Manageable Assessments: The Missing Ingredient for Delicious Data

Image created by Colleen Farris using Canva for Education free images.

I have a problem. I am the queen of authentic assessments, but my classroom assessment design skills are lacking. The hands-on assessments I design for my culinary arts students are rich demonstrations of learning. However, I rarely design classroom assessments because my curriculum always includes school-system mandated electronic assessments.

In North Carolina, I measured proficiency by selecting test bank questions that aligned with my learning objectives. Those assessments generated item-level data for analysis. I tracked class progress toward mastery by displaying data visualizations in my classroom. I also identified students who showed lower proficiency for reteaching and reflected on the results to critique my teaching and restructure lessons. I also used the data to identify students who needed differentiation or other learning supports.

I was thrilled to have assessments aligned with learning objectives, not poorly designed end-of-course tests.  

All of that data analysis sounds great, right? It wasn’t. The test questions were not well aligned with learning objectives, as I explained in my “Making the Grade” blog post. Then, my school adopted a supplementary curriculum with pre- and post-assessments, chunked content, practice questions, flashcards with feedback, and auto-graded quizzes. I was thrilled to have assessments aligned with learning objectives, not poorly designed end-of-course tests. 

After I changed jobs, my new school system purchased the same curriculum. To promote mastery learning, I set minimum scores—usually 90% on formative assessments—and monitored progress. The system tracked retakes but not aggregate trends, making monitoring time-consuming. This approach seemed effective until I realized students weren't transferring their content knowledge “mastery” to kitchen work. I created anchor charts and paper-based formative assessments to identify gaps in understanding. This added stacks of papers to my workload. 

Big picture data can be as valuable as individual results.

Writing assessments for CEP 813 Electronic Assessment for Teaching and Learning—the final elective for my master’s in educational technology at Michigan State University—taught me that effective assessments must also be manageable. Good assessments are fair, reliable, objective, and valid. They align with learning objectives, support student learning, generate quality data, and are feasible to analyze. Big picture data can be as valuable as individual results.

Visualizing aggregated data with my students shows them why we need to spend more time on certain concepts. 

Image created by Colleen Farris using Blooket and Canva for Education free images.

I decided to try something new with what I learned. I designed a gamified "This or That" activity in Blooket that engages learners and provides learner support with heterogeneous groupings to improve fairness in accessing content. It incorporates review and reteaching, with real-time peer and teacher feedback. Students then reflect on their learning and self-evaluate using a four-column rubric with “I” statements expressing confidence in their understanding (Blum, 2022). After tabulating their results, they submit them via an anonymous Google Form that creates an instant visualization of overall comprehension.

The aggregated results focus students on learning outcomes rather than grades (Kohn, 2011). If present, outlier data would indicate reteaching and revisions for fairness are required. Putting the technology of assessment into students' hands creates a snapshot of all learners' progress, while providing supports and checks for fairness (Stommel, 2021). Viewing the aggregated data as a class shows why we need to revisit certain concepts. 

In every MAET course, I have discovered a great new ingredient that made me rewrite my recipe for good teaching.

In every MAET course, I've discovered a great new ingredient that made me rewrite my recipe for good teaching. This is that moment. Manageable assessments are my new favorite flavor–filling my plate with delicious data for great teaching and learning.

References

Blum, S. D. (2022). The ungrading umbrella. Grow Beyond Grades. https://growbeyondgrades.org/blog/the-ungrading-umbrella

Kohn, A. (2011). The case against grades. Alfie Kohn. https://www.alfiekohn.org/article/case-grades/

Stommel, J. (2021, February 22). Grades are dehumanizing; Ungrading is no simple solution. https://www.jessestommel.com/grades-are-dehumanizing-ungrading-is-no-simple-solution/