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DEFINITIONS

Neccessary key terms for describing the contents

When developing assessments, a few key terms are necessary for describing the contents of a given course, for both reviewers and students.

On this page:

Assessment

Assessment refers to the systematic process of evaluating, measuring, and documenting the academic readiness, learning progress, skill acquisition, or educational needs of learners. We use assessments to gather data and insights to improve teaching efficacy, enhance learner comprehension and knowledge, and ensure that educational objectives are being met.
Assessments can take various forms, including but not limited to, written tests, practical examinations, portfolios, and oral presentations, and are often used for grading, feedback, and instructional refinement purposes.
Most importantly, assessments are one of your best indicators to identify strengths, weaknesses, and areas of improvement for each learner, allowing for personalized learning experiences and tailored instructional approaches. Assessments also play a crucial role in ensuring that your teaching methods and curriculum designs are effectively supporting learners to achieve the desired learning outcomes and reveal areas of improvement for learning. If your goal is to help learners succeed, then assessments serve as a mechanism to help you with that goal.
From the broad definition of assessment, we can find many sub-categories. Assessment has multiple meanings depending on your intentions as an educator. Here are a few qualifying definitions that attempt to sort out different types of assessment. You may use some or all of these in a typical class.

Formative assessment is an ongoing process in education that involves gathering information and feedback about a learner’s learning progress throughout a learning experience. Its purpose is to provide both teachers and learners with insights into the learner’s strengths and weaknesses so that adjustments can be made to improve learning outcomes. Formative assessments are typically not graded but are used to guide instruction. You can conduct these in a variety of ways, from short written exercises to impromptu quizzes to break-out discussions to ongoing feedback during simulation practice debriefs. Classes that have a lot of content to impart should utilize plenty of formative assessments to gain a better sense of how things are going. They are also useful for giving learners more opportunities at active learning.

Summative assessment is a type of assessment that evaluates a learner’s overall understanding and mastery of a subject or topic at the end of a learning period or course. It is often used for assigning grades and making high-stakes decisions, such as determining whether a learner has met the learning outcomes or graduation requirements. This can include many forms of assessment that most of us are familiar with, i.e. mid-terms, final exams, or course-long projects and presentations.
Alternative assessment refers to non-traditional methods of evaluating learner learning that go beyond standardized tests or exams. These assessments can take various forms, such as projects, presentations, portfolios, or performance tasks. The goal of alternative assessments is to provide a more holistic view of a learner’s abilities and understanding.
Academic assessment sharpens the focus to a learner’s performance, knowledge, skills, and abilities within an academic or formal educational context. Traditional academic assessments, like academic papers or written exams, are less likely to be utilized outside the academic environment, in contrast to more performance-based assessments.
Performance assessment focuses on evaluating the skills and abilities of individuals in a work or professional setting. It can include assessing teamwork, leadership, and other professional skills, distinct from the academic knowledge focus of academic assessments.
Authentic assessment is a type of assessment that tasks learners with demonstrating their knowledge and skills in real-world, meaningful contexts. It often involves real-world problems, projects, or tasks that mirror the complexities of the professional or academic domains for which the learning is intended. Authentic assessments aim to assess practical application and critical thinking.
Holistic assessment occurs when a learner’s performance, abilities, or attributes are judged in totality, rather than assessing separate elements individually. This may involve assessing a learner’s overall performance, including knowledge, skills, behaviour, attitudes, and relationships, without dividing the assessment into distinct categories. Holistic assessment often draws on Indigenous ways of learning and knowing to explore the development of the person beyond the limited environment of the classroom.

Grading

Grading is the process of assigning scores or marks to learners’ work, typically to assess their performance on assignments, assessments, and coursework. It is a way to quantify and communicate a learner’s level of achievement or proficiency in a particular subject or skill. It is important to think of grades as they relate to performance or knowledge. That is, how successfully are your learners satisfying the learning outcomes of your class? We muddy the waters when we use grades for other non-knowledge-related items, like participation or extra work, unless there is a clear, criterion-referenced way to do so. (See below under “Other forms of assessment” for more details.)

Evaluation

Evaluation and assessment are often used to mean the same thing, and the distinction may simply be preferential. However, for our purposes at JIBC, let us distinguish assessment according to the definition included above and describe evaluation as the work that reviews the quality of the course, as determined by faculty, learners, administrators, and other reviewers. Evaluation also plays a broader role in reviewing the overall quality of the learning experience. This includes reflecting on instructional effectiveness and how well the course design supports student success.