Assessment Tools

Below are links to assessment tools and techniques along with specific geoscience examples
and resources.

 Concept Maps - A diagramming technique for assessing how well students see the "big
picture".
 ConcepTests - Conceptual multiple-choice questions that are useful in large classes.
 Knowledge Survey - Students answer whether they could answer a survey of course
content questions.
 Exams - Find tips on how to make exams better assessment instruments.
 Oral Presentations - Tips for evaluating student presentations.
 Poster Presentations - Tips for evaluating poster presentations.
 Peer Review - Having students assess themselves and each other.
 Portfolios - A collection of evidence to demonstrate mastery of a given set of concepts.
 Rubrics - A set of evaluation criteria based on learning goals and student performance.
 Written Reports - Tips for assessing written reports.
 Other Assessment Types Includes concept sketches, case studies, seminar-style
courses, mathematical thinking and performance assessments.

Formative and Summative Assessment

Assessment is the process of gathering data. More specifically, assessment is the ways instructors gather
data about their teaching and their students’ learning (Hanna & Dettmer, 2004). The data provide a
picture of a range of activities using different forms of assessment such as: pre-tests, observations, and
examinations. Once these data are gathered, you can then evaluate the student’s performance.
Evaluation, therefore, draws on one’s judgment to determine the overall value of an outcome based on
the assessment data. It is in the decisionmaking process then, where we design ways to improve the
recognized weaknesses, gaps, or deficiencies.

The figure below represents the systematic process of assessment, evaluation, and decision-making. The
results (data) of the assessment (examinations, observations, essays, self-reflections) are evaluated
based on judgment of those data. What to do next—the decision making step, is based on the
evaluation.

Assessment Evaluation Decision-Making

Types of Assessment There are three types of assessment: diagnostic, formative, and summative.
Although are three are generally referred to simply as assessment, there are distinct differences
between the three.
 1. Diagnostic Assessment Diagnostic assessment can help you identify your students’ current knowledge
of a subject, their skill sets and capabilities, and to clarify misconceptions before teaching takes place
(Just Science Now!, n.d.). Knowing students’ strengths and weaknesses can help you better plan what to
teach and how to teach it.

Types of Diagnostic Assessment

s  Pre-tests (on content and abilities)

 Self-assessments (identifying skills and competencies)

 Discussion board responses (on content-specific prompts)

 Interviews (brief, private, 10-minute interview of each student)

2. Formative Assessment Formative assessment provides feedback and information during the
instructional process, while learning is taking place, and while learning is occurring. Formative
assessment measures student progress but it can also assess your own progress as an instructor. For
example, when implementing a new activity in class, you can, through observation and/or surveying the
students, determine whether or not the activity should be used again (or modified). A primary focus of
formative assessment is to identify areas that may need improvement. These assessments typically are
not graded and act as a gauge to students’ learning progress and to determine teaching effectiveness
(implementing appropriate methods and activities).

In another example, at the end of the third week of the semester, you can informally ask students
questions which might be on a future exam to see if they truly understand the material. An exciting and
efficient way to survey students’ grasp of knowledge is through the use of clickers. Clickers are
interactive devices which can be used to assess students’ current knowledge on specific content. For
example, after polling students you see that a large number of students did not correctly answer a
question or seem confused about some particular content. At this point in the course you may need to
go back and review that material or present it in such a way to make it more understandable to the
students. This formative assessment has allowed you to “rethink” and then “redeliver” that material to
ensure students are on track. It is good practice to incorporate this type of assessment to “test”
students’ knowledge before expecting all of them to do well on an examination.

Types of Formative Assessment

 Observations during in-class activities; of students non-verbal feedback during lecture

 Homework exercises as review for exams and class discussions

 Reflections journals that are reviewed periodically during the semester

 Question and answer sessions, both formal—planned and informal—spontaneous

 Conferences between the instructor and student at various points in the semester
 In-class activities where students informally present their results

 Student feedback collected by periodically answering specific question about the instruction and their
self-evaluation of performance and progress

3. Summative Assessment Summative assessment takes place after the learning has been completed
and provides information and feedback that sums up the teaching and learning process. Typically, no
more formal learning is taking place at this stage, other than incidental learning which might take place
through the completion of projects and assignments

Rubrics, often developed around a set of standards or expectations, can be used for summative
assessment. Rubrics can be given to students before they begin working on a particular project so they
know what is expected of them (precisely what they have to do) for each of the criteria. Rubrics also can
help you to be more objective when deriving a final, summative grade by following the same criteria
students used to complete the project.

High-stakes summative assessments typically are given to students at the end of a set point during or at
the end of the semester to assess what has been learned and how well it was learned. Grades are
usually an outcome of summative assessment: they indicate whether the student has an acceptable
level of knowledge-gain—is the student able to effectively progress to the next part of the class? To the
next course in the curriculum? To the next level of academic standing? See the section “Grading” for
further information on grading and its affect on student achievement.

Summative assessment is more product-oriented and assesses the final product, whereas formative
assessment focuses on the process toward completing the product. Once the project is completed, no
further revisions can be made. If, however, students are allowed to make revisions, the assessment
becomes formative, where students can take advantage of the opportunity to improve.

Types of Summative Assessment

 Examinations (major, high-stakes exams

 Final examination (a truly summative assessment)

 Term papers (drafts submitted throughout the semester would be a formative assessment)

 Projects (project phases submitted at various completion points could be formatively assessed)

 Portfolios (could also be assessed during it’s development as a formative assessment)

 Performances

 Student evaluation of the course (teaching effectiveness)

 Instructor self-evaluation
Summary Assessment measures if and how students are learning and if the teaching methods are
effectively relaying the intended messages. Hanna and Dettmer (2004) suggest that you should strive to
develop a range of assessments strategies that match all aspects of their instructional plans. Instead of
trying to differentiate between formative and summative assessments it may be more beneficial to
begin planning assessment strategies to match instructional goals and objectives at the beginning of the
semester and implement them throughout the entire instructional experience. The selection of
appropriate assessments should also match course and program objectives necessary for accreditation
requirements.

Pre-assessment or diagnostic assessment

Before creating the instruction, it’s necessary to know for what kind of students you’re
creating the instruction. Your goal is to get to know your student’s strengths,
weaknesses and the skills and knowledge the posses before taking the instruction.
Based on the data you’ve collected, you can create your instruction.

Formative assessment

Formative assessment is used in the first attempt of developing instruction. The goal is
to monitor student learning to provide feedback. It helps identifying the first gaps in your
instruction. Based on this feedback you’ll know what to focus on for further expansion
for your instruction.

Summative assessment

Summative assessment is aimed at assessing the extent to which the most important
outcomes at the end of the instruction have been reached. But it measures more: the
effectiveness of learning, reactions on the instruction and the benefits on a long-term
base. The long-term benefits can be determined by following students who attend your
course, or test. You are able to see whether and how they use the learned knowledge,
skills and attitudes.

Read more about formative and summative assessments.

Confirmative assessment

When your instruction has been implemented in your classroom, it’s still necessary to
take assessment. Your goal with confirmative assessments is to find out if the
instruction is still a success after a year, for example, and if the way you're teaching is
still on point. You could say that a confirmative assessment is an extensive form of a
summative assessment.
Norm-referenced assessment

This compares a student’s performance against an average norm. This could be the
average national norm for the subject History, for example. Other example is when the
teacher compares the average grade of his or her students against the average grade
of the entire school.

Criterion-referenced assessment

It measures student’s performances against a fixed set of predetermined criteria or

learning standards. It checks what students are expected to know and be able to do at a
specific stage of their education. Criterion-referenced tests are used to evaluate a
specific body of knowledge or skill set, it’s a test to evaluate the curriculum taught in a
course.

Ipsative assessment

It measures the performance of a student against previous performances from that

student. With this method you’re trying to improve yourself by comparing previous
results. You’re not comparing yourself against other students, which may be not so
good for your self-confidence.

Read more about Assessment methods and strategies and the Objectives of
assessment and evaluation.

Useful resources

Edudemic
Council for the Curriculum, Examinations & Assessment

Two basic approaches to educational Assessment

1. Criterion – referenced measurement

2. Norm-referenced measurement

Assessment tools