Today we’re diving into… Assessments! In this blog article, we will be comparing objective and performative assessments, as well as looking at their standardization, and the advantages and disadvantages of these two kinds of assessment.
To begin, let’s look at the definitions of Objective Assessment and Performance Assessment. ( Seifert & Sutton, 2009) Objective Assessments are assessments that measure students’ progress using quantitative data. Objective Assessments often come in the form of multiple-choice questions, true/false questions, and extended matching questions. Performance Assessment is when “student completes a specific task while teachers observe the process or procedure.” As the term might indicate, performance assessments are more “performative” in nature, in that they present more complex tasks (such as writing an analysis, performing on a musical instrument, or through skits on the selected topic).
What are the advantages and disadvantages of using Objective assessments? (Subjective vs. Objective Assessment, n.d.) Well, objective assessments, due to its quantitative nature, allow for all students to be assessed fairly and to see how well they are able to understand core material. Additionally, another advantage is that objective assessments are seen to be reliable: If a student passes a written assessment on cell anatomy, then that teacher can assume that the student is able to understand the information presented in class. On the other hand, some teachers (McCambridge, n.d.) can also be seen as unreliable: this is due to the idea that “regurgitating historical facts” for a history exam doesn’t mean that a student is able to critically analyze information presented in class. (Darling-Hammond, & Adamson, 2010) One researcher remarked that “I have seen more students who can pass the [state test] but cannot apply those skills to anything if it’s not in the test format. I have students who can do the test but can’t look up words in a dictionary and understand the different meanings…. “
What are the advantages and disadvantages of using Performance assessments? (Stecher, 2010) Performance assessments allow for students to complete tasks that are more similar to real-life tasks and projects, instead of choosing a predetermined option like on an objective assessment. Also, performance assessments allow teachers to evaluate students’ critical thinking skills in addition to providing answers in different contexts, which a teacher wouldn’t be able to accurately evaluate on an objective assessment. However, performance assessments, since they rely on the “…instructor’s professionally developed awareness of quality in academic or other work…”, this means that a performance assessment is more prone to bias grading than an objective assessment (Subjective v.s. Objective Assessment, n.d.). Additionally, if a performance assessment is not carefully guided and controlled, a student may present information inconsistent with the teacher’s objectives and lack information to see if the students understand certain concepts and skills taught in the classroom (McCambridge, n.d.). This last concern however, may be combated with a clear rubric and a standardization of performance assessments.
Both performance assessments and objective assessments are integral to teaching, so what are some ways that you can balance their usage?
References:
Seifert, K., & Sutton, R. (2009). Educational Psychology(2nd ed.). Retrieved June 24, 2019.
(n.d.). Subjective vs. Objective Assessment Retrieved from http://www.iupui.edu/~idd/assessment_strategies/asm_3.05.htm
Darling-Hammond, L. & Adamson, F. (2010). Beyond basic skills: The role
of performance assessment in achieving 21st century standards of learning. Stanford, CA: Stanford University, Stanford Center for Opportunity Policy in Education.
Stecher, B. (2010). Performance Assessment in an Era of Standards-Based
Educational Accountability. Stanford, CA: Stanford University, Stanford Center for Opportunity Policy in Education.
McCambridge, T. R. (n.d.). Performance Assessment, One. Retrieved June 23, 2019, from http://public.callutheran.edu/~mccamb/performanceassessment1.htm
Pearson North America (2015, August 26). Retrieved June 24, 2019, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VZKhc3_2k4Q
Brunold, T. (2009, August 26). Retrieved June 24, 2019, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AvfNl2_ypyA
summeredublog 
Here are my thoughts on multiple choice tests (please keep in mind that I am writing this from the perspective of a chemistry teacher). Multiple choice tests are actually very hard to write – easy to grade – but very hard to write properly. When preparing a multiple-choice test, as the teacher you must: (i) strive to minimize ambiguity, (ii) choose or prepare questions that reflect the course’s objectives, (iii) make sure the distribution of questions are in line with how you covered the material in class and how much time you spent on each topic, (iv) be cognizant of what you are asking in terms of the student’s thinking (i.e, know where your question resides within Bloom’s Taxonomy), and (v) have a plan when designing the test and a plan for analyzing the test results.
If you are using a textbook (typical for chemistry) and choose to use questions from a test bank, the questions in the test bank will most likely have qualitative and semi-quantitative descriptors that reflect the topic, the difficulty, and the Bloom level to aid you in preparing the test.
If you design the test properly and understand the significance each question, when you analyze the results, the test can be powerful on many levels because it has the potential to inform you about each individual student’s standing with respect to their knowledge and comprehension of each individual topic (the bottom of Bloom’s triangle), and how they are transitioning from those low-level thinking skills to high-level thinking skills such as application and analysis. On the other hand, if you look at the results of a class’s multiple-choice test in their entirety, you get quantitative feedback on how you as the teacher effectively covered each topic.
Just my $0.02
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Dave, I really appreciate your input from the perspective of a teacher who is creating the multiple choice test. I remember taking multiple choice tests in Chemistry a few years back, and now that I think about it, I remember the extreme detail in each question. I also agree that there is power in creating questions that are significant to the learner – more questions that may ask the learner to apply the learner information and problem solve to get the right answer. Our Chemistry tests always allowed for 2.5 hours for this reason; we needed to map out each question and creatively walk through it based on what we learned. In that effect, the question itself became more of an engaging assignment.
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There is certainly value in objective assessment such as multiple choice. However, I think that it should be applied with low stakes and spread throughout the curriculum. Since multiple choice is primarily checking for comprehension/understanding/remembering, that feedback needs to come earlier in the learning process rather than later, so that the teacher can adjust the curriculum as necessary if students aren’t achieving goals. But I think that other forms of assessment requiring more complex thinking should take place at the end of a unit or lesson, by which point students have hopefully learned the content on a deeper level than just comprehension.
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I think you pose an important question. As educators, we are given all this information of what you should use and what you shouldn’t, but there isn’t a guideline that shows how to properly use each one and how much each type of assessment (matching, T/F, long answer, performance, etc.) should be used. I feel like it’s a tough concept to understand until we have to actually make a test and see how different combinations work out in an actual classroom, not just in theory. Thanks for the read, good food for thought!
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One thing I’d like to see within this discussion is how grades tie into tests. Personally, I think grades are a complete waste of time and an underpinning of colonialism in education. If we tie assessments to grades, are assessments actually testing learning or do they become a means to an end? I think assessments very often become grade-focused rather than learning-focused.
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That’s a really interesting view point. I remember stressing about a grade and my mom firmly telling me that they have no actual value and are not good reflection of learning. I wasn’t focused on learning, I was often focused on grades which became very stressful. But that is somewhat pointless, we need to know how to learn.
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This was exactly the experience I had with education until this year (or maybe last). I wanted to be the 4.0 student, but when I look back on it, I could have done so many other things if I didn’t have the constant worry about my grades. I agree that grades are “somewhat pointless”, but I don’t think our society is going to change the grading system. Would an education system without grades work?
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I think you bring up a good point. Looking at a more learning focused model, I would be interested to see how students are given feedback and teachers are held accountable. I guess my question is how do you focus learning without some type of measure? Not that I am a huge fan of grades myself, but in some ways they do provide help to show what material was or wasn’t mastered.
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To throw yet another wrench into this issue.. We also have to keep in mind that depending on the assignment, the feedback we get from performance assessments can be misleading. By this I mean that to do a performance assessment requires knowledge on the content as well as other skills like critical thinking skills, writing, creativity, and communication skills to name a few. So we have to be aware if students “lose points” because they don’t fully understand the material or because they need continued practice on other skills.
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As a Health and Physical education major the idea of performance assessments is essential when thinking about my own teaching. When giving students health information is it important that they can quote statistics on STIs and teenage pregnancy or should the focus be on their ability to present a list of resources in their community where they can access health information and services? I would never choose to give a written test in physical education on proper form from activity to activity, but would consider a written assignment where students design their own personal fitness plans. Performance assessments feel much more aligned with the subjects I am teaching and I am grateful for more information on how to choose and implement them.
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I have to agree with Katie here, as reading the whole thing i was thinking as a Health and Physical Education major that performance assessments are a huge for grading. I would find it very hard to give a multiple choice test for physical education. In the health aspect of it i could understand giving an objective assessment. Just as Katie said giving a written assignment would be very difficult in our area. I think the type of testing, grading, assessments teachers do really depend on how their students can test and their area they are in. Great job showing the advantages and disadvantages of both!
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Your post really goes to show the delicate balance of incorporating state standards in teaching while at the same time promoting deep thinking in important concepts. I understand that assessments are based more so on accountability for teachers to make sure that they are doing their job but at the same time to benefit the students I feel there needs to be some sort of restructuring so as to give qualified educators more freedom to teach what they feel is important.
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I like how some folks are commenting about how objective assessments are useful to the teacher to see how they are reaching their goals of teaching content. I think objective assessments can be useful as formative assessment, like a barometer to see how much info students are capturing and to inform students and teachers of what they need to continue to work on. For summative assessments though, I prefer performance assessments. I think the next steps that are essential to learning the material are applying it to something real. It’s hard to do that in a multiple-choice format.
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There is a movement to rid the educational system of grades. You can check out this opinion piece here: https://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2018/01/10/no-students-dont-need-grades.html
Within the article, the author states “…teachers would learn how to effectively assess academic performance, and students would become independent learners, driven by curiosity and inspiration rather than by the empty promise of a “good” grade or the threat of a “bad” one.”
Whether you start working in a school that uses traditional hodge-podge grading systems, standards-based grading, progress reports, or no grades at all; it’s important to continue to unpack how you will effectively assess the academic performance of your students. One thing to keep in mind, grades should improve when students learn at higher levels which shows progress in their knowledge, understanding, and skills.
Here are some aspects of assessment that might be helpful for you to continue to chew on:
-Tracking goal attainment established by the student and by the teacher.
-Providing specific feedback that facilitates revisions toward mastery.
-Determining a student’s overall grade in a course by evaluating their performance on a series of assessments (both formative and summative).
-Requiring students to complete additional practice prior to retaking an assessment. This relearning could include completing additional practice problems, a tutoring session, re-reading lab procedures, taking a metacognitive assessment, etc.
-Communicating with parents about their child’s academic performance, work habits and behavior (Variables such as effort, participation, timeliness, cooperation, attitude and attendance may be reported separately, not as an indicator of a student’s academic performance.)
-Learning happens at varying rates, therefore students who did not demonstrate understanding by an initially specified date should be allowed to demonstrate understanding at a later date.
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I think performance tests are much more beneficial in the long-term for students, but they require a skilled and savvy teacher. Objective tests may be more ‘exact’ and make it easier to pinpoint areas of need, but like you brought up in the blog, students may begin to not be able to perform tasks outside of school unless it is in ‘test’ format.
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