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Assessment

  • Part 5: Designing for Integrity in the AI Era

    Part 5 of the “Introduction to Effective Assessments” Playlist In the previous articles in this series, we explored the foundations of effective assessment design. We examined how assessments can empower learning, how validity, reliability, and alignment ensure that assessments measure what they claim to measure, how instructors can choose strategies suited to their teaching context,…

  • Part 4: What Your Grading Formula Really Communicates

    Part 4 of the “Introduction to Effective Assessments” Playlist In the first three parts of this series, we explored how effective assessments support learning, how validity, reliability, and alignment make assessments trustworthy, and how instructors can choose strategies that fit their teaching context. But assessment design does not stop with choosing assignments. Equally important is…

  • Part 3: Choosing the Right Assessment Strategy for Your Context

    Part 3 of the “Introduction to Effective Assessments” Playlist In the first two parts of this series, we explored the purpose of assessment and the qualities that make assessments trustworthy. We discussed how effective assessment ecosystems combine multiple approaches and how validity, reliability, and alignment ensure that assessments truly measure learning. But even well-aligned assessments…

  • Part 2: What Makes an Assessment Trustworthy?

    Part 2 of the “Introduction to Effective Assessments” Playlist. Assessment design is one of the most important responsibilities instructors take on. A well-crafted assessment gives students the chance to demonstrate genuine learning. A poorly designed one risks confusing, discouraging, or even misrepresenting what students know. So how do we know whether an assessment is good?…

  • Part 1: Moving Beyond Grades: Rethinking Assessment in Higher Education

    Part 1 of the “Introduction to Effective Assessments” Playlist When most of us think of assessment, grades immediately come to mind. Exams, papers, and quizzes are treated as checkpoints or hurdles students must clear to earn credit. This framing positions assessment as judgment, with the instructor holding the final word on what counts as “success.”…

  • Fair Assignments: Designing Transparent Assignments via the Grading Criteria

    Learning Objectives Introduction This part 4 of a 4 part series of articles on Transparent Assignment Design (Part 1, Part 2. In our exploration of Transparent Assignment Design (TAD), we’ve delved into two of three foundational lements to crafting transparent assignments: understanding the importance of and writing out a motivating purpose and clear task directions.…

  • You’ve Asked Students for Mid-semester Feedback. What’s Next?

    1. Review the feedback You want to ensure students feel their feedback is valuable to you and the course, so keep your students abreast on where you are in the review process. Are you synthesizing data? Noting key themes? Maybe you’re working on a way to present the anonymous findings back to your class. Regardless, review the…

  • Preparing Students for Providing Mid-semester Feedback

    So you’ve built a mid-semester feedback instrument for your course. What’s next? Explain to students why you are collecting anonymous feedback in the middle of the semester.  Provide an overview of the process, including when it will take place, how you plan to use the feedback, and when you will share results with the class.…

  • Building Anonymous Surveys for Formative Feedback

    One of the key aspects of colleting formative feedback is that the respondents are confident their responses are anonymous. Specifically, when it comes to classroom mid-semester feedback, it is imperative that students understand their comments cannot be traced back to their identity (and cannot negatively impact their course grade).  Three examples of platforms you can…

  • Mid-Semester Feedback Questions

    Foundations of the Hub’s Mid-Semester Feedback Instrument: Generally, mid-semester feedback is formative and focuses on three basic questions:  1.What would students like to see more of?  2.What would students like to see less of?  3.What would students like to see done differently?  The sample questions provided can be used to build an insturment for students…