, potentially impacting their performance. Creating a supportive assessment environment and providing clear guidance can help alleviate some of this stress.
• Resource and Time Constraints: Designing, administering, and grading summative assessments can be resource-intensive. This is particularly challenging for educators with large classes or multiple teaching commitments.

Addressing Challenges With Online Exam Software

Online exam platforms like ProProfs Quiz Maker offer innovative solutions to some of these challenges:

• Cheating Prevention: ProProfs Quiz Maker and similar platforms incorporate features like question randomization, timed tests, browser lockdown, and proctoring tools. These exam settings help reduce the likelihood of cheating by making it difficult for students to predict questions, search for answers online, or take the test outside the allotted time.
• Accessibility Features: Online exam software typically includes settings to accommodate diverse learning needs, such as text-to-speech, speech-to-text options, and font customization, ensuring that assessments are accessible to students with disabilities.
• Reducing Anxiety: The ability to practice with similar formats and conditions as the actual assessment can help reduce students’ anxiety. Online platforms often allow for practice tests, providing students with feedback and familiarizing them with the assessment environment.
• Efficiency: Automating the administration and grading of assessments can significantly reduce the time and resources required for summative evaluations. 

Online platforms offer automatic grading for objective questions and streamline reporting and student data management, allowing educators to focus more on teaching and less on administrative tasks.

Watch: How to Automate Quiz Scoring & Grading

Additionally, some tools like ProProfs Quiz Maker also offer AI quiz generation capabilities and a rich collection of summative assessment templates , enabling educators to quickly create high-quality, relevant quizzes, further reducing the time and effort required in the assessment process.

Transform Your Approach to Summative Assessments

The journey through summative assessments reveals their undeniable value in education, serving as critical reflections of student learning. However, achieving effective and fair assessments presents challenges, from ensuring equity to managing logistical hurdles.

Enter the realm of technology, where solutions like ProProfs Quiz Maker revolutionize the approach to these challenges. They offer a pathway to not only streamline the assessment process but also enhance its quality, making evaluations more insightful and effective. 

As we move forward, leveraging such tools marks a pivotal step in evolving educational practices to better meet the needs of today’s learners and tomorrow’s leaders.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is a summative assessment also known as?

Summative assessments are often referred to as “final assessments” or “end-of-term evaluations” since they are designed to evaluate student learning at the conclusion of an instructional period.

What are the types of tests in summative assessment?

Types of tests in summative assessment include standardized tests, final exams, projects, portfolios, performances or presentations, essays, and practical or lab work.

What is the difference between formative and summative assessment?

The main difference lies in their purpose and timing. Formative assessments are conducted during the learning process to monitor student progress and inform instruction, focusing on feedback and improvement. Summative assessments occur at the end of a learning period, aiming to evaluate overall student learning and achievement. Read this blog post to learn more about formative vs. summative assessments .

Why is summative assessment better?

Summative assessment isn’t necessarily “better” than formative assessment; rather, it serves a different purpose. It provides a comprehensive overview of student learning and achievement after a defined period, useful for final grading, evaluating curriculum effectiveness, and preparing students for future academic or professional endeavors.

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About the author

Vipul bhagia.

Vipul Bhagia is an e-learning expert and content creator, specializing in instructional design. He excels in crafting compelling e-learning modules and designing effective employee training assessments. He is passionate about leveraging digital solutions to transform work culture and boost productivity. Vipul enjoys exploring emerging tech innovations and sharing his insights with fellow industry professionals.

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Guest Essay

It’s Time to End the Quiet Cruelty of Property Taxes

By Andrew W. Kahrl

Dr. Kahrl is a professor of history and African American studies at the University of Virginia and the author of “The Black Tax: 150 Years of Theft, Exploitation, and Dispossession in America.”

Property taxes, the lifeblood of local governments and school districts, are among the most powerful and stealthy engines of racism and wealth inequality our nation has ever produced. And while the Biden administration has offered many solutions for making the tax code fairer, it has yet to effectively tackle a problem that has resulted not only in the extraordinary overtaxation of Black and Latino homeowners but also in the worsening of disparities between wealthy and poorer communities. Fixing these problems requires nothing short of a fundamental re-examination of how taxes are distributed.

In theory, the property tax would seem to be an eminently fair one: The higher the value of your property, the more you pay. The problem with this system is that the tax is administered by local officials who enjoy a remarkable degree of autonomy and that tax rates are typically based on the collective wealth of a given community. This results in wealthy communities enjoying lower effective tax rates while generating more tax revenues; at the same time, poorer ones are forced to tax property at higher effective rates while generating less in return. As such, property assessments have been manipulated throughout our nation’s history to ensure that valuable property is taxed the least relative to its worth and that the wealthiest places will always have more resources than poorer ones.

Black people have paid the heaviest cost. Since they began acquiring property after emancipation, African Americans have been overtaxed by local governments. By the early 1900s, an acre of Black-owned land was valued, for tax purposes, higher than an acre of white-owned land in most of Virginia’s counties, according to my calculations, despite being worth about half as much. And for all the taxes Black people paid, they got little to nothing in return. Where Black neighborhoods began, paved streets, sidewalks and water and sewer lines often ended. Black taxpayers helped to pay for the better-resourced schools white children attended. Even as white supremacists treated “colored” schools as another of the white man’s burdens, the truth was that throughout the Jim Crow era, Black taxpayers subsidized white education.

Freedom from these kleptocratic regimes drove millions of African Americans to move to Northern and Midwestern states in the Great Migration from 1915 to 1970, but they were unable to escape racist assessments, which encompassed both the undervaluation of their property for sales purposes and the overvaluation of their property for taxation purposes. During those years, the nation’s real estate industry made white-owned property in white neighborhoods worth more because it was white. Since local tax revenue was tied to local real estate markets, newly formed suburbs had a fiscal incentive to exclude Black people, and cities had even more reason to keep Black people confined to urban ghettos.

As the postwar metropolis became a patchwork of local governments, each with its own tax base, the fiscal rationale for segregation intensified. Cities were fiscally incentivized to cater to the interests of white homeowners and provide better services for white neighborhoods, especially as middle-class white people began streaming into the suburbs, taking their tax dollars with them.

One way to cater to wealthy and white homeowners’ interests is to intentionally conduct property assessments less often. The city of Boston did not conduct a citywide property reassessment between 1946 and 1977. Over that time, the values of properties in Black neighborhoods increased slowly when compared with the values in white neighborhoods or even fell, which led to property owners’ paying relatively more in taxes than their homes were worth. At the same time, owners of properties in white neighborhoods got an increasingly good tax deal as their neighborhoods increased in value.

As was the case in other American cities, Boston’s decision most likely derived from the fear that any updates would hasten the exodus of white homeowners and businesses to the suburbs. By the 1960s, assessments on residential properties in Boston’s poor neighborhoods were up to one and a half times as great as their actual values, while assessments in the city’s more affluent neighborhoods were, on average, 40 percent of market value.

Jersey City, N.J., did not conduct a citywide real estate reassessment between 1988 and 2018 as part of a larger strategy for promoting high-end real estate development. During that time, real estate prices along the city’s waterfront soared but their owners’ tax bills remained relatively steady. By 2015, a home in one of the city’s Black and Latino neighborhoods worth $175,000 received the same tax bill as a home in the city’s downtown worth $530,000.

These are hardly exceptions. Numerous studies conducted during those years found that assessments in predominantly Black neighborhoods of U.S. cities were grossly higher relative to value than those in white areas.

These problems persist. A recent report by the University of Chicago’s Harris School of Public Policy found that property assessments were regressive (meaning lower-valued properties were assessed higher relative to value than higher-valued ones) in 97.7 percent of U.S. counties. Black-owned homes and properties in Black neighborhoods continue to be devalued on the open market, making this regressive tax, in effect, a racist tax.

The overtaxation of Black homes and neighborhoods is also a symptom of a much larger problem in America’s federated fiscal structure. By design, this system produces winners and losers: localities with ample resources to provide the goods and services that we as a nation have entrusted to local governments and others that struggle to keep the lights on, the streets paved, the schools open and drinking water safe . Worse yet, it compels any fiscally disadvantaged locality seeking to improve its fortunes to do so by showering businesses and corporations with tax breaks and subsidies while cutting services and shifting tax burdens onto the poor and disadvantaged. A local tax on local real estate places Black people and cities with large Black populations at a permanent disadvantage. More than that, it gives middle-class white people strong incentives to preserve their relative advantages, fueling the zero-sum politics that keep Americans divided, accelerates the upward redistribution of wealth and impoverishes us all.

There are technical solutions. One, which requires local governments to adopt more accurate assessment models and regularly update assessment rolls, can help make property taxes fairer. But none of the proposed reforms being discussed can be applied nationally because local tax policies are the prerogative of the states and, often, local governments themselves. Given the variety and complexity of state and local property tax laws and procedures and how much local governments continue to rely on tax reductions and tax shifting to attract and retain certain people and businesses, we cannot expect them to fix these problems on their own.

The best way to make local property taxes fairer and more equitable is to make them less important. The federal government can do this by reinvesting in our cities, counties and school districts through a federal fiscal equity program, like those found in other advanced federated nations. Canada, Germany and Australia, among others, direct federal funds to lower units of government with lower capacities to raise revenue.

And what better way to pay for the program than to tap our wealthiest, who have benefited from our unjust taxation scheme for so long? President Biden is calling for a 25 percent tax on the incomes and annual increases in the values of the holdings of people claiming more than $100 million in assets, but we could accomplish far more by enacting a wealth tax on the 1 percent. Even a modest 4 percent wealth tax on people whose total assets exceed $50 million could generate upward of $400 billion in additional annual revenue, which should be more than enough to ensure that the needs of every city, county and public school system in America are met. By ensuring that localities have the resources they need, we can counteract the unequal outcomes and rank injustices that our current system generates.

Andrew W. Kahrl is a professor of history and African American studies at the University of Virginia and the author of “ The Black Tax : 150 Years of Theft, Exploitation, and Dispossession in America.”

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