Assessment is a term and practice that invokes a range of responses from both teachers and students alike, depending on their perceptions and experiences with it. It is a part of our profession that has been described and used in many ways with a vast library of ‘best practices’ associated with it. However, throughout all of the debates, research, literature, and changes in approaches to assessment, there is one fundamental principle that has not changed: assessment is about student learning.

At its core, assessment is about student learning, but it is more nuanced than that. It is information about student learning, the various ways we can gather, what we do with it, and who it serves and in what capacities. However, assessment can also be much more than this, as it can:

  • serve to build and harness learning relationships
  • build confidence and empower students
  • reveal inequities in a class/school setting
  • lead to effective and responsive teaching pedagogy
  • help create alignment between learning intentions and actualities in any learning environment
  • and much more.

Re-Imagining Assessment

Traditionally, assessment has been seen as events to gather test scores and other evaluative measures to judge students and their achievements in school. Indeed, these are realities that still exist, but assessment can be so much more for everyone when we make a shift in perspective and practice: switch it from a noun to a verb.

While there are many approaches and types of assessments that teachers can use to

While there are many types of assessments teachers can use to check in on student learning, I believe there are a few key elements that need to be in place before an assessment occurs to ensure their effectiveness for both students and teachers. These key elements include:

  • Having clearly communicated learning standards (i.e. what are the students expected to do with their learning)
  • Developing and communicating learning targets and progressions (i.e. building blocks that eventually lead up to the learning standards) with students in daily lessons for clarity on their learning progress (eg. where they are strong and/or which areas they might need to work on)
  • Articulating which learning standards and/or learning targets are being assessed (i.e. what is being looked at in the assessment)
  • Establishing and communicating success criteria so students know and understand what success might look like
  • A plan on how to use the information from the assessment to support each student in their learning progress (i.e. what are their areas of strength and what might need to be worked on)

When these aspects are in place the assessments become more meaningful and informative about each student and where they currently are in their learning journey. Furthermore, embedding these elements in the learning environment allows students to develop a deeper understanding of their strengths, what they might need to work on, and a better idea of how to proceed forward in their learning. To enable our assessments to become the informative and supportive tools in the learning process that we need them to be, we must first create the conditions for them to be useful for ourselves, and more importantly for our students, and this starts by implementing the key elements outlined above.

Throughout my career I have dedicated much of my professional growth and development on assessment theory and practice in a 21st century learning environment. This focus has enabled me to learn with and from many world renowned assessment specialists (and researchers) which has heightened my understanding and skill set as a teacher and advocate for quality assessment. As a result, over the last number of years I have had many opportunities to work with teachers, departments, schools, post-secondary institutions, and educational organizations across Canada to explore and implement effective assessment practices to promote student learning. While each of these contexts have unique factors, there are common assessment principles that transcend situational differences and that is why a strong understanding and skill set of effective assessment practices is a necessity in today’s educational world.

Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions around assessment in a 21st century learning environment.