How Assessments support student learning

How Assessments support student learning

Introduction

Recently, there have been concerns in the higher education sector about the extent to which assessments practices in university, colleges and other institutions of higher learning support students learning. Concerns have also emerged about how examination have been ineffective assessment practices for university students since they negatively affect learning (Gilles, 2011). The current body of literature in the field focuses on describing practical assessment approaches that educators and higher education administrators can implement to link the assessment to student learning as well as higher academic performance. Consequently, it is increasingly becoming a prerequisite for educators and stakeholders in the higher education to integrate quality assurance principle in student assessment techniques in order to ensure that examinations promote the students’ lifelong learning, in addition to improving their academic progress.

Literature Review

Assessment is a term used to refer to a wide spectrum of approaches that teachers and educators employ to collect information regarding a student’s academic achievement and performance. In a study aimed at investigating the effectiveness of assessment and evaluation practices in higher education, Gilles (2011) found out that student evaluation and assessment entails two main purposes including student learning and certification whereby the process involves an evaluation of their academic achievement within a specified period of time-semester or year. Researches in the field have proven that summative and formative assessments are fundamental in fulfilling the two purposes. Nonetheless, higher education administrators affirm that, for the purposes of certification and student learning to be fulfilled successfully, it is usually necessary for the functions to overlap each other (Gilles, 2011). In simple terms, while teachers use formative assessments continuously throughout the course content, summative assessments are entirely used to judge the academic achievement of the students and are often administered at the end of a phase of instruction of course.

According to Saifi et al. (2011), formative assessments encourage the students to engage in in the course content, which in turn increases their familiarity with the information they attempt to learn. This requires the active participation of the students in learning activities, thus resulting in deeper thinking as well as long-term retention of the learned matter and concepts. With formative assessments, progress in the learners’ performance is realized through the teachers’ supportive feedback from a variety of assessment tasks. Therefore, owing to how it creates value in student learning, educators consider formative learning as an effective approach to learning (Saifi et al., 2011). On the other hand, summative assessment methods include midterm or semester examinations and tests, in addition to final projects and presentations. Nonetheless, the timing for these techniques usually creates a challenge for the modification of student learning. As such, judging a student’s academic progress through summative assessments is applicable to determining grades. Hence it is highly referred to as an assessment practice of student learning. Consequently, in a higher education setting, course assignments usually function as both summative (assessment of learning) and assessment and formative (assessment for learning).

Assessment for Learning

Assessment for learning adheres to the premise that every assessment strategy aims at promoting student learning which involves the presence of authentic assessment. Additionally, this form of assessment requires students to engage throughout the learning process instead of entirely focusing on grades or marks (Parkin et al., 2012). In essence, assessment for learning practice requires the presence of opportunities for the students to practice previously learned knowledge and skills. Moreover, teachers’ feedback in this process should be aimed at combining dialogue and written comments between the teachers a learner and their classmates (Schreiber & Valle, 2013). This assists in the development of independent students. Therefore, the qualities embodied in assessment for learning are characteristic of the cognitive theory of constructivism.

In a constructivism approach to student assessment, teachers ensure that the students actively participate in the learning process through activities like self-reflection and real-world illustrations (Schreiber & Valle, 2013). More so, social constructivism is fundamental in incorporating students into the constructivist approach wherein teachers use dialogue to focus on sharing the ideas through cooperation and collaboration. In other words, interaction and participation between the learners and teachers as well as among students or students and the tasks; throughout the learning process help in developing understanding and knowledge about key concepts within the course matter. Furthermore, social constructivism supports the idea that the experiences of the learners generate knowledge (Schreiber & Valle, 2013).

Learning-oriented Assessment

According to Carless (2015), learning-oriented assessment refers to an ideology representing the assessment for learning. It is a multisource method that plays a vital role in promoting students learning both presently and in future. LoA (Learning-oriented Assessment) comprises of a blend between peer-assessment tasks, feedback and learning tasks. Each element of the assessment encourages the student to participate in the assessment process (Halinen et al., 2014). In other words, the active engagement of the students in the assessment process is crucial in allowing them to concentrate on knowledge creation by emphasizing on problem-solving skills, analytical skills in addition to meta-cognitive activities aimed at developing the student’s intellectual thinking.

Tasks as Learning Tasks

For learning tasks to be effective at promoting learning, it is a prerequisite to present an authentic quality. Authentic assessments entail some form of extended performance assessment techniques which are typically high in terms of complexity and realism (Pierce et al., 2011). In simple terms, the authentic quality in these assessments allows the practices to integrate knowledge, skills and ideas, hence resulting in comprehensive learning. Since they necessitate the learners to employ their understanding of the real-world setting and tasks, authentic assessment methods encourage learners to develop a greater depth of learning (Parkin et al., 2012). Accordingly, authentic assessment methods play a vital role in promoting a learner’s future academic achievement by improving their critical thinking skills.

Educators and education administrators in the higher learning setting are increasingly addressing the need for universities to implement performance-based authentic practices to assess student learning. Gibson & Shaw (2011) state that authentic approaches to student learning are crucial in helping learners establish a relationship between the course content and real-world examples, thus making the assessment tools valuable. Alongside the representation of real-world examples, students are also required to respond to questions that ensure that metacognition or higher-order thinking capacities are employed. Thus the final product is polished towards helping the educators monitor student academic progress. Burton (2011) framed questions that educators and assessors could ask students about learning tasks to ascertain their authenticity. Through the questions, teachers establish the extent to which the questions require the learners to collaborate with peers and subsequently make a judgement about real-world illustrations (Parkin et al., 2012). Considerably, common examples of learning tasks and activities that are considered authentic include simulations, interviews, patchwork texts, real-life tasks, portfolios, performances, oral presentation, as well as exhibitions.

Examinations

Researchers have proven that examinations exams do not function as an adequate reflection of assessment for learning. They strongly assert that tests represent a form of behaviorist model since the method is teacher-centred rather than learner-centred (Halinen et al., 2014). In essence, during examinations, the learners’ role is usually passive as they respond to the environmental conditions presented to them. On the other hand, scholars have also questioned the effectiveness of examinations in promoting student learning. Halinen et al. (2014) argue that examinations obstruct thoughtful planning of information that necessitates continuous drafting and re-drafting. Therefore, instead of fostering the understanding and application of knowledge, exams tend to promote memorization.

Conclusion and Recommendations

Student assessment in the modern higher education sector is used for various purposes. Higher education administrators are increasingly finding effective assessment methods that will capture a student’s academic progress in addition to facilitating student learning. Currently, the common method of student assessment is examinations which have proven to be ineffective at improving the learner’s understanding of key concepts of the course as well as apply this knowledge in the real-world setting. For student assessment techniques to be effective, it is recommended that stakeholders in the higher education sector integrate quality assurance principles to student assessment practice in order to maintain their consistency, utility, fairness and relevance in promoting the student learning process. Furthermore, incorporating quality assurance practices in student assessment will ensure that the assessment tasks reflect metacognition and high level of analytical and problem-solving skills to improve the students’ learning.

References

Burton, K. (2011). A framework for determining the authenticity of assessment tasks: Applied to an example in law. Journal of Learning Design. 4(2), 20-28. https://doi.org/10.5204/jld.v4i2.72

Gilles, J., P. Detroz, P, & Blais, J. (2011). An international online survey of the practices and perceptions of higher education professors with respect to the assessment of learning in the classroom. Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education. 36(6), 719-733. https://doi.org/10.1080/02602938.2010.484880

Halinen, K., Ruohoniemi, M., Katajavuori, N., & Virtanen, V. (2014). Life science teachers’ discourse on assessment: A valuable insight into the variable conceptions of assessment in higher education. Journal of Biological Education. 48(1), 16-22. https://doi.org/10.1080/00219266.2013.799082

Pantiwati, Y., & Husamah. (2017). Self and peer assessments in an active learning model to increase metacognitive awareness and cognitive abilities. International Journal of Instruction. 10(4), 185-202. https://doi.org/10.12973/iji.2017.10411a

Parkin, H. J., Hepplestone, S., Holden, G., Irwin, B., & Thorpe, L. (2012). A role for technology in enhancing students’ engagement with feedback. Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education. 37(8), 963-973. https://doi.org/10.1080/02602938.2011.592934

Pierce, D., Petersen, J., & Meadows, B. (2011). Authentic assessment of experiential learning in sports sales. Sport Marketing Quarterly, 20(2), 75-83.

Saifi, S., Mahmood, T., Gujjar, A. A., & Ali Sha, S. S. (2011). Assessing the quality of assessment techniques at the higher education level. International Journal of Business & Social Science. 2(12), 273-280. Sambell, K., McDowell, L., & Montgomery, C. (2013). Assessment for Learning in Higher Education. Abington: Routledge.

Schreiber, L. M., & Valle, B. E. (2013). Social constructivist teaching strategies in the small group classroom. Small-Group Research. 44(4), 395-411. https://doi.org/10.1177/1046496413488422

Sheaffer, E. A., & Addo, R. T. (2013). Pharmacy student performance on constructed-response versus selected-response calculations questions. American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education. 77(1), 1-7. https://doi.org/10.5688/ajpe7716 Smith, S. (2013). Determining sample size: How to ensure you get the correct sample size.