3A: Aligning Assessments and Outcomes

"In school, you're taught a lesson and then given a test. In life, you're given a test that teaches you a lesson." - Tom Bodett

In general, the purpose of assessment is to provide information on whether and what students are learning. This is where having well-defined learning outcomes can make our lives much easier: if you have written your CLOs with clear, measurable verbs, it should be relatively straightforward to assess those outcomes because you can ask students to DO the verb. For example, if one of the learning outcomes is "Evaluate arguments for and against Brexit," then one way to assess whether students have achieved the outcome is to ask them to evaluate arguments for and against Brexit!

In this module, we will explore the characteristics of effective and useful assessments and consider how to scaffold the knowledge and skills students will need to succeed on those assessments. 

Learning Outcomes

Upon successful completion of this module, you will be able to align learner-centered assessments with learning goals. Specifically, you should be able to:

• Identify appropriate observable evidence that will tell you whether students have achieved the learning goals
• Identify the knowledge and skills required to create required evidence of learning
• Ensure a mix of formative and summative assessments

Activities

In this module you will:

• Reflect on what types of evidence will tell you students are learning
• Consider what types of assessments will provide that evidence
• Consider formative assessments that will provide information on student progress toward learning goals
• Ensure your assessments are aligned with your learning outcomes