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Source: global.acs.org
To paraphrase the famous quote, “if everything is a priority, then nothing is a priority.” As we move from the early days of emergency remote teaching to planning for the fall, now might be a good time to think about what summative assessments could look like in a remote teaching and learning context. Keep in mind, there is no need to assess everything. Learning outcomes are vital because they help instructors make strategic decisions about what content areas are “need to know” vs. what is “nice to know.” In other words, learning outcomes help distill the curriculum to essential learning and help narrow the content down by targeting specific areas. If giving a traditional exam isn’t possible, assigning performance tasks can be a good solution to assessing student learning. Any learning activity or assessment that asks students to perform or demonstrate their knowledge, understanding and proficiency could be considered a performance task. Performance tasks always yield a tangible product and/or performance that serve as evidence of learning. Check out this website for some great examples of ways to support performance task design compiled by Jay McTighe.
If you have any questions or want to brainstorm some assessment ideas, TLC is here for you! Contact tlc@ncssm.edu.
https://absenterprisedotcom.files.wordpress.com/2016/06/real-standards.pdf
https://blog.performancetask.com/what-is-a-performance-task-part-1-9fa0d99ead3b
https://www.edutopia.org/article/summative-assessment-distance-learning