Assessment Strategies

Assessment strategies like active learning and frequent low-stakes assessments are powerful strategies for enhancing student engagement, reducing anxiety, and deepening long-term knowledge retention. These following two methods emphasize continuous application, collaboration, and feedback, fostering a dynamic learning environment.

If you'd like to consult with instructional designers about designing and creating an alternative assessment, please feel free to email idteam@ksu.edu.

Active Learning & Collaborative Exams

What is it? Active learning and collaborative exams are methods that ask students to engage by discussing, investigating, creating, and applying new knowledge. Assessments are often group-based and collaborative.

Why is it Effective? Active learning enhances student learning experiences by encoding information and strengthening neural pathways through application. Timely and frequent feedback helps students correct misconceptions and develop deeper understanding.

How to Implement:

Two-Stage Collaborative Exams: Implement the exam in two distinct phases: first, a solo phase where students complete the test individually (e.g., allocated two-thirds of the time), followed immediately by a group phase where they collaborate on the same exam. This structure ensures both individual accountability and engagement in active, collaborative learning.

Formative Assessments: Use activities that create artifacts of learning students can produce during or before class, or activities that require students to work together and share their work during class time. To maximize discussion, use shorter, conceptually focused questions rather than long problems, which can lead to students simply dividing the work. Additionally, limit collaboration to small groups (3-4 students), as this size is most successful for problem-solving and ensures all members contribute.

Weighted, Non-Punitive Grading Scheme: Grade the assessment by heavily weighting the solo score (typically 75–85% of the total grade) and dedicating a smaller percentage to the group score (typically 15–25%). Critically, ensure students are not penalized in the group phase; they should receive at least their individual score for the group component, which reduces anxiety and encourages authentic participation.

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Frequent Low-Stakes Testing

What is it? Utilizing tests or quizzes that carry a small amount of weight toward the final grade. Frequent-low stakes testing allows instructors to scaffold information and assess understanding continuously.

Why is it Effective? Provides "more learning, less stress." This frequency encourages continuous studying, acts as a self-check for students, and provides immediate feedback to the instructor on areas needing re-teaching.

How to Implement:

Weekly Quizzes: Replace high-stakes assessments (like one or two midterms) with more frequent quizzes (e.g., one quiz every weeks).This design promotes retrieval learning and long-term retention while significantly lowering student stress. This might look like short (5-10 question) quizzes, potentially allowing students to drop the lowest one or two scores.

Pre-Reading Checks: Assign simple quizzes on the main concepts of a reading before the class discussion to ensure preparation.

Require Explanation: For digital quizzes, require students to submit a written explanation for two of their multiple-choice answers, transforming a simple recall question into a short-answer analysis to maintain rigor.

Resource:

"MIT 'Frequent Low-Stakes Testing: More Learning, Less Stress'"

Traditional Assessments

What is it? Standardized assessments, sometimes online but often in paper format, using multiple-choice, True/False, fill-in-the-blank, and short answer questions.

Why is it Effective? Can test a broad range of content quickly and efficiently, especially when questions are written well to assess various levels of learning outcomes.

How to Implement:

Explaining the Selection: Require students to explain why their chosen answer for a multiple-choice question is correct, or why the alternative answers are incorrect.

Writing Good Questions: Follow guidelines for constructing effective questions that promote higher-order thinking.

Scenario-Based Items: Frame questions within a short scenario or case to test application and evaluation skills (e.g., "Based on the data presented in this graph, which theoretical model least accurately predicts the outcome, and why?").

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