Student Assessment

Justin Kalef utilizes a level progression course structure in his philosophy classes. The course focuses on students mastery of five different skills. Exams are offered every one or two weeks. During exam periods, students have the option to take a level 1, 2, 3, or 4 exam, with each level being progressively more difficult. The student's final grade is based upon which level exam they successfully pass.

Throughout the semester, students work to progress through these levels. Justin finds that his students often work collaboratively to master each level. For level progression to work, Justin stresses that the exams must be difficult in order to challenge students to progress. For more information on level progression, contact Justin for more information.

Active learning often requires that students read or watch videos outside of class so that class time can be dedicated to activity. However, classwork will not be productive if students do not come prepared. The below method can be used to encourage and provide accountability for homework.

Each class, students must submit a brief (less than half a page) summary of the reading or video. At first, the instructor need only indicate if a student submitted a summary. At the end of the semester, if a student is within 1% of a different grade, the instructor reviews their submissions and bases their grade on the quality of the summaries. This approach provides incentive to students without adding too much additional work for the instructor. For more information on reading summaries, contact Justin Kalef, who uses this method in his philosophy class.

• Easy to grade.
• East to administer.
• Uniformity in exams can be used to ensure consistency across courses and sections.
• Results can be used to compare student understanding against an objective standards..

• The use of standardized questions may emphasize recalling correct answers rather than engaging with concepts as students have done in class.
• Students who have learned through group work may not be as well prepared.
• Exams may not test other skills, such as speaking, that have been developed during the semester.
• Rooms with collaborative seating may not provide enough privacy for exam taking.

• Collaborative testing: students take exams together. This can leverage skills and relationships developed during the semester, enhance learning, and aid students with test anxiety.
• Use a different space: if class meets in a room with group seating, consider booking a more traditional space for exams where students can have more privacy.
• Spread out: if your collaborative classroom is not full, have students spread out.
• Create barriers: in collaborative rooms, pass out manila folders and have students shield their work space with it. The folders can then be used to collect completed exams.
• Multiple exams: if cheating is a concern, consider passing out multiple versions of the exam.
• 2 stage exams:  have students answer questions individually, then have them take the exam again as a group. The group exam may be a subset of the most challenging exam questions, slightly modified to require less time.

• Encourages student participation from those that might not otherwise participate.
• Provide an instant snapshot of student understanding.

• Question types and answers may be limited.
• Vulnerable to cheating.

• Think-pair-share: After students respond, have them discuss their answer with another student or group. Students can then re-respond. Students who initially answered incorrectly will benefit from learning how other students reached the correct answer. Students who got the correct answer on the first try will benefit from explaining their thinking.  If the percentage of correct answer does not improve, the instructor can intercede.

• More in align with type of learning that occurred in class.
• More representative of expectations in many career settings.
• Required both a deep understanding of a topic and the ability to communicate that understanding.
• Can be the focal point for much of the group work during class.

• May not evaluate student understanding as well as individual assessments.
• Can result in student “freeloading.”
• Hard to standardize evaluations across groups and classes.
• May require more work to grade.

• Rubrics: creating a grading rubric with clear objectives and standards will provide clear expectations to students and provide a framework for grading.
• Self evaluations:  requiring students to evaluate other students’ performance as group members can mitigate concerns around inequitable participation.

• More in align with type of learning that occurred in class.
• More representative of expectations in many career settings.
• Required both a deep understanding of a topic and the ability to communicate that understanding.
• Can be the focal point for much of the group work during class.

• Students who have learned through group work may not perform well.
• Rooms with collaborative seating may not provide enough privacy for exam taking.

• Group quizzes: taking quizzes in groups allows students to benefit from the relationships and problem-solving approaches they have cultivated thus far.
• 2 stage quizzes: after taking quizzes individually, students then take quizzes as groups. Partial credit can be given for answers given correctly in the group stage. This enables them to both receive personalized feedback on their understanding of course matter and accurately measure their performance, while also recognizing the skills developed through group work.
  • Scratch Off Quizzes: when students retake a multiple choice quiz in groups, give them a scratch off card with each answer. Students scratch what they collectively determine to be the right answer, continuing to select answers until they are correct. Quizzes are then graded based on how many attempts are needed to answer a question correctly. For more information, contact Justin Kalef, who uses this method in his philosophy classes.
• Open-book quizzes: If students have been able to access information during group work, assessments that do not allow this may not align with their learning.