Allen,
You and I are on the same page! The assessment should be thoughtful and useful!
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
Nicole,
I like that you focused on the responsibility of the instructor. You are spot on!
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
Cyndy,
Wow, this is an interesting situation. You have to hold them accountable and that is not easy. Time management is an important skill to assess. . .
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
Dana ,
Great point! How do you get your students to reflect on the assessment data?
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
David,
Great point. You really need to tie your assessment to the real world to assess that! It makes perfect sense.
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
Ruby,
Great answer! How do you make the adjustments is the key; assessment data does not work unless you use it to change.
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
Laura,
You make a great point about not just looking at did they learn or not, but how much did they learn (levels) that is important for mastery.
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
Emry,
Yes, it is important that assessment is "real" in terms of real world application.
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
Nate,
Yes, and I think you are right that there are variety of ways to assess info and it it is important that it is not onerous to the student or the instructor.
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
Marie,
How do you ensure that the real world aspect is met in assessment?
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
Gary,
You make a great point. Is the assessment valid? This question is important.
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
Thomas,
Your last statement is so true! The students need to know that there is purpose in the assessment or it will not be taken seriously. (easier said than done)
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
Determining how well the student has mastered the course outcomes/objectives is one of the main reasons for summative assessment. The summative assessment should also measure the students’ level of ability to transfer these course objectives to authentic (real-world or career improving) applications. Summative assessment can often also measure how well the instructor has provided relevance between what is considered “book knowledge†and applications useful to career or life situations.
David,
I agree with your assessment that real world applications are at the heart of good summative assessment. In mathematics, for example, the student may be able to complete the mechanics of algebra but unless the student can apply those mechanics to situations in his or her career or life, then knowing how to perform those algebra mechanics will be of little value for the student. The student should be able to see personal relevance and value from the learning.
Dr. Cecil,
True, as long as that is part of your objectives of your course!
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
Dr. Cecil,
Good answer! You are right, it should measure the course objectives. If transferring knowledge is part of the outcome(s).
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
Timing is important when doing summative assessments. One would want to see if the student has learned the skill or has mastered a concept. Doing a summative assessment at the end of a lesson on the basics of Microsoft Word 2010 would need to happen as soon as the lesson ended so the student could be measured before going on to the next lesson. Can the student start a new document and save it. Can the student change font and font size? Can a student bold and Italics word. Can a student copy and paste?
Another item to consider is what level is the student learning. In the Microsoft Word 2010 basic lesson, the student would need to apply the skills to an activity—like writing a three paragraph report and being able to underline, bold , italic, copy and paste.
I would say that the first is whether the summative assessment meets the learning objectives of the period being assessed.
The second would be whether it provides the facilitator with an accuarte view of how well the instruction was understood and what changes could be made to enhance instruction.
The two most important things to consider when conducting summative assessments are to evaluate if the learning objectives were achieved and to make course corrections should an activity need to be revised/changed for future classes. One assessment that I use at the end of every course is to examine the end of course survey and make adjustments, changes or to continue certain aspects of the course.
In my role, it is important that the student is able to apply the information presented to the "real" world.
I look to assessments to ensure that my students grasp the information but are able to use critical thinking skills to apply the information in their day-to-day activities.
