Assessment Trends In Education: A
Shift To Assessment For Learning
By TeachThought Staff / May 7, 2020 / Teaching / Assessment Resources For Teachers
contributed by Trenton Goble, VP, K-12 Learning, Instructure
https://www.teachthought.com/pedagogy/modern-assessment-trends-in-education/
Throughout the K-12 learning landscape, assessment practices are changing to embrace
assessment for learning, not assessment of learning.
Consistent with 21st Century learning and the benefits brought on by better assessment
tools, assessment is becoming more student-centric, offering educators the insights that will
help them determine the best instructional next steps and how to make learning more
personal for the individual student.
Trading the punitive elements of policies like No Child Left Behind for the growth mindset
presented in the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), states are now able and incented to
take advantage of alternatives to the expensive, high-stakes, end-of-level tests that have
persisted for decades despite providing little benefit to the students.
Assessment Trends In 2020: A Vision For Assessing Today’s Students
A continued shift towards formative assessment
Though a list of trends this may be, the growing practice of deliberate formative assessment
is here to stay. When educators embed frequent, in-class assessments into daily instruction
they’re gathering the data they need to identify student levels of understanding, target
intervention, and evaluate their instructional practices individually and across their teams.
Formative assessments, whether graded or ungraded, can and should be carried out in a
variety of modalities (i.e. paper-and-pencil or online quizzes, verbal cues, informal
observations by the teacher, etc), with each providing nuanced insights into student
understanding that drive instruction. Teachers and students begin to view assessments as
informative rather than punitive. Differentiated, ongoing assessments should address the
varied levels of understanding that make up every classroom.
The power of formative assessment therefore lies not in the data but in how the data can be
used to inform teaching and learning.
A shift from traditional grading to standards-based grading
“When a measure becomes a target, it ceases to be a good measure.” Goodhart’s Law
Traditional grading approaches provide letter and/or number grades meant to show a
student’s overall academic standing, yet this offers students, teachers, and parents little to
no insight into what the student has actually learned.
Standards-based learning greatly benefits students by changing the conversation from
“What is my grade?” to “What do I know?” This seemingly subtle difference leads to not-so-
subtle shifts in how educators approach learning and address student levels of
understanding.
When focused on what students actually know and don’t know, teachers and stakeholders
realize the need to identify deficiencies in a student’s learning, using these insights to adjust
instruction. Students can work to achieve mastery prior to moving on to more complicated
skills and concepts. Progression is now based on understanding and readiness, rather than
by some other schedule disconnected from the student’s needs.
More than just a tactic, the standards-based grading model supports the growth mindset
behind authentic life-long learning.
A shift to more actionable assessment data
As the edtech landscape has grown, so too has the ability to gather student performance
data. The large quantities of data thus begs the question: what to do with them?
Among the shifting mindsets within K-12 education is the need for schools and districts to
move from a culture of collecting data to one of using data. Formative and benchmark
assessments provide data teachers can use, in the moment, to improve student outcomes.
By upgrading the tech tools used in the assessment process, teachers can simplify and
shorten the feedback loop, becoming increasingly accustomed to using data to drive their
instruction.
As teachers, schools, and entire districts find themselves using common platforms for
gathering and using formative and benchmark assessment data, all aligned to common
standards, such stakeholders are better able (and more willing) to collaborate around
assessment data to support resource sharing, instructional best practices, and larger
learning trends.
A shift from end-of-level testing to alternatives
With the unacceptable results of high-stakes testing persisting each year, ESSA offered
states much-needed relief with the opportunity to replace end-of-level tests with alternative,
‘innovative assessments.’
Among the alternatives being developed, breakthroughs in machine learning have allowed
psychometric models (i.e. valid and reliable) that reduce assessment seat times and
improve the quality of actionable data. These models can do far more to improve student
growth while requiring much less of the students, from a testing standpoint. It’s a win across
the board, but most importantly for the students and their academic growth.
A shift towards better assessment technology
Across the board, the world of education is growing accustomed to the presence of tech,
even coming to expect it as a part of the learning process. Teachers have moved from the
question of “Should I use technology?” (on an implementation-level, some teachers are
against technology) to “How can I integrate tech best, enhancing the learning experience
without hijacking it?” Students are increasingly comfortable with the myriad ways in which
tech allows them to gain and demonstrate skills and understanding. Even parents are
expecting more frequent and extensive insight into their child’s learning and classroom
environment, accessing such insights directly from their phone.
Whether it’s the mindset, the tech, the practice, or something yet unseen, what is certain is
that change will continue to impact our teachers and students in the classroom. When it
comes to changes in assessment, we should always seek to better understand the needs of
each student. Most importantly we must always remember that if we solicit data from
students, we have a moral obligation to use that data to directly benefit those students.
The goal of any change should always be to improve and make learning personal for each
student… that’s the change we like to see.
Assessment OF/FOR/AS Learning
Dwayne Harapnuik — December 24, 2020
https://www.harapnuik.org/?p=8475
For those who prefer a more typical written definition the New South Wales (Australia) Education
Standards Authority (2017) provide a good summary of “assessment for, as, and of learning”
Assessment of learning assists teachers in using evidence of student learning to
assess achievement against outcomes and standards. Sometimes referred to as
‘summative assessment’, it usually occurs at defined key points during a teaching work
or at the end of a unit, term or semester, and may be used to rank or grade students.
The effectiveness of assessment of learning for grading or ranking purposes depends
on the validity, reliability, and weighting placed on any one task. Its effectiveness as an
opportunity for learning depends on the nature and quality of the feedback.
Assessment for learning involves teachers using evidence about students’
knowledge, understanding, and skills to inform their teaching. Sometimes referred to as
‘formative assessment’, it usually occurs throughout the teaching and learning process
to clarify student learning and understanding.
Assessment as learning occurs when students are their own assessors. Students
monitor their own learning, ask questions and use a range of strategies to decide what
they know and can do, and how to use assessment for new learning.
The following assessment OF/FOR/AS learning table is a compilation of from a wide variety of resources
that goes a bit further than simple definitions (Chappuis et al., 2012; Fenwick & Parsons, 2009; McNamee
& Chen, 2005; Rowe, 2012; Schraw, 2001; Sparks, 1999):
Assessmen Of Learning For Learning As Learning
t
Type Summative Formative Formative
What Teachers determine Teachers and peers Learner takes
the progress or check progress and responsibility for their own
application of learning to help learning and asks
knowledge or skills learners to determine questions about their
against a standard. how to improve. learning and the learning
process and explores
how to improve.
Who Teacher Teacher & Peers Learner & Peers
How Formal assessments Involves formal and Learners use formal and
used to collect informal assessment informal feedback and
evidence of student activities as part of self-assessment to help
progress and may be learning and to inform understand the next steps
used for achievement the planning of future in learning.
grading on grades. learning.
When Periodic report Ongoing feedback Continual reflection
Why Ranking and reporting Improve learning Deeper learning and
learning how to learn
Emphasis Scoring, grades, and Feedback, support, Collaboration, reflection,
competition and collaboration and self-evaluation
If we want to encourage our learners to become more autodidactic it would then seem reasonable to shift
from assessment of learning to assessment for learning and ultimately get to assessment as learning. We
see this perspective from Lorna Earl (2012) in her highly cited text Assessment as Learning: Using
Classroom Assessment to Maximise Student Learning.
Earl’s assessment pyramids are featured in many different sources and her argument that the traditional
assessment of learning is the dominant form of assessment is widely accepted. Even though she calls for
a balance in the use of assessment of/for/as learning her revised assessment pyramid that replaces
assessment of learning with assessment as learning as the base of the pyramid still doesn’t represent a
realistic balance nor an effective way to incorporate assessment into the learning environment.
Rather than view assessment of/for/as learning as hierarchical it may be more effective to view
assessment of/for/as learning more holistically as more of an interplay of assessment within the learning
environment. The National Forum for the Enhancement of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education in
Ireland (2017) offers a wonderful perspective on assessment of/for/as learning that emphasizes the
interplay of the different types of assessment and the key roles that the assessment and the people
involved play.
While some learning theorists may desire to craft a potential learning environment that uses assessment
as learning, the reality we face, and that our learners face is not theoretical. We live in a world where we
use credentialing exams and other forms of standardized testing and while we have seen a recent move
toward implementing formative feedback most educators’ reality reveals that assessment of learning
dominates. Moving toward assessment for learning and assessment as learning will only be possible if we
look at the bigger picture. We need to help educators to recognize that we are not asking for a full
pendulum swing away from assessment of learning to assessment as learning with assessment for
learning somewhere in the middle. We are acknowledging that an interplay of all three is not only realistic
it will be the most productive approach to improving the learning environment.
We must also acknowledge that our teaching and learning environment are dramatically influenced by the
assessments we use. If we consider assessment of/for/as learning as an integral part of the learning
environment and we look to fully integrate assessment as part of the learning process then we do our
learners justice by helping them to experience a balance in the assessment of/for/as learning. If we model
an integrated approach to assessment of/for/as learning then we will be equipping our learners so that
they too can integrate assessment of/for/as learning into their own learning environments that they create
for their learners.
While this more focused examination of assessment of/for/as learning may provide a novel perspective
for some, we have been incorporating the assessment of/for/as learning inter-relationship in the creation
of our significant learning environments and when we give learners choice, ownership and voice through
authentic learning. This assessment as learning perspective is a practical way to move into what the
researcher Mizerow would argue is transformational learning. Mizerow (2000 & 2010) argues that you do
not learn things until you tell someone about what you have learned. The transformation to deeper
learning happens in the reflective process and the sharing of your learning process with others.
The entire shift toward the learner’s mindset includes the shift toward assessment as learning and you
and the following posts and video are a few examples of how we have been supporting and exploring
how to help learners become self-directed or autodidactic.
8 Formative Assessments for Social
Studies
Alicia Ivory
Checking for student understanding during the learning process in the social studies
classroom can help inform instruction. Using formative assessment is a way to evaluate
student knowledge as they learn. Formative assessment monitors learning; therefore,
teachers can use this in-the-moment feedback to guide students.
Formative assessments can range from formal to informal, and teachers can conduct
them via technology or without it. There’s no one-size-fits-all formative assessment
strategy to implement in the classroom, but there are plenty of techniques teachers can
try.
What Is Formative Assessment?
The Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO) defines formative assessment as a
process used during instruction to elicit evidence of learning to improve student
understanding. Dr. Julie Miles, Senior Vice President, Learning Sciences at HMH,
describes the purpose of formative assessment like this: “[The] primary purpose is to
inform teachers about how their students are progressing, where gaps exist in students’
learning, and how their instruction needs to be adjusted to improve student learning,
possibly by slowing down the pace, repeating instruction, or even challenging some
students with new and potentially more difficult tasks.”
It’s a normal part of learning for students to be challenged along the way. Unlike
summative assessment, which happens after the end of a course or learning activity,
formative assessment allows teachers to evaluate student comprehension on the go
and provide support where needed.
8 Formative Assessment Examples for Social Studies
We’ve provided formative assessment examples for social studies teachers can use in
their classrooms to collect the data they need to improve student learning:
1. Exit Tickets
Using exit tickets is an informal way to check for learning across subjects; this formative
assessment allows students to reflect on their learning and think critically. One benefit
of exit tickets is that teachers have much flexibility when deciding on what to include on
exit tickets. Authors of Improving Adolescent Literacy: Strategies at Work Douglas
Fisher and Nancy Frey believe exit tickets fall into three categories:
Prompts that document learning
Prompts that emphasize the process of learning
Prompts that evaluate the effectiveness of instruction
These categories aren’t all-inclusive, but no matter what, completing this process should
only take a few minutes.
Teachers can use paper, index cards, or even digital tools to create exit tickets, and
students respond to a question related to the lesson taught in class that day on the
ticket at the end of a class or lesson. The posed question might also align with a social
studies concept covered during the lesson. For example, if teaching Native American
history, an exit ticket could ask students what they know about the Native American
cultures in their local area or what they learned about that surprised them and why it
did.
Afterward, students can hand their tickets to the teacher or digitally submit their
responses. Senior assessment specialist Amanda Bratten provides more information on
implementing an exit ticket strategy into your instruction.
2. Class Discussions
Teachers can learn about students’ understanding of concepts by conducting an
informal class discussion. By evaluating classroom discourse, teachers can gain real-
time data to help guide their instruction.
Teachers can ask open-end questions to initiate the discussion and allow students to
discuss their knowledge and opinions. One egalitarian way to conduct a discussion is
using the popsicle stick formative assessment strategy. A teacher writes each student’s
name on a popsicle stick (or another item) and randomly draws a name—one by
one—to give everyone a chance to respond. This method allows for teachers to check
for gaps in understanding and, by giving everyone a chance to speak, teaches students
that their thoughts are valuable.
3. Venn Diagram
There are plenty of opportunities in social studies to make connections between topics.
A Venn diagram is a tool that can help students understand the similarities and
differences between two or more ideas. Plus, this graphic organizer can act as a
formative assessment by providing teachers insight into how much students
comprehend the topics they’re studying.
Students can create a Venn diagram on paper or using an online tool. Alternatively, they
could use a template. The Venn diagram will likely align with the lesson they’re learning
to gauge their understanding of the topic or a concept. For example, students might
compare different cultures, economic trends, or historical eras—the possibilities are
endless.
4. Polls
A poll is a quick way to check student knowledge. As a type of formative
assessment, research shows that polls can provide a range of functions, such as
assessing prior knowledge, eliciting misconceptions, and helping students recognize
their own progress. Polls are flexible in what they assess and how teachers conduct
them.
Teachers can administer polls during or after a lesson using technology or manually,
such as having students simply raise their hands. If teachers administer polls during
class, questions and responses can serve as a foundation for a class discussion. If
students respond to a poll after class, this can allow them to reflect on their learning.
5. Think-Pair-Share
Think-pair-share is a learning strategy that teachers can use across disciplines. For this
strategy, students have time to reflect individually on a posed question or prompt,
discuss their thoughts with a partner, and share their ideas during a whole-class
discussion. Not only does this strategy help students work on their speaking and
listening skills, but teachers can also gain insight into their students’ knowledge by
listening to their conversations.
Teachers might conduct this formative assessment strategy by asking an open-ended
question related to a social studies lesson and then explaining to students that each
student must think quietly before discussing the question with a partner and, later, the
entire class. After the class discussion, students might reflect on what they learned from
their partners and during the whole-class discussion.
6. Timeline
Timelines serve as visual tools to help us understand history and where events fall in
chronological order. Timelines can capture anywhere from minutes to centuries. Plus,
timelines can help students make connections. For example, students can see how
events overlap (think Martin Luther King, Jr. and Anne Frank being born in 1929).
Additionally, students can understand outcomes caused by events in history, such as
the Pearl Harbor attack launching the U.S. into World War II.
As a type of formative assessment, you can have students create or fill out
timelines based on what they’re currently studying in class. This task allows you to
gauge how much they know about where important dates and events fall in history.
7. KWL Chart
A KWL chart is a graphic organizer that helps students to synthesize what they know
(K), what they want to know (W), and what they have learned (L) about a topic.
Teachers can use this tool as a type of formative assessment because it can determine
prior student knowledge of a topic and check for understanding after instruction.
Students might answer the questions posed on the graphic organizer about a social
studies concept, such as climate change or a topic like World War II. A KWL chart can
be completed before starting a new lesson. Read more about how you can use a KWL
chart in your classroom.
8. Data-Informed Assessment
Educational technology can provide various ways to assess, and formative assessment
using technology provides plenty of benefits for teachers and students, such as:
Customizable learning goals and content
Real-time data capturing and updates
In-the-moment feedback
A safe, positive learning environment
HMH Social Studies programs, for example, feature embedded assessments that
directly align with students’ learning to check for knowledge, such as reading check
questions and opportunities to analyze videos, maps, and visuals. These tools offer
immediate feedback and reporting that inform teachers’ instruction.
Using Formative Assessment to Inform Instruction
Teachers can use the data captured from formative assessments to help inform and
differentiate their instruction. Dr. Julie Miles simply summarizes the steps teachers can
take when using assessment data: “All assessments will yield data, and this data needs
to be turned into information. Then from information, you can derive insights and take
appropriate actions.”
There’s no one-size-fits-all when choosing the formative assessment ideas for social
studies that works best for your classroom. Because of the various strategies available,
if one doesn’t work, implement another until one of them sticks.
