Michael Sikes, Ph.D.
Evaluation, Research, and Consulting
Assessment of Learning
Learner assessment is the core evaluation component of any educational program. Properly designed, it can provide the essential evidence of the degree of goal attainment, as well as the important contextual information on how the program is meeting its goals.
Assessment is not equivalent to testing. While a test is one tool that may be used in assessment, many others—including demonstrations, performances, products, portfolios, surveys, observations, and video documentation, to name only a few—may be as appropriate and often more so, depending on the outcomes. Two vital considerations in the selection or development of any assessment procedure or tool are reliability and validity. Reliability is the consistency with which a tool measures learning and can usually be established through statistical procedures. Validity is a bit harder, usually requiring expert judgment. Fortunately, both can be tested through use over time.
Assessments should be carefully designed or selected for the specific program and its intended outcomes. Moreover, their selection should come early in the design of any instructional program. Robust approaches such as Understanding by Design can help ensure that assessment decisions proceed alongside instructional decisions. But this also conforms with a more general principle, to start thinking about evaluation as soon as you start thinking about a program.
Readings on Assessment
Creativity and Assessment: What We Know
In the public discussions of creativity in the popular press, books, advocacy, and policy documents, assessing creativity is a major focus. But much of what we know about assessing creativity comes from more general knowledge about good assessment practice. This brief article outlines what we already know about assessing knowledge generally, complex and higher-order thinking more specifically, and creativity especially. Click here to download.