Learning Assessment Definitions

Standardized test

An objective test that is given and scored in a uniform manner. Carefully constructed; items are selected after trials for appropriateness and difficulty. Tests are issued with a manual giving complete guidelines for administration and scoring. Guidelines attempt to eliminate extraneous interference that might influence test results.

Assessment of Student Learning

An ongoing process aimed at understanding and improving student learning. It involves setting goals and standards for student learning and then systematically gathering and analyzing evidence to determine how well student performance matches those expectations and standards.

Outcome

An operation or performance, such as a culminating activity, product, or performance, demonstrating that an educational goal has been reached. Involves correct application and synthesis of information, and integration of previous learning experiences.

Evaluation

Both qualitative and quantitative descriptions of students' behavior plus value judgments concerning the desirability of that behavior. Bringing together information to make informed decisions about continued instruction, programs, and activities. A judgment of merit based on various measurements, notable events, and subjective impressions.

Standards

Commonly agreed upon values used to measure the quality of student performance, instructional methods, curricula, etc. Define a level of accomplishment that all students are expected to meet or exceed. Do not always have to be rigidly defined or difficult to meet.

Performance Criteria

The standards by which student performance is evaluated. Help assessors maintain objectivity and provide students with up-front information about the expectations for the course, giving them a target or goal to strive for.

Knowledge Survey

Used as a method of assessing student preparedness and learning effectiveness, this survey consists of numerous questions which exhaustively itemize the content of a course. When students take the surveys, they are not asked to provide the information required by the questions. Rather, they are asked to assess their own confidence level with respect to each question.

Competency

A demonstrated mastery of a particular set of knowledge and/or skills.

Concept Map

A graphics-based tool used to organize and represent knowledge and illustrate or "map" concepts. "Concepts," usually shown enclosed in circles or boxes, are shown in relationships to other concepts through the use of connecting lines and linking words or phrases.

Assessment Task

A performance opportunity that allows students to demonstrate their progress and capabilities by meeting targeted, defined instructional objectives.

Case Study

A scenario or problem written in the form of a story. The case method includes presentation of an issue relating to a real-world event, activity, or problem. Students are asked to research, debate, and/or solve a case problem or issue either individually or as a group.

Classroom Assessment Techniques (CATs)

A set of formative assessment techniques designed to find out more about what and how students are learning in order to better structure instruction and plan learning activities.

Achievement test

A standardized test designed to efficiently measure the amount of knowledge and/or skill a person has acquired, usually as a result of classroom instruction. Produces a statistical profile used as a measurement to evaluate student learning in comparison with a standard or norm.

Portfolio

A systematic and organized collection of a student's work exhibiting to others direct evidence of that student's efforts, achievements, and progress. Student is involved in the selection of its contents. A portfolio should include information about the performance criteria, and a rubric or criteria for judging merit. It should also demonstrate student self-reflection or evaluation, include representative work, and document the learner's performance and their progress

Objective test

A test for which the scoring procedure is completely specified, enabling consistency among different scorers. A correct-answer test.

Multiple-choice tests

A test in which students are presented with a question or an incomplete sentence or idea. Students choose the correct or best answer from a menu of options.

Summative Assessment

Accountability-oriented assessment. The use of data assembled at the end of a particular sequence of activities, providing a macro view of teaching, learning, and institutional effectiveness. Evaluation at the conclusion of a unit or units of instruction or an activity or plan to determine or judge student skills and knowledge or effectiveness of a plan or activity. The gathering of information at the conclusion of a course, program, or undergraduate career to improve learning or to meet accountability demands. When used for improvement, impacts the next cohort of students taking the course or program.

Reliability

An assessment tool's measure of consistency. The tool should show similar results over time with similar populations under similar circumstances.

Problem-Based Learning

An instructional approach that empowers learners to conduct research, integrate theory and practice, and apply knowledge and skills to develop a viable solution to a defined problem.

Minute Paper

Asks students to assess their understanding of the content by commenting briefly on some variation of the following questions: What was the most important or useful thing you learned during this class/week/unit/lesson? What two important question(s) do you still have; what remains unclear? What would you like to know more about?

Muddiest Point

Asks students to jot down a quick response to one question: "What was the muddiest point in ........?" That is, what topic remains the least clear to you? The focus of the Muddiest Point assessment might be a lecture, a discussion, an assignment, the readings, a play, a video, the week's content, or the course to date.

Authentic Assessment

Assessments that measure not only what students have learned from course content, but their ability to apply that knowledge in some kind of real-world situation. The tasks involved focus on non-routine, multi-stage (i.e., "real") problems, generally requiring students to produce some kind of quality product and/or performance.

Holistic method

Assigning a single score based on an overall assessment of performance rather than by scoring or analyzing individual aspects of a student's performance. The product is considered to be more than the sum of its parts and so the quality of a final product or performance is evaluated rather than the process or dimension of performance. Focused holistic scoring may be used to evaluate a limited portion of a learner's performance.

Sentence Summary

Challenges students to answer the questions "Who does what to whom, when, where, how, and why?" about a given topic, and then to synthesize those answers into a simple informative and long summary sentence.

Virtual Field Trip

Directs learners to Internet sites and has them explore places or events and answer questions. Students can visit anyplace that has an online presence, including museums, caves, businesses, music sites, and much more.

Web Quest

Encourages learners to use a variety of provided resource links to perform a given task including reflecting on critical thinking questions. The goal of a Web quest is to help the learner sort, digest, and better understand a given resource or group of resources.

Peer Review

Evaluation of a another student's work to provide feedback to make improvements or offer feedback.

Rubric

In general, an explicit description of performance characteristics corresponding to points on a rating scale. Makes clear the performance requirement at each point on the scale. Written and shared scoring guidelines for judging performance that indicate the qualities by which levels of performance can be differentiated, and that anchor judgments about a student's achievement.

Aptitude test

Measures the test-taker's innate ability to learn; given before instruction begins.

Digital Storytelling/Digital Narratives

Oftentimes considered to be the modern expression of the ancient art of storytelling, this technique of recording and illustrating thoughts, ideas, stories and more integrates images, music, narrative and voice together. The result is a powerful, digital video piece that provide deep dimension to characters, situations, experiences, and insights.

Diagnostic (or Self-) Assessment

Provide instructors with information about student's prior knowledge and misconceptions before beginning a learning activity and also diagnose students' strengths and areas of need.

Measurement

Quantitative descriptions of student learning and qualitative descriptions of student attitude. May be a quantitative survey of student responses, a rating to indicate a student's skill level in a given domain, the percentage of correct answers on a multiple choice test and so forth.

Indirect Assessment (Measures)

Refer to evaluative activities that seek information about what students know or can do that are less direct and often are perceptual in nature. Students are asked to reflect on their learning rather than to demonstrate it. Examples include student surveys, student interviews (e.g. graduating seniors) alumni surveys, focus groups, employer ratings, job placement rates, or graduate/professional school placement.

Direct Assessment (Measures)

Refers to evaluative activities that look for evidence of student learning or learning gains using a direct approach. Examples of direct measure assessments include -- and are not limited to -- exams including licensure and certification tests, criteria-based review of students' work (rubric-based activity), standardized tests, embedded testing, essays, presentations, and classroom assignments.

Essay Test

Requires students to answer questions in writing. Responses can be brief or extensive. Tests for recall, ability to apply knowledge of a subject to questions about that subject.

Background Knowledge Probe

Short, simple questionnaire to assess current knowledge at the beginning of a course, at the start of a new unit or lesson, or prior to introducing a new topic.

Learning outcomes (similar to objectives)

Statements that describe significant and essential learning that learners have achieved, and can reliably demonstrate at the end of a course or program. In other words, learning outcomes identify what the learner will know and be able to do by the end of a course or program.

Student Learning Assessment

Student learning assessment is a systematic, evidenced-based approach for determining how well students are achieving desired learning goals. Results from assessment activities are used to improve the curriculum and teaching practices, better understand student experiences both inside and outside the classroom, provide information for course and curricular renewal, enhance pedagogical practices, and provides an opportunity to communicate to both internal and external audiences what we expect of students and how we know students are meeting these expectations.

Journals

Students' personal records of and reactions to various aspects of learning and development of ideas. A reflective process often found to consolidate and enhance learning.

Validity

The ability of the test to measure what it is intended to measure and allow for appropriate inferences based on its results. Its ability to accurately reflect the learning it was designed to measure.

Formative assessment

The gathering of information about student learning -- during the progression of a course or program and usually given repeatedly -- to improve student learning. Observations that allow one to determine the degree to which students know or are able to perform a given task, and identify the part of the task that the student does not know or is unable to perform. Results may suggest future steps for teaching and learning.