Assessment

a young male student studying for an exam

At the most basic level, assessment includes anything an instructor has students do for a grade. However, well-planned and well-designed assessments serve as a method to evaluate student performance and learning progress in relation to established learning objectives. 

For students, assessments provide an opportunity to develop and refine skills, explore concepts and receive feedback on their academic progress. For faculty, assessments provide a means to evaluate the effectiveness of learning materials, teaching practices and learning objectives.

When developing a course, faculty should strive to incorporate sequenced and varied assessment to ensure students have multiple opportunities to track their progress and receive feedback. Both formative and summative assessments should be included in a course’s design.

Types of Assessment

Formative assessment

Formative assessment evaluates student learning over a period of time and provides students the opportunity to improve their skills and achievement in response to feedback provided by the instructor. Some examples of formative assessment include weekly discussions, journals, research proposals and short quizzes.

Summative assessment

Summative assessment typically is more comprehensive and evaluates student progress throughout a unit of study or entire course. Some examples of summative assessment include end-of-class projects, essays or reports, or comprehensive final exams.