Beyond Tests and Quizzes: Creative Assessments in the College Classroom

Beyond Tests and Quizzes

Because the drive toward external assessment speaks almost exclusively in terms of standardized testing, we need to be reminded of the internal purposes of assessment: measuring learning for both student and teacher so that instruction can be adjusted and improved. This book is written for college instructors who are striving to creatively change assessment practice to better reflect learner-centered teaching. It is intended to consider not only the multiple ways in which individuals learn content, but also the multiple avenues to assessment the variety of learning styles demands.

Creative assessment is defined here as assessments that spin, twist, and reform what might be a standard kind of assessment in an ordinary classroom. Instructors should use these examples of creative assessment as starting points, and as the beginnings of an internal discussion on what matters most in the courses they teach: What components of each course count the most for solving a range of problems in the discipline? If facts are important, and they usually are, how can they be used to support a flexible approach to thinking, solving, considering options, and gathering and interpreting evidence? What are the facts not telling us?

The approaches suggested in this book focus on learning, on what students can do as a result of learning, and on how teachers can observe what students do. The assessment models presented here include concept mapping, variable grading, learning logs, moving from memorization to analysis, making labs more practical, exams as learning experiences, web-based assessment, thinking styles, tracking learning over time, and assessment in the real world. Each translates to a range of academic settings and is easily adaptable for use by a variety of instructors in any discipline.