Education Assessment Mechanisms

Developing a Handbook

Abstract

Assessment-based teaching methods in higher education do not accurately reflect student understanding (Gernsbacher, Soicher, and Becker-Blease, 2020). Instructors often have little freedom in how they teach, face issues such as large class sizes, and have few allocated resources. In turn, students face unfair assessments, such as time- limited and standardized tests that depend on rote memorization and fail to promote active learning. Drawing from literature and personal anecdotes, this research aims to answer: What practices and assessment schemes promote accurate assessment of student understanding? This research is aimed at instructors to take more control of their classrooms and provide their students with more valuable and effective learning experiences. My findings indicate that these methods will not only give instructors more control over what they teach, but students will also become engaged, active, and inspired interdisciplinary learners.

Gernsbacher, Soicher, and Becker-Blease, 2020. Four empirically-based reasons not to administer time-limited tests, Translational Issues in Psychological Science. 6(2) pp. 175-190. 10.1037/tps0000232