Informative Assessment

Description

• Informative assessment occurs when learners are given the opportunity to demonstrate, apply, and enhance their learning in meaningful ways. Not all assessments need to be graded. Fink’s model (2003) emphasizes the use of assessments that are congruent with the corresponding learning goals and activities. The assessments should also be relevant within the context of the learning environment and other situational factors.

According to Fink, assessment serves two basic purposes:

• Auditive Assessment. These assessments “audit” what students have learned up to the point of the assessment. For example, a mid-term or final examination is usually categorized as an auditive assessment.
• Forward-looking (learning-stimulating) Assessment. These assessments are testing situations that guide and improve student learning, not just measure it.

• High quality, timely, and corrective feedback is the key to informative assessment. At a minimum, feedback should include corrective information. An example of this type of feedback is the information that is returned from Independent Studies’ “SpeedBack” multiple choice quizzes. Informative assessment also includes iterative opportunities to build on what students have learned from the corrective feedback (e.g.. test/retest, application, exams, term papers, and group exam formats.

An effective strategy for the assessment of student learning has several characteristics:

• Achievement. The assessments measure the extent to which the students have achieved the course learning goals.
• Variety. The strategy should include many types of assessment (e.g., projects, papers. performances, exams).
• Feedback. The assessments provide the learners with frequent, informative, and meaningful feedback. In addition, the instructor gathers valid, reliable data for grading and feedback for course improvement.

Contact Information

• Organization: Center for Instructional Design
• Location on campus: 3800 HBLL                           Hours of operation: 8-5 M-F
• Phone number: 422-8180                                      E-mail: cid@byu.edu
• Website: cid.byu.edu                                              Fax number : 422-1220
• For assistance: Contact Your Instructional Design Consultant

• Organization: BYU Faculty Center
• Location on campus: 4450 WSC                          Hours of operation: 8-5 M-F
• Phone number: 422-7419                                     E-mail: faculty_center@byu.edu
• Website: fc.byu.edu                                              Fax number: 422-0223
• For assistance: Call, email, or drop by the Faculty Center located on the 4th floor of the Wilkinson Center.

• Organization: Department of Independent Study
• Location: 206 Harman Building                              Hours: 8-5 M-F (office); 6-6 M-F (phone representatives)
• Phone number: 1-800-914-8931                             E-mail: indstudy@byu.edu
• Website: ce.byu.edu/is/site/index.dhtm                    Fax number: 1-801-422-0102

 

Additional Information

• See Complete Document on Learning-Centered Teaching (pdf)

Back to A Guide for Learning-Centered Teaching at BYU

Back to the Assessing Student Learning Main Page