A framework for Assessment development
Establishing what you are going to assess:
In order to establish your course assessments/evaluations it is important to keep the following three
questions in mind.
1. Is it good teaching practice? (does the assessment align with the outcomes?)
2. Is it good assessment strategy*? (are you using the right tool to shape or measure the learning?)
3. Is it transparent? (can the student access the information easily, and is all information available
in a timely fashion?)
Assessment structures suggestions for course outlines:
Ultimately it is the faculty members’ decision as to what they are doing in terms of measuring, the
different structures provided here are guidelines to help you formulate your course lay out.
What does this mean?
Examples of Outcomes
to be measured:
Some examples
Administrative
Pedagogical
Outcomes (skills
based)
Assessments are set up
according to the ‘way’
the learning outcomes
are measured.
Mapping what
assessments measure
what outcome(s) is
completed
Solve problems
associated with
magnetic energy:
This could be
administered as a ‘test’
with specific problems
related to magnetic
energy, for the student
to solve
Assessments are set up
according to “how’ the
learning outcomes are
measured. Mapping
what assessments
measure what
outcome(s) is
completed
Solve problems
associated with
magnetic energy:
Student demonstrates
the problem solution in
a shop environment
Assessments are set up
according to ‘what’ the
outcomes is and
measurement is
designed to specifically
measure the outcome
(s)
Assume various roles
and
responsibilities,
under supervision, on a
field crew.
A project to present
various
roles
and
responsibilities of a
field crew
Assume various roles
and responsibilities,
under supervision, on
a field crew.
Students demonstrate
in a lab/field crew
environment the
various roles and
responsibilities
Tests
Projects
Application: practical
demonstration, clinical
Assume various roles
and
responsibilities,
under supervision, on a
field crew.
Students are assessed
in a real world
environment on the
roles and
responsibilities of their
part in the field crew
Each outcome is
mapped to an
Solve problems
associated with
magnetic energy:
Student performs this
task in a real world
problem
solving
situation
1|Page
A framework for Assessment development
Assignments
Exams
When would this
assessment structure
be more applicable?
practice,
demonstrating how the
theory works
Extrapolation: not
applicable to all college
programs, but an
indicator of the student
can synthesize the
information given to
them
This type of structure is
practical if you need or
want to distinguish
between what the
student understands
and what the student
can do. This type of
breakdown works well
for formative
assessments
assessment. An
assessment can
measure more than
one outcome.
However, you have to
demonstrate each
outcome is being
measured.
Administrative
Pedagogical
Outcomes (skills
based)
All outcomes need to
be measured.
All outcomes need to
be measured.
All outcomes need to
be measured.
This depends upon
your assessment
strategy, there is no
one formula. It must
align with what you are
trying to achieve in
measuring the various
outcomes of the
course. As a best
practice, no single
assessment should
account for more than
This depends on how
you weight theory and
application within the
course. What do the
outcomes require?
As a best practice, no
single assessment
should account for
more than 30$ towards
the final mark.
How important is each
outcomes to the
overall knowledge of
the course? Each
outcomes may be
weighted evenly or one
outcome can be more
weighted then the
others
As a best practice, no
single assessment
should account for
This type of structure is
very practical and easy
for everyone to
understand. It applies
well to theory based
courses with little
practical component.
This type of breakdown
works well for
formative assessments
This type of structure is
practical when you
have discrete
outcomes that you
want or need to
measure individually.
This works well for
formative assessments
Building Assessments
Some things to think about:
How many
Assessments
should/can I have?
What percentage of
the final mark should
each assessment be?
2|Page
A framework for Assessment development
Administrative
What do I put in each
assessment?
Where do I record
what my Assessments
are?
How do I build in
formative
assessments**?
Do I have to have a
final exam? Or any
exams?
30$ towards the final
mark.
Each assessment
should have
measurement tools
that reflect the
importance or weight
of the outcome. A
balance between too
much and not enough
is an assessment
strategy for you to
develop
On your course outline
Formative assessments
can be built in as
quizzes, projects, class
presentations, really
any way you want
Not necessarily, if the
learning can be
measured through
quizzes, tests and/or
projects then a final
exam may not be
necessary. Is there any
external crediting
agency which may
require you to have a
Summative
assessment*** in this
course?
Pedagogical
This depends on what
would be the best
assessment strategy to
measure theory or
application. Theory
can be measured
through a test, but also
through project work,
class presentations, or
individual
demonstration
On your course outline
Outcomes (skills
based)
more than 30$ towards
the final mark.
Each assessment would
have an outcome(s) to
be evaluated If you
wanted to define two
outcomes in one
measure than you may
want to use one of the
other two methods of
building Assessments
On your course outline
Formative assessments
can be built in as either
measures of theory or
application
Formative assessments
can be built into each
outcome
Not necessarily, if the
learning can be
measured through
quizzes, tests and/or
projects then a final
exam may not be
necessary. Is there any
external crediting
agency which may
require you to have a
Summative
assessment*** in this
course?
Not necessarily, if the
learning can be
measured through
quizzes, tests and/or
projects then a final
exam may not be
necessary. Is there any
external crediting
agency which may
require you to have a
Summative
assessment*** in this
course?
Some terms to think about:
3|Page
A framework for Assessment development
*Assessment strategy
Assessments should reveal how well students have learned what we want them to learn while
instruction ensures that they learn it. For this to occur, assessments, learning objectives, and
instructional strategies need to be closely aligned so that they reinforce one another.
To ensure that these three components of your course are aligned, ask yourself the following
questions:



Learning objectives: What do I want students to know how to do when they leave this
course?
Assessments: What kinds of tasks will reveal whether students have achieved the
learning objectives I have identified?
Instructional strategies: What kinds of activities in and out of class will reinforce my
learning objectives and prepare students for assessments?
From Carnegie Mellon: http://www.cmu.edu/teaching/assessment/basics/alignment.html
**Formative assessment
The goal of formative assessment is to monitor student learning to provide ongoing feedback
that can be used by instructors to improve their teaching and by students to improve their
learning. More specifically, formative assessments:


help students identify their strengths and weaknesses and target areas that need work
help faculty recognize where students are struggling and address problems immediately
Formative assessments are generally low stakes, which means that they have low or no point
value. Examples of formative assessments include asking students to:



draw a concept map in class to represent their understanding of a topic
submit one or two sentences identifying the main point of a lecture
turn in a research proposal for early feedback
From Carnegie Melon: http://www.cmu.edu/teaching/assessment/basics/formative-summative.html
***Summative assessment
The goal of summative assessment is to evaluate student learning at the end of an instructional
unit by comparing it against some standard or benchmark.
Summative assessments are often high stakes, which means that they have a high point value.
Examples of summative assessments include:

a midterm exam
4|Page
A framework for Assessment development



a final project
a paper
a senior recital
Information from summative assessments can be used formatively when students or faculty use it
to guide their efforts and activities in subsequent courses.
From Carnegie Mellon: http://www.cmu.edu/teaching/assessment/basics/formative-summative.html
5|Page