You’re a teacher in Higher Education. How can you choose the best assessment tools for your students?

The general purposes of assessment are twofold in our present HE system. It is to drive engagement, Like it or not, for the students, engagement drives the curriculum. The second purpose is to provide some measure for the accountants in the registry so they will know which box to put the student in. A third, and preferable purpose that is rarely used, is to provide a student with a voice. A voice to be heard. When I make my students write for each other with a large degree of autonomy, their assessment becomes their voice, and they shout loud and clear because they have something to say. My students are saddened that I am the only professor who asks them to talk to me rather than tell them what I want them to say to me. What can I say?

In selecting assessment tools for my higher education students, I would consider the technological accessibility and user-friendliness of the tools. For example, if I want to implement an online quiz, I would choose a platform that is easy for students to navigate and offers a seamless experience. A tool like Kahoot! could be a suitable choice as it provides an interactive and engaging quiz format that many students find enjoyable while also allowing me to assess their understanding of the material. The emphasis here is on choosing tools that enhance the learning experience and cater to the preferences and comfort levels of the students, fostering a positive and effective assessment environment.

Often, I find it useful to remember that the true purpose of assessment is more holistic than simply increasing students' knowledge and understanding of a particular topic or area. For example, as an economics lecturer, across various economics disciplines, I ultimately want my students to be equipped with a complete 'toolkit' that allows them to apply the scientific-method of economics to the real world around them. This is the ultimate goal whether I am teaching International Economics, Managerial Economics, Economic Growth, History, or simple Econ101. As such, the 'purpose' of assessment must always meet that underlying, fundamental goal - long before the particular theories of the subject discipline even come into it.

O objetivo da avalia??o vai ser determinante para a constru??o dela. Formativa? Somativo? Diagnóstica? A partir da proposta, vira a constru??o de quest?es. Objetivas? Discursivas? Verdadeiro-Falso? E depois da constru??o, pensar no feedback também é muito importante.

I tend to look at this in the reverse from that proposed in the introduction - the assessment should be at the centre of syllabus design. We may not agree with this ideologically or pedagogically, but in the modern world, students are incentivised to care about the course assessment first and foremost, and are often more concerned with assessment than explicit course content or learning outcomes. **As such, assessment SHOULD NOT be an afterthought that needs adjusted to learning outcomes and teaching methods**. It should be upfront and centre when developing a course content, topics covered, teaching methodology, and desired learning outcomes. Not only does this approach provide course continuity, but students greatly appreciate it as well.

Offering learners options in assessment format whenever possible and when equitable can be an effective strategy for recognizing learning diversity and for promoting learning. For example, when I assign a report as an assessment I give learners very clear instructions and expectations, along with clear assessment protocols. But I also often allow learners to demonstrate their understanding and ideas in whatever format or combination of formats best serves their learning: text only, text and images, and whatever application they choose to use. For this reason I am not a fan of standardized, timed, written exams.

Reflection serves as a valuable tool for elevating critical thinking skills, offering insights into students' learning, analyses, and the synthesis of acquired knowledge. This introspective process allows for a meaningful examination of their understanding and the application of critical thinking skills.

We often interpret diversity as meaning 'essays and presentations'. But I firmly believe assessments should be designed so as to provide the student with a sense of agency and ownership. For example, I often use individual 'reflective essays' when teaching economics courses. Students will have been taught (and practised in applied case-study tutorials) various economic theories. In their reflective essay, they get to discuss the efficacy of those theories. They can suggest the theory is useless in helping them understand the world around them, limited, or revolutionary. As long as they back it up with relevant literature and their experience of *using* the theory, they have full ownership of their opinion (and maybe even full marks!).

There is no doubt that diversity of assessment methods are needed in order to meet each student where they are, but such methods have been very labor intensive to date. It is harder to grade 30 papers than it is to run 30 bubble sheets through the Scantron or even just pull the results from software. Perhaps some of this labor can be offloaded from the instructor to AI? Assessment methods also vary by discipline and course delivery modality. Health Care has multiple choice tests and rubric-ratings of clinical performances. The humanities have papers or paintings or pots. And science and math have problem sets. Instructors in some fields and institutions will have more flexibility to accommodate individual student needs than others.

Diverse assessments are like using different tools. They help us see and appreciate the unique skills of each student, making sure our evaluation methods match the variety of talents in the classroom.

After considering all these factors, we must consider the individual characteristics of the learners. Their ability levels, other personal characteristics and aspects of differences and sometimes we might need to individualise assessments for best result.

Education systems often seek assessment as a system of validation. It’s used to validate perceptions, rewards, and prejudice. Alongside formative, normative and summarize assessment, another broader system of assessment is needed. Each educator needs to find a way to capture and assess the unintended consequences of education, course by course.