Module 2: Choose your own assessment structure
Part 1: Module Introduction
What is the purpose of giving a grade on student writing, and how do you decide which grade is appropriate to give? Do grades motivate revision? Do they successfully communicate proficiency or progress? Do we grade simply because we’re required by the school to do so?
And what role will feedback play as a part of your overall assessment structure? What do you expect that students will do with your feedback? Will you be the only one assessing them, or will peers assess them too? Will students assess their own work?
In this module, you’ll think about some of these questions as you read about several approaches to assessing writing, thinking especially about overall assessment structures (e.g. how to arrive at an end-of-semester grade). You’ll look at some sample approaches from across and outside of our department to compare the pros and cons of different systems. Finally, you’ll think about your own values and beliefs when it comes to assessing writing, equipping you to build an assessment structure that best supports your teaching philosophy.
This module is designed to help you to (re)think your assessment structure and to point you in the direction of some resources for designing an assessment style that is a good fit for your class.
Essential reading:
- If you are not already familiar with the learning objectives for English 110 and 130, please go back and complete Module 1: The Learning Goals of the College Writing Sequence at Queens College.
- If you are teaching a class other than English 110 or 130 (e.g. Creative Writing, Creative Non-Fiction, or any general education class), and you are unfamiliar with the required Pathways learning outcomes, please also review Module 1 before you proceed.
- Skim and bookmark the Queens College Academic and Grading Policies.
- “Approaches” by University of Maryland, Baltimore
- “Alternative Assessment” by R.D. Merritt
Activity:
After you read, take a moment to put some of the assessment vocabulary that you are encountering into your own words:
- What is the difference between “authentic,” “alternative” and “traditional” assessment?
- Can you think of examples from your prior teaching or learning experiences where you or another instructor used “authentic assessment,” “alternative assessment,” or “traditional assessment”?
- Which approach(es) to assessment was / were the most common one that you experienced as a learner?
- What is the difference between “formative” and “summative” assessment? Is a final course grade “summative” or “formative”?
- Review your syllabus. Which parts of it contain formative assessment opportunities? Which parts contain summative assessment opportunities?
Take a moment to reflect. Which approach to assessment was the most familiar to you as a learner? What approach(es) or assessment vocabulary is new to you? Are there any terms that are still confusing?
