Inspiring & Aligned Assessments of Student Learning that are Linked to the Real World
Assessments are a necessary part of gaining knowledge, & they can help point students toward more learning in the
future. Learn how to create inspiring assessments that do just that.
Assessments are an inseparable part to gaining knowledge—especially
when they provide information & inspiration that point students toward
further learning. In order for assessments to have this impact on student
learning, they must be aligned with the learning outcomes & activities in
the course.
Inspiring Assessments
Inspiring assessments motivate, encourage, & point students toward the
next steps of their learning, while at the same time provide instructors &
administrators with multiple data points that can be used for evaluation, comparison, & grading. Inspiring assessments
are also linked to the real world in terms of their relevance to professional & ethical behaviors, skills, attitudes, &
lifelong learning.
An inspiring assessment will require students to perform measurable cognitive (or “thinking-based”) tasks within the
learning outcomes of the course. A cognitive task can be anything from answering a multiple choice question, to
analyzing a complex set of information, or to designing a power plant. An inspiring & measurable assessment task will
provide data for questions such as:
 Did the student complete the task or not?
 Did the student follow the established guidelines of quality, skill, &/or knowledge?
 Does the student understand whether or not he or she completed the task & how well he or she performed?
 Is the task relevant in the “real world” & is that relevance apparent to the student?
Because the task is measurable, the student’s work should be “scored” at whatever level makes sense, such as a
complete/incomplete score or a score along the guidelines of a rubric. The scoring of an inspiring assessment should also
include:
 What the student accomplished
 What the student did not accomplish
 Prescriptive (& encouraging)
directions/instruction regarding the next steps
the student should take along the learning path.
This scoring information should then be built into
feedback for the students that includes the above & is
immediate, informative, prescriptive, & encouraging.
Aligned Assessments
Alignment of assessments suggests the direct link
between assessments, learning outcomes, & learning
activities. Learning activities include readings, group
activities, out-of-class exercises (such as interactions on
Blackboard), & other activities that promote student
learning.
For an illustration of this type of alignment, see chart
below.
In order to ensure this alignment, make sure that each
component (assessments, outcomes, activities) has the
same action verb of what students will be able to do.
For example, if a learning outcome is that students will be able to analyze a situation or set of facts or variables, that
same verb “analyze” should be apparent in the learning activities & in the assessments that are aligned with that
outcome. For a list of action verbs that work well with student learning outcomes, activities, & assessments, see chart
below.
CATEGORIES OF IN-CLASS ASSESSMENTS AND ACTION VERBS
REMEMBER
Tell
List
Describe
Name
Repeat
Remember
Recall
Identify
State
Select
Match
Know
Locate
Report
Recognize
Observe
Chose
Who
What
Where
When
Which level of cognitive activity would be most valuable for your students?
UNDERSTAND
APPLY
ANALYZE
EVALUATE
Change
Explain
Restate
Find
Describe
Review
Relate
Define
Clarify
Illustrate
Diagram
Outline
Summarize
Interpret
Paraphrase
Transform
Compare
Similarities
Differences
Derive main idea
CREATE
Apply
Practice
Employ
Solve
Use
Demonstrate
Illustrate
Show
Report
Paint
Draw
Collect
Dramatize
Classify
Put in order
Analyze
Coordinate
Create
Dissect
Judge
Hypothesis
Detect
Select/choose
Design construct
Test
Decide
Invent
Deconstruct
Debate
Imagine
Discriminate
Evaluate
Compose
Distinguish
Justify
Pretend
Examine
Recommend
Predict
Focus
Verify
Organize
Survey
Monitor
Plan
Compare
Measure
Modify
Contrast
The best way
Improve
Classify
What worked
Suppose
Investigate
What could have Produce
Outline
been different
Set up
Structure
What is your
What if
Categorize
opinion
Propose
Same/different
Test
Formulate
Solve
Solve
Determine
(more than one
evidence and
answer)
conclusions
For a quick overview on how to ensure that your assessments are aligned with your learning outcomes & activities, see
the charts below.
By employing this or other methods of analysis, instructors can ensure and even document how their learning outcomes,
activities, and assessments are aligned and complement each other. This documentation is useful for students in
understanding how their learning and performance is related to meaningful and relevant outcomes. In addition, this
exercise can also be invaluable in course/program evaluation, improvement of student learning and documentation for
accreditation.
In summary, inspiring & aligned assessments of student learning should have the following characteristics:
 Map to the same action verbs that reflect the tasks students should be able to perform.
 Student tasks in the assessment should be measurable.
 Data from student performance should be useful for feedback that is inspiring for the students.
Include tasks that have “real world relevance” for students to perform.
Halverson, Taylor. 2015. Inspiring and aligned assessments of student learning that are linked to the real world. Brigham Young University Center
for Teaching & Learning. http://ctl.byu.edu/tip/inspiring-and-aligned-assessments-student-learning-are-linked-real-world