Assessment: And How Do We Know They Know It?

So, how do we know when students have learned what we think they should know?  This question follows the question of the last column: “What do we want students to know?”  We’ve visited more than once about how difficult this question is to answer, as well as the interesting fact that – almost without exception – the more meaningful the topic or lesson to be learned, the harder is the assessment. We’ve even noted that often the reverse is true:  The easier something is to assess, the less meaningful it usually is!
It is so crucial to understand that evaluating and assessing learning is so much more complex than it is often given credit for, especially by politicians.  This (partially) explains the difficulties of various legislative initiatives of the past few years – no matter which side of the aisle advanced them.  Easy answers aren’t necessarily meaningful – or helpful.
To illustrate some of this, I’ve adapted a short True/False quiz about learning and assessment*.   You won’t be ‘graded/assessed’ on your answers.   (Did you note your reaction to the word ‘quiz’ just then?  It’s actually significant and relevant, but must wait for another discussion.)  Indeed, there are NO ‘right answers’ to this quiz – only opinions, but as you decide your own answers, notice how your answers automatically influence your views of assessment, and even education itself.

1. Students learn only by imitation and memorization.
2. First we teach, then we test.
3. Learning a subject means mastering a fixed set of skills; therefore tests should focus on whether students have mastered those skills.
4. Objective, multiple choice tests are the best and most reliable instruments to measure learning.
5. The purpose of assessment is to determine which students “have it” and which do not, and then to assign grades accordingly.
6. Alternative forms of assessment are less objective than traditional forms and are simply the latest fad in ducking educational accountability.

Interesting exercise?  Did you feel yourself pulled in opposite directions?  Did you want to answer a question ‘false’ in general, but realize the assessment can of worms you opened if you did so?   It’s the problem educators face all the time, of course.  Needless to say, any good assessment plan or scheme – whether a teacher’s, a school system’s, a state’s, or a nation’s – will have to have grappled with tough issues like these as – and even before! – it begins to tackle assessment and accountability.
Once again, there are no right answers to these questions, but there are definitely different opinions!  And those opinions affect and define what we call education.  For example, each “TRUE” answer above represents a relatively traditional view of education – and for that matter, a relatively ‘safe’ view of assessment.     Each “FALSE” answer, on the other hand, makes the job of accurate assessment that much more difficult.  One approach is easier, the other harder – the key question, though, should be:  Which approach has the best chance of helping us make meaningful evaluations in the long run?
How many times have we encountered this fact: there are no easy answers in education, and often no ‘right’ ones!  So, it becomes that much more important that we’re at least asking the right questions!!  Or we’re not serving our students, regardless of answers.  And, in assessment, as elsewhere, even determining the ‘right questions’ can be a tough and thankless job!

*In preparing this quiz, I’ve used a reference called “Mathematics Assessment: Myths, Models, Good Suggestions .  . .”                         published by the NCTM, but I have edited out references to math.