CATs locate assessment of student learning right in the classroom and put its control into the hands of individual instructors. Although the CATs were originally intended for formative assessment at the course level, they can be adapted to the program level and also help answer summative questions. Advantages Disadvantages & Solutions Have maximum relevance and usefulness for Are highly dependent on the cooperation of immediate improvement because assessment takes individuals, so create a culture that values and place at the point of student learning. supports the entire assessment process Can present challenges in generalizing to program Can be conducted continuously to emphasize that or institution so encourage an ongoing forum teaching is a formative, evolving process. for sharing approaches and results. Can provide feedback on what students know and can do, how they got and what helps or hinders learning Engage students in their learning, motivate them to monitor themselves, and help them become reflective learners Communicate that professors care about students, but also respect faculty autonomy Local Tests With tests, the testing instrument can be tailored to the intellectual content, curricular design, teaching practices, and expectations of the campus’s educational programs. It can lend itself to rapid adaptation if those conditions change. The process can also promote faculty ownership of learning by solidifying collective commitment to outcomes, curricular elements, and assessment methods. Advantages Disadvantages & Solutions Have content validity because they are designed for May focus on surface learning, so provide a gripe local learning conditions sheet to extract deeper reflection Can reflect the campus’s culture and May lack norms for reference, so supplement with processes a commercial test if norms are essential Can be integrative and highly creative in format May contain ambiguous items or offer questionable reliability and validity, so pilot the test to identify Elicit high-quality student effort if and evaluate such problems prior to any large-scale administration Provide directly relevant and useful information. Can be seen as threatening, so keep the focus on useful information for learning improvement, not on test scores per se. Source: by Andrea Leskes and Barbara D. Wright The Art & Science of Assessing General Education Outcomes, A Practical Guide Commercial Tests The terms and are often applied to commercially available tests, implying that other “standardized” “objective” assessment methods meet neither criterion. Standardized refers to uniform test conditions and scoring procedures, so
CATs locate assessment of student learning right in the classroom and put its control into the hands of individual instructors. Although the CATs were originally intended for formative assessment at the course level, they can be adapted to the program level and also help answer summative questions. Advantages Disadvantages & Solutions Have maximum relevance and usefulness for immediate improvement because assessment takes place at the point of student learning. Can be conducted continuously to emphasize that teaching is a formative, evolving process. Can provide feedback on what students know and can do, how they got and what helps or hinders learning Engage students in their learning, motivate them to monitor themselves, and help them become reflective learners Communicate that professors care about students, but also respect faculty autonomy Are highly dependent on the cooperation of individuals, so create a culture that values and supports the entire assessment process Can present challenges in generalizing to program or institution so encourage an ongoing forum for sharing approaches and results. Local Tests With tests, the testing instrument can be tailored to the intellectual content, curricular design, teaching practices, and expectations of the campus’s educational programs. It can lend itself to rapid adaptation if those conditions change. The process can also promote faculty ownership of learning by solidifying collective commitment to outcomes, curricular elements, and assessment methods. Advantages Disadvantages & Solutions Have content validity because they are designed for local learning conditions Can reflect the campus’s culture and processes Can be integrative and highly creative in format Elicit high-quality student effort if Provide directly relevant and useful information. May focus on surface learning, so provide a gripe sheet to extract deeper reflection May lack norms for reference, so supplement with a commercial test if norms are essential May contain ambiguous items or offer questionable reliability and validity, so pilot the test to identify and evaluate such problems prior to any large-scale administration Can be seen as threatening, so keep the focus on useful information for learning improvement, not on test scores per se. Source: The Art & Science of Assessing General Education Outcomes, A Practical Guide by Andrea Leskes and Barbara D. Wright Commercial Tests The terms “standardized” and “objective” are often applied to commercially available tests, implying that other assessment methods meet neither criterion. Standardized refers to uniform test conditions and scoring procedures, so
assessmentmeasures.docx