Assessment Types

Formal vs. Informal Assessments

Assessment can be done informally (ask students questions in class for the improvement of learning,
anonymous surveys, etc.) or formally (course evaluations, “high-stakes” tests, etc.). Faculty and administrators need to
determine which format of assessment will work best for their needs. Often, faculty will need to use both formats in
order to be effective—especially since informal assessment can be performed quickly and throughout a course vs. the
set times of assessment that occur with options such as course evaluations. Please note that informal assessment may
not carry the same weight as formal assessment.

Direct vs. Indirect Assessments

Direct assessments measure the objective. For instance, a test question asking for the definition of a term that is
answered correctly will directly assess the objective for being able to define that term. Indirect assessments may
describe the objective. For instance, students may be asked to provide feedback about how they wrote a paper and
what steps they took. The paper itself and its grade would be the direct assessment of learning while the students’
observations about paper writing would be the indirect assessment.

Authentic Assessment (http://jfmueller.faculty.noctrl.edu/toolbox/whatisit.htm)

“A form of assessment in which students are asked to perform real-world tasks that demonstrate meaningful
application of essential knowledge and skills” (Mueller, 2011). Tasks are usually presented to students along with a
rubric so that they understand the standards they need to meet regarding knowledge and skills. Authentic assessment
can be used in any class, but it often shows up when information is applied or demonstrated. Authentic assessment can
be used in place of traditional assessment or as a complement to it (i.e., traditional assessment does not need to be
eliminated but it can be augmented or replaced with something more appropriate in measuring students’ knowledge
and skills.

Diagnostic Assessments (Bergstrom, Fryer, & Norris, 2006)

Concentrates on identifying the strengths and weaknesses of learners; allows faculty to measure students’
previous knowledge and skills and to assess whether there are any areas requiring remediation. Can be performed
online and offline. Results of such assessments may be directed at the students such that they are required to learn
information or a skill prior to enrolling or staying in a course. Some of these assessments can be used anonymously
(students go to a website, take a self-test, and work on information and skills until they pass the assessment task or test)
or with faculty knowledge (faculty create a test inside the course and have students work on it until it is mastered).

Faculty may wish to be cautious with diagnostic assessment to ensure that it does not alienate students from
taking a course but also that it is sufficient to make students aware of what is required in the course so that they can be
successful. Setting the “bar” too high or too low can be problematic in that students cannot accurately measure their
knowledge and skills in reference to what is needed in the course.

Forms: pretests; reactions to questions; skills tests; prerequisite courses or knowledge; attitudinal questionnaires; etc.

When to use: if prerequisite knowledge or skills are required before entering a course or portion of the course; if
attitudes and previous experiences need to be determined before entering a course or portion of the course; when
faculty need to determine if students have taken prerequisites and how rigorous those prerequisites were; etc.

How to give: tests; surveys; ask questions in class or online; online tutorials; online materials; etc.
Formative Assessments (Boston, 2002)

Concentrates on how learning takes place and looks to measure the quality of learning; incorporates feedback
from students and uses such feedback to improve instruction delivery and content selection. Can be performed online
and offline. If mastery of a task is desired and students can keep receiving feedback in order to improve their
performance (and they can repeat the activity again), this can also be considered formative assessment (Dunn, Morgan,
O’Reilly, & Parry, 2004, p. 18).

Forms: surveys; reactions to questions, tests, or class materials; focus groups; course evaluations; etc.

When to use: throughout the academic period (semester, quarter); whenever essential course material is covered;
whenever assignments / projects are submitted; after quizzes / exams are administered; whenever quality improvement
is planned; whenever content needs to be adjusted (adding new information, clarifying old information); whenever
formats are changed (move to online or hybrid models, alter an assignment from one form to another); whenever
problems have been encountered by the students or faculty (misunderstood directions, incomplete work submitted,
etc.); when assessing course and learning goals and objectives related to formative feedback.

How to give: surveys; reactions to questions, tests, or class materials; focus groups; course evaluations; etc.

Summative Assessments (Boston, 2002)

Concentrates on what has been learned and looks to measure the quantity of learning; allows students to
demonstrate what they have learned by evaluating their responses to questions, tests, etc. Can be performed online and
offline.

Forms: exams; quizzes; mastery assignments; projects; portfolios; presentations; defenses; final (cumulative) exams; end
of program tests; tests for outside sources (graduate exams, certification exams, entrance exams for other programs);
course and program evaluations

When to use: periodically throughout the academic period (semester, quarter); after essential course materials have
been covered; after assignments / projects are submitted; after quizzes / exams are administered; at the end of a
program of study; when assessing course and learning goals and objectives related to summative issues.

How to give: tests; quizzes; presentations; projects; portfolios; assignments; evaluations; etc.

Course Assessment

Assessing if the course was successful in providing the relevant information and skills to students based on its
objectives.

Forms: end-of-course evaluations (which contain objective measurement and information about achievement);
summative assessments (final course grades, grades on final or cumulative projects or presentations, grades on final or
comprehensive exams); formative assessments (end-of-course judgments of progress and learning); may also involve
pretest scores from diagnostic assessments (if they are to be compared with posttest summative scores as a basis for
amount learned)

When to use: at the end of the course (typically within the last 2 weeks of the course or just after it ends); faculty may
have to vary course assessment times depending on when work must be submitted.

How to give: surveys (typically anonymous); focus groups (typically run by someone other than the instructor); exams;
final or comprehensive projects or presentations; journals or self-reflection writing assignments; pretests and posttests.
Content Assessment

Assessing content that is seen as essential for all students to know. Can be done per course or topic area. Not as
broad as a curriculum or program assessment. This process is typically done when a course or topically-related courses
are revised and may be done in response to changes in the curriculum or program. An example would be assessing
and/or revising all calculus courses in a Mathematics department while not assessing and/or revising other Math
courses.

Forms: matrix of goals and objectives that should be covered in the course(s) along with course list for those that
contain the relevant information; gathering of course materials and exams that measure desired information; compare
where information is delivered to where it should be delivered.

When to use: when assessing and revising specific content areas within a curriculum or program.

How to give: create the matrix and compare how content is delivered and in what courses; create curricular plans to
alter the relevant courses when there is a gap between actual delivery and desired delivery.

Activity Assessment

Some activities that are integral to a program may not occur within courses. For instance, research activities may
be part of a regular course, an independent study, a thesis or project course, or they may exist outside of typical
courses. If there are activities that are an important part of a curriculum or program, then these need to be assessed in
reference to the set goals and objectives.

Activity assessment may be more complicated than course or learning assessment since those can be tied
directly to courses and curriculum. Nevertheless, activities can have potent effects for students and assessing them
should occur where appropriate. If activities are to be assessed in a program or major, these should be carefully studied
by assessors and a matrix of activities can be created. Within this matrix can be placed the name of the activity, its
relevant goals and objectives, how it is assessed, by whom, and when. Reliability between assessors is of great
importance for this task, since they must come to an agreement as to which goals and objectives are related to the
activity as well as whether they have been fulfilled by the activity.

Forms: matrix of goals and objectives that should apply to the activities; names of relevant activities; how they are to be
assessed and when; rubrics for judging the activities as fulfilling the goals and objectives

When to use: when assessing activities that exist outside of courses but that are directly related to the goals and
objectives of the curriculum or program; a rubric and matrix should be created prior to the activity happening so that its
assessment can take place during the activity or shortly thereafter if appropriate

How to give: create a matrix as to the relevant activities and the goals/objectives they should fulfill; create rubrics for
assessors to judge whether the activities fulfill the goals/objectives; aggregate data across activities to see if they
contribute to the program or curricular goals/objectives

Capstone Assessment

In some programs, there is a culminating experience or course that is required of students; this experience is
often referred to as a capstone. Examples of capstones include senior seminar courses, theses, internships, externships,
cooperative experiences, major research projects or presentations, recitals, performances, etc. In some cases, students
will have to collect their assignments and other summative assessments into a portfolio for the capstone assessment.
Students may be evaluated by faculty or by outsiders (judges for performances or employers).
Forms: matrix of goals and objectives should be applied to the assessment to see if students have fulfilled what was
required of them; may have multiple capstone judges who must reconcile their accounts to produce a single score or
grade such that students understand if they have completed the capstone and can rate their performance.

When to use: at the end of a capstone experience or course (students should be given the rubric or guidelines by which
they will be assessed when the experience or course begins)

How to give: create a matrix for the capstone and the goals/objectives it should fulfill; create rubrics for assessors to
judge how well the goals/objectives were fulfilled; aggregate data across judges and combine (if needed) to see how
students have performed in reference to the set goals/objectives

Curriculum and Program Assessment

Assessing all of the content of a curriculum or program. Done across all areas/topics and/or courses within a
specific program or discipline. Typically done to understand the effectiveness of the curriculum or program, but can also
use assessment for accreditation requirements or issues.

Forms: matrix of goals and objectives that should be covered in the course(s) along with course list for those that
contain the relevant information; gathering of course materials and exams that measure desired information; gathering
of course evaluations and faculty perceptions regarding instruction, objective achievement, and outcomes; compare
where information is delivered to where it should be delivered; may compare across content areas, across faculty,
across a department or program, or across the school.

When to use: when assessing and revising specific curricula or programs; may be done periodically or when additional
changes are needed; may be initiated by internal (faculty, student, administrative, staff) or external (boards, accreditors,
employers) sources.

How to give: create the matrix and compare how content is delivered and in what courses; create curricular plans to
alter the relevant courses when there is a gap between actual delivery and desired delivery; review data and determine
where the curriculum needs to be adjusted or deleted; review data and determine instructor effectiveness and
achievement of objectives; determine program and curriculum outcomes and verify if they have been achieved.

Self Assessments (Roberts, 2006)

“Self assessment means the process of having the learners critically reflect upon, record the progress of, and
perhaps suggest grades for, their own learning” (Roberts, 2006, p. 3). Assessing if there are perceived differences in the
self after an experience or course. Performed by students using a variety of online and offline techniques. Results may or
may not be shared depending on course or program requirements.

Forms: self-ratings of performance and learning; documentation of process and amount of learning by student;
engagement of critical thinking processes by student; recommendations for improved performance and learning
strategies by student; etc.

When to use: after a period of time when the student has been engaged in a process that requires extended thought
and performance; after the end of a learning unit or course; after a project or performance has been completed; etc.

How to give: assignments asking for reflection; journals; test questions asking for self-reflection; self-grading sheets for
projects and performances; etc.
Peer Assessments (Bostock, 2000)

“Peer assessment is assessment of students by other students, both formative reviews to provide feedback and
summative grading” (Bostock, 2000, ¶ 3). Assessing if peers can comment on and constructively assess others’ work as
well as how students award points for others’ performance. Performed by students of each other’s work using a variety
of online and offline techniques. Results are typically shared between peers but may also be shared to a larger audience
(e.g., to other students or with a faculty member) depending on course or program requirements. A good website about
assessing group work can be found at
http://www.cmu.edu/teaching/assessment/howto/assesslearning/groupWork.html.

Forms: ratings of others’ contributions and performance for assignments, projects, and presentations; recommendations
for others including how to improve and be more successful; information to be passed to future students about
successful completion of the assignment, project, or presentation; etc.

When to use: after a collaborative assignment, project, or presentation; when peer feedback is useful and will give the
student beneficial guidance; when future students will need guidance in order to be successful on the assignment,
project, or presentation; when it is meaningful to teach students how to provide constructive feedback (for future
teachers, editors, coaches, etc.); etc.

How to give: assignments asking for reflection of others’ work; questions asking for reflection on others’ contributions;
grading sheets for others’ work or presentation; etc.