Aligning Assessment to Learning Outcomes with "Backward Design"
Alignment with “Backward Design”
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We can see assessments as being one piece in the essential framework of a teaching and learning experience.
Whether you are designing practical hands-on assessments or a written academic paper, it is essential that whatever you have your learners doing relates directly to your stated learning outcomes. Otherwise, you run the risk of asking your learners to do something for which they have not been prepared.
Understanding “alignment” in course design
Course design alignment between learning outcomes, learning activities, and assessments is a fundamental principle in education. This alignment ensures that the course objectives are effectively met and that learners have a clear and coherent learning experience. Several educational theorists and researchers have emphasized the importance of alignment in course design. Here’s an explanation of this concept with references to support it:
Alignment in course design refers to the intentional and systematic coordination of three key components:
These are the specific, measurable, and observable statements that describe what learners should know, understand, and be able to do by the end of a course or learning experience. Learning outcomes set the direction for the course and provide a clear understanding of what is expected of learners.
These are the methods, activities, and instructional approaches used by educators to facilitate learning. They encompass lectures, discussions, group work, assignments, projects, and various teaching techniques employed to help learners achieve the learning outcomes.
Alignment between these components ensures that each element supports and reinforces the others, creating a cohesive, transparent, and effective learning experience. Alignment provides the following indicators to help instructors gauge the learner’s development:
Learning outcomes serve as a roadmap for course design. They provide clarity on what learners should learn, as well as the depth and breadth of that learning, allowing instructors to select appropriate learning activities and assessments that directly align with these outcomes.
When learning activities and teaching strategies align with the learning outcomes, learners are more likely to see the relevance of their learning and identify what is expected of them. Engaging activities that connect to the desired outcomes can enhance motivation and interest in the subject matter. Alignment of these components further supports learners’ development of deep learning, often associated with the ability to make meaning or sense of the knowledge acquired, compared to surface learning, which, as suggested, shows limited knowledge acquired.
Assessments should measure the extent to which learners have achieved the intended learning outcomes. When alignment exists, assessments become reliable indicators of learner proficiency, providing instructors with valuable data on learner performance.
Alignment enables a feedback loop for instructors to assess whether learners are making progress toward the desired outcomes. If learners are not meeting the outcomes, adjustments can be made to teaching strategies and activities to better align with the activities and assessments.
Putting Alignment into Practice (i.e. Backward Design)
In order to develop learning outcomes, it helps to think about the skill(s) and information you want the learners to gain by the end of the course. For a much more detailed discussion about learning outcomes and their composition, please refer to our JIBC Guide to Developing Course and Program Goals and Learning Outcomes.
With assessments, we should see a reflection of your intentions in your learning outcomes, both in the type of action expected of learners as well as the depth and type of learning.
Consider a course learning outcome that seeks to reflect the requirements of the employers.
For example:
The employers require their employees to perform CPR.
Learning outcome:
At the end of this course, learners will be able to perform CPR according to industry-specific standards.
From learning outcome to assessment
Then, to design the assessment, refer to one learning outcome at a time, and ensure that you are assessing the particular skill listed under the learning outcome.
In the above example the assessment would be:
- Perform cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) on a training manikin in accordance with current workplace first aid and resuscitation guidelines. This includes assessing the scene for safety, evaluating the condition of the individual, initiating chest compressions and rescue breaths, using an automated external defibrillator (AED), and communicating effectively with team members and emergency services as part of a coordinated workplace emergency response.
In the above example, since the learning outcome involves an action, the assessment is to demonstrate the process (practical) and not explain (theoretical). Explaining the process would be a necessary subordinate step along the way in this learning experience, but the ultimate assessment would necessarily involve the actual practice, even if only in a simulated environment.
From outcome to assessment to activity
The last stage of backward design is learning experiences or teaching activities. These activities should teach the students what you are going to assess them on. You should not assess learners on something they are not learning. For the example here, at a very basic level, the learning activity might be something like:
- The instructor introduces the meaning of CPR and its importance.
- The instructor explains the steps of CPR and then demonstrates it on a manikin.
- The instructor asks students to practice CPR on the manikin while supervising them.
With your newly composed learning outcomes, you should have a much clearer idea of what students need to do to demonstrate their learning. By clearly defining what students should know, be able to do, or value by the end of a course, you can create assessments that align with these outcomes.
For example, if a learning outcome focuses on critical thinking, the assessment might include case studies or problem-solving tasks that require students to analyze and evaluate information. Conversely, for the same outcome, we can anticipate that a set of closed multiple-choice questions will likely not allow students to demonstrate critical thinking. Similarly, if a learning outcome emphasizes practical skills, the assessment could involve hands-on projects or demonstrations. Your goal as a designer of the course is to ensure that your assessments are meaningful, targeted, and reflective of the intended educational goals and learning outcomes.
Alignment Guide (Course Level)
Use the following table to align your learning outcomes to activities and assessments.
Equity-minded considerations
Designing courses necessarily depends upon the clear alignment between learning outcomes, learning activities and assessment strategies. This itself is a considerable task in the curriculum development process. Additionally, in recent years, educators have become much more mindful of the type of assessment to include in this alignment, giving much more attention to questions of inclusion and equity. As it turns out, a sharper focus on inclusion and equity helps ensure that assessments maintain rigour and depth while being more available and practical for a wider variety of students.
Equity-minded design overlaps with several other perspectives in the educational environment, depending on how one approaches course design work. Some educators will recognize equity-minded design as upholding principles of trauma-informed practice, particularly as applied to teaching and learning contexts. Others may recognize characteristics of culturally responsive teaching and Indigenization practices, as well as inclusive teaching. Course designers who apply principles of Universal Design for Learning (UDL) will also recognize equity-minded principles in their own assessment design practices. These are all concepts that can be seen as interweaving, with each bringing a different but important focus but working toward a common goal of helping all students succeed in their efforts to learn and develop their skills and knowledge.
We should acknowledge that equity-minded design can apply to the process of design as well as the final products in the assessments themselves. This process involves the designers recognizing their own biases and limitations in conjunction with the invitation to students to participate in the design process. Assessments that are produced in this manner are more likely to be more equitable and coherent as a result, as well as demonstrating the following characteristics:
- Cultural relevance and sensitivity to the diverse backgrounds and experiences of students. This includes incorporating examples, language, and contexts that are familiar and accessible to all students.
- Recognizing limitations and mistakes of the past in educational systems and structures that served to reproduce power imbalances among different groups of people based on their identities.
- Variety in the use of measures to capture the diverse strengths and abilities of students. For example, projects, portfolios, presentations, and performance assessments.
- Use of reviewing rubrics to identify and eliminate biases that could disadvantage certain groups of students. This involves ensuring that assessment content is relevant, fair, and free from stereotypes or cultural assumptions.
- Clear and transparent criteria provided to students to help them understand what is expected of them in assessments. These criteria can be used to inform a grading rubric.
- Prioritizing accessibility for all students, including those with disabilities or learning differences. This may involve providing accommodations, such as extended time or alternative formats, to ensure that every student has an equal opportunity to demonstrate their knowledge and skills.
- Provision of timely feedback. This involves providing timely and constructive feedback that helps students understand their strengths and areas for improvement, and that empowers them to take ownership of their learning.
- A focus on continuous improvement rather than correction or punishment. Equity-minded assessment is an ongoing process that involves reflection, evaluation, and continuous improvement.
As you develop your assessments, it is important to be able to review your own practices and design choices so that your assessments not only align with your teaching, but you hold yourself to the same standards that you expect of your students. Like any industry, the educational practices we grew up with have evolved over time, taking into consideration new ideas, research discoveries, and evidence-based practices. Sometimes it is difficult to break away from the systems and structures that we came through ourselves as students. But if we recognize that those systems were not perfect to begin with, then we can begin to think more creatively and openly about how to improve our practices, and equity-minded design offers good ideas in that direction. Change to assessment does not need to happen all at once. It is possible to improve courses over time with thoughtful revisions and adjustments taking all of the above into account and committing to staying in touch with educational developments in the areas of teaching and instructional design.
Incorporating Universal Design for Learning into Backward Design
As described above, Universal Design for Learning (UDL) is a proactive framework that guides the creation of flexible learning environments and assessments that accommodate the diverse needs of all learners. Rather than retrofitting accommodations after the fact, UDL encourages instructors to design assessments that are accessible and meaningful from the outset.
Adopting a UDL approach requires a shift in perspective: think of assessments not as endpoints but as ongoing check-ins that guide the expansion of student knowledge. This entails:
- Prioritizing clarity in learning outcomes and objectives to align assessments meaningfully with course goals.
- Balancing high-stake and low-stake assessments to encourage continuous engagement and learning.
- Managing workloads thoughtfully to ensure assessments are meaningful and doable.
- Utilizing feedback and rubrics to provide clear, actionable insights into student performance.
We only improve as professional educators with ongoing reflection and revision of our practices. In this way, our growth as educators never ceases. It is important to consider how assessments can be redesigned to better support all students, suggesting a thoughtful examination of barriers and potential UDL-informed solutions. Engage with students in this process to ensure assessments are relevant, challenging, and aligned with their learning goals.
If you take a deep dive into UDL, you commit to an educational practice that values diversity, inclusivity, and meaningful learning. Implementing UDL in assessment design enriches the learning experience for students and overall adds depth to your repertoire as an instructor.
Examples:
School of Criminal Justice & Security:
In a Corrections and Rehabilitation course, students could choose to write a policy brief, design a restorative justice circle protocol, or create a visual mind map explaining rehabilitative models in correctional institutions.
School of Health, Community and Social Justice:
A Health Emergency Management course might let students choose between developing a response plan as a written document, a narrated presentation, or a collaborative simulation project.
School of Community and Social Justice:
In a Gender-Based Violence Prevention course, students could submit an advocacy toolkit, write a letter to a policymaker, or build a resource website to raise awareness each assessed using the same rubric but allowing varied modes of expression.