Assessing Student Learning
Assessing Student Learning
Instructional Objectives
Instructional objectives are clear statements or concepts that outline what students should know or be able to do after a specific period of instruction. These are sometimes referred to as behavioral objectives. It is highly beneficial to share these objectives with students at the beginning of a lesson or unit, so they know exactly what they are expected to learn. As the text explains, “Setting out objectives at the beginning of a course is an essential step in providing a framework into which individual lessons will fit” (Moss, Brookhart, & Long, 2011; Reeves, 2011). Without such a framework, instruction can easily drift off track, spending too much time on topics that are not central to the course (Slavin, p. 350).
There are three key components of a well-written behavioral objective. First, it should specify how the learning will be assessed. Second, it must include an action that tells students what they will be able to do. Finally, it should clearly state what qualifies as successful performance.
Objectives must be specific to the subject matter being taught. While not all objectives require a numerical criterion, clarity is essential. When planning lessons, teachers need to understand the skills required for students to successfully complete tasks and assignments. One strategy to support this is performing a task analysis, which involves breaking tasks into fundamental subskills. This process includes three steps: identifying prerequisite skills, identifying component skills, and planning how to assemble those skills into the final, complete skill.
Another effective planning strategy is backward planning, which involves setting long-range goals first, then determining unit objectives, and finally designing daily lessons that align with those goals.
The final step in working with instructional objectives is assessment. Assessments measure the extent to which objectives have been achieved. Students can demonstrate learning in many creative ways beyond traditional tests. As the text notes, “Students can also show their learning by writing an essay, creating a multimedia presentation, painting a picture, doing a car tune-up, or baking a pineapple upside-down cake.” These diverse methods honor different learning styles and skill sets.
It’s also important to remember that students vary in their skill levels and learning preferences. This is where taxonomies of instructional objectives become valuable. The most widely used is Bloom’s Taxonomy, developed in 1956 by Benjamin Bloom and colleagues. Bloom’s taxonomy organizes objectives from simple to complex: knowledge, comprehension, application, analysis, synthesis, and evaluation.
To ensure objectives address all cognitive levels, educators can use a behavior content matrix, a chart that classifies objectives by cognitive demand. In addition to cognitive objectives, affective objectives, those related to student attitudes and values, should also be considered. A well-rounded lesson addresses both domains.
Student Learning Evaluated
Evaluation refers to the process of measuring student performance in academic and, at times, non-academic areas. The goal is to determine appropriate teaching strategies and ensure that learning is occurring. While traditional tests are commonly used, they are not the only way to evaluate student learning. Teachers rely on evaluations to confirm whether students are achieving the intended objectives.
Evaluations serve six essential purposes:
Feedback for students – Helps them understand what they’ve learned and what still needs improvement.
Feedback for teachers – Informs instructional effectiveness and identifies areas for adjustment.
Information for parents – Keeps families informed about student progress.
Information for selection and certification – Assists in determining readiness for promotion or qualification.
Accountability – Serves as a tool for evaluating teacher, school, or district performance.
Incentives – Encourage student effort by rewarding progress or achievement.
Assessments typically fall into two categories: formative and summative. A formative assessment is ongoing and designed to determine whether further instruction is needed. A summative assessment, on the other hand, evaluates final achievement after instruction has occurred.
Two major approaches to interpreting assessments are norm-referenced and criterion-referenced. Norm-referenced assessments compare a student’s performance to that of peers, while criterion-referenced assessments measure a student’s mastery of specific skills. Choosing the right evaluation approach depends on the goal of the assessment, whether it's to motivate, provide feedback, or determine certification.
Tests Constructed
Tests can take many forms, and the construction of a good test begins with a clear understanding of the content domains to be assessed. Teachers must know how to write effective achievement tests to ensure they measure well-defined instructional objectives. One helpful tool is the table of specifications, which lists instructional goals and expected levels of understanding to guide test creation. This table varies depending on the course and content.
Selected-response questions include formats like multiple choice, true/false, and matching. These questions typically require recognition rather than interpretation. When writing multiple-choice items, two main goals are essential: ensure that students can choose the correct answer without being misled by poor alternatives, and avoid making the correct answer too easy to guess. Incorrect choices are referred to as distractors or foils. Matching items usually feature two lists of related concepts, and students often rely on the process of elimination to find correct answers.
Constructed-response items, such as short answers, fill-in-the-blank, or essays, require students to produce rather than recognize answers.
Problem-solving items require students to apply complex thinking and multi-step procedures. These items assess a student’s ability to analyze, organize, and solve real-world challenges. When evaluating such items, educators should be mindful of the halo effect, a bias that occurs when personal opinions of students influence grading.
Authentic, Portfolio, and Performance Assessments
Alternative assessments are growing in popularity due to their ability to capture deeper aspects of student learning. One example is the portfolio assessment, which involves evaluating a curated collection of a student’s work over time. This might include journal entries, book reports, artwork, computer projects, or various writing samples from rough drafts to final copies. Portfolios provide valuable insights into student growth, reflection, and achievement.
Performance assessments, also known as authentic assessments, evaluate students’ ability to perform tasks in real-world contexts. These might include oral presentations, experiments, or other hands-on activities. These assessments often provide a more comprehensive picture of student understanding and are typically scored with a rubric. Increasingly, performance assessments are presented in digital formats.
Grades
Grades can be assigned in many ways, and their meaning can vary based on the teacher, school, or district. A relative grading standard compares students to each other, assigning grades based on class rank. This method has the advantage of reflecting performance in relation to peers. Another method is performance grading, where teachers assess what students know and can do, and report this in a clear, understandable way to students and parents.
Mastery grading requires students to meet a predetermined standard. They are often allowed to retake assessments until mastery is demonstrated. While this supports deeper learning, it can also pose challenges. As the text notes, “There is some danger that if students know they can retake tests, they might not study until after attempting the first test…”(Slavin, p. 384). To maintain assessment integrity, it's important not to use the same test more than once, as students may simply memorize the answers.
Report cards are typically issued four to six times per year and may include grades from tests, quizzes, homework, projects, and participation. The weight of each component is usually determined by the teacher. Assembling final grades can be challenging due to student absences or missing assignments. Progress reports, which are distributed mid-term, help identify areas needing improvement before final grades are issued.
Most importantly, grades should be kept confidential. Other students should not know each other’s academic performance. As the text states, “Finally, it is important to restate that grades are only one method of student evaluation” (Slavin, p. 386). A student's learning cannot be defined by grades alone; multiple methods of evaluation should be used to capture the full picture of student growth and achievement.
Reflection
After reviewing the information on instructional objectives and student evaluation, I’ve been reflecting on how I want to shape my own classroom practices. One change I’d like to implement is offering more opportunities for students to retake tests and show mastery. I believe in giving grace and allowing students the chance to learn from mistakes. However, I also recognize how important it is to set clear expectations so that this opportunity isn’t taken advantage of. Students should still be held accountable and encouraged to prepare seriously the first time around.
Additionally, I’ve realized that I really value performance assessments. They give students the chance to apply their learning in meaningful, real-world ways and often reveal deeper understanding than traditional tests. Moving forward, I’d love to incorporate more of these types of assessments in my classroom to allow every student to shine in their own way.
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