·Be careful not to make “All of the above” a choice only when the answer we want is “All of
the above.”
·Use different types of questions (e.g., fill-ins, matching, multiple choice, short descrip-
tion, and longer essays) so students cannot anticipate the kinds of questions you would
ask. If they do, they will not study as hard.
·Throw in a few questions about really obscure points. This rewards students who do all
of the homework, encourages the others to work harder, and gives you a spread of
grades.Although some of this advice is useful, I believe that something is seriously wrong with an
approach to testing and grading that is only indirectly related to instruction and the assess-
ment of learning. When the purpose of testing is to assign grades, tests and grades become
weapons to control classes and make students do the work through extrinsic rewards and
punishments. Students who try, but do not do very well, are offered extra help, but ulti-
mately are put in “slower” classes where they can “experience success.” Those who failed
the tests because they did not seem to care are cajoled with threats, calls, or letters home;
low grades; or failure for the course. Students who do well on tests are rewarded with high
grades, certificates, and recommendations for better high schools and colleges.
On the other hand, I believe there are also good reasons for testing and evaluating stu-
dents. Students have a right to know how they are doing compared with other people doing
similar work. This makes it possible for them to assess their activities, make decisions about
their priorities, and evaluate their goals. In addition, as teachers, there are things we need to
know so we can do our jobs effectively. Assessing student learning helps us evaluate our
performance.As a rule of thumb, if students did not learn something, you did not teach it.
Some important questions that assessment helps us think about include the following:
·Does the curriculum make sense to the students? Does it connect with who they are?
Does it take into account their level of academic skills and help to improve them?
·Am I teaching effectively? Is the class as a whole learning? Are the books and materials
appropriate? What do I need to change?
·Do individual students understand what they are studying? How can I respond to their
specific needs and motivate them to try again or try harder? How do I help students as-
sess their own learning so they can use this knowledge as a way to expand their under-
standing? What will make it possible for every individual to succeed in class?
·Are students doing the classroom and homework assignments? Are the assignments rea-
sonable and interesting? Which assignments should be kept? Which ones should be mod-
ified? Which ones should be dropped?
·Are my assessment tools accurate measures of what I am trying to assess? Am I testing
recall, the ability of students to read and write, or higher order skills such as understand-
ing and the ability of students to use ideas?
·Can I assign students composite grades at the end of marking periods and semesters that
have meaning to them and will encourage them, rather than just reward or punish them?In John Dewey’s view, assessing (comparing, analyzing, sorting, organizing, exploring, ex-
perimenting) is how human beings learn. What teachers need to assess is not the informa-
tion that students know, but how effectively students are integrating information into their
ASSESSMENT 205