Examples of assessments in this category include open note/open book exams or quizzes and exams or quizzes with a variety of kinds of questions, including multiple choice questions and open-ended question.

Pros and Cons

Exams and quizzes have advantages and disadvantages as assessments. When deciding whether exams and quizzes are good choices for assessing learning in your course, here are some of the pros and cons to keep in mind.

Pros:

• Potentially lighter transitional workload for faculty
• All students enrolled in class, regardless if they are on or off campus, will be given the same assessment
• Can be integrated directly into Blackboard course
• Auto-grading features can be used for certain question formats (e.g. multiple choice)
• Effort required to create multiple choice questions, but can be amortized over time through the creation of question banks
• Software can automatically deploy subsets of questions and randomize answers to reduce opportunity for unauthorized collaborations

Cons:

• Synchronous testing will prove difficult for students in different zones
• Certain disability accommodations will be difficult or impossible to administer
  • Reduced distraction setting
  • Assistive technologies (screen readers and dictation or read aloud software)
  • Breaks without time penalty (typically to address medical needs)
• Internet, software, and hardware failures can have a drastic impact on a student’s ability to complete an exam in the allotted time frame
• May require time limits to limit use of unauthorized resources
• Increased opportunity for academic dishonesty during un-proctored online exams
• Online proctoring options very limited
• Students felt online exams were poorly handled in spring 2020
  • More than 50 percent expressed dissatisfaction with online timed tests
• Questions that require special symbols, e.g. mathematical, require tool support

Pros and Cons of Multiple Choice Questions

Multiple choice questions offer additional pros and cons to consider.

Pros:

• Effort required to create multiple choice questions, but can be amortized over time through the creation of question banks
• Can be administered electronically in an identical fashion for both on-campus and off-campus students
• Automatic generation of subsets and randomization can reduce opportunity for unauthorized collaborations
• Can scale to large classes with limited TA resources

Cons:

• May require time limits to limit use of unauthorized resources
• May require proctoring
• Students may misunderstand or "think too deeply" about questions -- this can be avoided by allowing students to optionally write down their thought process

Considerations and Strategies

There are a variety of considerations you should take into account and strategies you should use to make sure that the exams and quizzes you give are effective and are adapted to the unique challenges of hybrid instruction. The following are the most important considerations and suggested strategies for addressing them.

Items to Consider During Course Planning

1. Use smaller, more frequent tests/quizzes in place of infrequent large exams.

Using smaller, more frequent tests and quizzes:

• Supports greater retention of material
• Provides frequent opportunities to provide students feedback
• Helps relieve testing anxiety as the frequent quizzes just become the norm
• Limits the consequences of interruptions to internet service or other technical problems

For more information about the impact of smaller, more frequent tests and quizzes see Steven Volk’s Less is More: Low-Stakes Assessments and Student Success post, and Make it Stick: The Science of Successful Learningby Peter C. Brown, Henry L. Roediger III, and Mark A. McDaniel.

2. Communicate which Course Materials are allowed During the Assessment

Explicitly state in the course syllabus and in the assessment instructions which course materials are permitted, and which materials are not permitted during the assessment. Items to consider include:

• Class notes
• Lecture slides
• Lecture videos
• Textbooks/papers
• Homework
• Online resources

3. Plan for Disability Accommodations

Tests/Quizzes should be designed so they can be administered with student accommodations in mind. We recommend reviewing the following resources:

• Instructions on how to provide time extensions in Blackboard and Gradescope.
• General guidance from the office of disability resources.

4. Provide a Practice Assessment

Provide a brief practice assessment so students can familiarize themselves with the logistics of accessing, taking, and submitting the assessment. Do not assume your students are familiar with the technology. This can allow the students to iron out any technology issues prior to the first graded assessment.

When creating the practice assessment you should:

• Include the types of questions you will use, multiple choice, short answer, uploaded documents, etc.
• Model the real settings: timed, presenting one question at a time etc.

Items to Consider While Preparing and Deploying the Test/Quiz/Exam Online

1. Give Reasonably Timed Exams

This was the primary complaint by students in the spring 2020.

Writing and uploading answers into online assessment can take much longer than an in- person exam. We recommend providing a minimum of twice the normal time.

2. Write Test Questions that do not have Easily Searchable Answers

Keep in mind most textbook solution manuals and test bank questions are readily available online. General information on writing effective test questions of all types see Kansas Curriculum Center’s Is This a Trick Question PDF.

Resources for writing effective multiple choice questions:

• 10 Rules For Writing Multiple Choice Questions, the eLearning Coach
• Writing Good Multiple Choice Test Questions, Vanderbilt University
• Writing Good Multiple-Choice Exams, The University of Texas at Austin

3. Create a Test Pool for Multiple-Choice Questions

Blackboard can then randomize which questions each student receives from the pool (Question set instructions.Blackboard can also randomize the order of the answers for each multiple choice question.

4. Automatically Saving Techniques

If you display only one question at a time in Blackboard, the system will automatically save the students answers as they progress through the assignment. This prevents loss of work if connectivity is momentarily interrupted.

Gradescope autosaves timed assignments to prevent loss of progress.

Technology Tools

We recommend two technology tools—Blackboard and Gradescope—for building and administering exams and quizzes. The links below point you to guidance on how to use these tools for exams and quizzes of all kinds.

Blackboard:

• Blackboard IT help page
• Creating and deploying a test:
  • Video tutorial
  • Blackboard help guide
• Question types available
• Grading tests

Gradescope:

• Video tutorial
• Help page

Examples of assessments in this category include case studies, essays, scientific papers, reviews (of books, journal articles, films, etc.), research papers or projects and portfolios.

Written Work Pros and Cons

Writing assignments of all kinds have advantages and disadvantages as assessments. When deciding whether writing assignments are good choices for assessing learning in your course, here are some of the pros and cons to keep in mind.

Pros:

• Requires demonstration and articulation of knowledge with opportunity to explain thought process (versus multiple choice)
• Can employ rubrics/benchmarks for grading to offer valuable feedback for students
• Questions require less time to create, which can lead to more variety in questions
• Can be administered with high frequency or low frequency
• Does not require exam proctoring
• Easy to administer across time zones

Cons:

• Requires more time/person-power to grade (versus multiple choice)
• Good writers and native speakers might do better regardless of content knowledge
• Instructors may need to further develop skills/strategies for writing good written assessment prompts
• Possibility of subjective bias in grading (this can be mitigated through the use of rubrics/benchmarks)

Considerations and Strategies

There are a variety of considerations you should take into account and strategies you should use to make sure that the writing assignments you give are effective and are adapted to the unique challenges of hybrid instruction.

The following are the most important considerations and suggested strategies for addressing them:

• With respect to academic honesty, there is possibility for plagiarism vis-à-vis other students or online sources, but answers require demonstration of knowledge and not simply the “correct” response
• Bloom’s Taxonomy can support assessment development and grading criteria
• Rubrics can support consistency in grading

Examples of assessments in this category include podcasts, video presentations, oral presentations (e.g. recorded, asynchronous), and posters (online submission).

Presentation Pros and Cons

Presentations of all kinds have advantages and disadvantages as assessments. When deciding whether presentations are good choices for assessing learning in your course, here are some of the pros and cons to keep in mind.

Pros:

• Can be done online or in-person, in synchronous or asynchronous environments
• Can be used to assess higher level learning objectives
• Provides information on student’s depth of understanding of topic and thought processes
• Allows for interactive components like Q&A to further assess student understanding
• Flexibility to be structured as independent or group work
• Recorded presentations or podcasts can be done on students’ own time with less likelihood for technology issues impacting assessment

Cons:

• Time-consuming, particularly for large classes—in person presentations take up class time
• Recorded presentations may be time consuming for faculty to watch and grade
• May be difficult to use graders due to subjectivity
• Students may be uncomfortable and not be able to best demonstrate understandings in these settings
• May disadvantage students with disabilities and students for whom English is a second language
• Student access to technology could be a concern for both live and recorded presentations

Considerations and Strategies

There are a variety of considerations you should take into account and strategies you should use to make sure that the presentation assignments you give are effective and are adapted to the unique challenges of hybrid instruction.

The following are the most important considerations and suggested strategies for addressing them:

• Use rubrics with specific criteria for grading to lessen subjectivity
• Provide students with clear guidance and expectations
• Use for assessing high priority objectives/learning outcomes
• Ensure that video and audio presentations are made accessible for students with disabilities

Technology Tools

The following tools may be helpful for sharing or creating presentations:

• Zoom: Video conferencing tool for virtual presentations
• Voicethread: Can be used to facilitate multimedia-based discussions and presentations
• YouTube: Video sharing platform
• Panopto: Can create desktop recordings and upload external video for viewing
• Google Slides: Free, online tool to create and collaborate on presentations

Resources

The see the following resources to learn more about using presentations:

• Presentations Assessment Resources, University of Hong Kong
• Teaching Toolkit: How Can My Student Give Presentations?, Arizona State University
• 5 Unconventional Final Exams to Give Your Students, We Are Teachers

Examples of assessments in this category include homework (e.g. problem sets, short answer questions, etc.), journal entries (Blackboard, student reflections on learning (e.g. metacognitive tasks)

Homework and assignments can be designed in essentially the same manner for both flexible face-to-face and online environments. Submittal of work by students and feedback provided to students would need to be accomplished electronically.

Assignments can include numerous assessment strategies such as oral presentations, pre-recorded video presentations, written assignments, posters, etc.

Homework and Assignments Pros and Cons

Assessments in this category have advantages and disadvantages as assessments. When deciding whether assessments in this category are good choices for assessing learning in your course, here are some of the pros and cons to keep in mind.

Pros:

• Can employ rubrics/benchmarks for grading to offer valuable feedback for students
• Can incorporate variety in questions
• Benefit from use of Bloom’s Taxonomy to promote higher level thinking and learning
• Can be administered with high frequency or low frequency
• Does not require exam proctoring
• Easy to administer across time zones if asynchronous
• Very flexible (e.g. types of assessments, scheduling)

Cons:

• May require more time/person-power to moderate discussion boards and/or to grade

Considerations and Strategies

Submittal of work by students and feedback provided to students would need to be accomplished electronically.

With respect to academic honesty, there is possibility for plagiarism vis-à-vis other students or online sources, but this could be lessened with assessments that are designed to require application of knowledge/skill.

A performance task often exists as a culminating activity that includes the completion a task that necessitates application of knowledge, skills, and/or abilities. (Notes in this section have been adapted and/or excerpted from “Performance-Based Assessment: Reviewing the Basics”)

Projects and Performance Tasks Pros and Cons

Projects and performance tasks have advantages and disadvantages as assessments. When deciding whether these assignments are good choices for assessing learning in your course, here are some of the pros and cons to keep in mind.

Pros:

• Can be simple or complex
• Are authentic if designed well
• Are often process/product-oriented
• Can be open-ended

Cons:

• May be an unfamiliar assessment strategy requiring a little background reading

Considerations and Strategies

Below is a simplified version for planning, loosely based on the backward design process:

1. Identify goals of the performance-based assessment
2. Select the appropriate course standards
3. Review assessments and identify learning gaps
4. Design the scenario
5. Gather or create materials
6. Develop a learning plan

Resources

The see the following resources to learn more about using presentations:

• Chun, M. (2010, March). "Taking teaching to (performance) task: Linking pedagogical and assessment practices." Change: The Magazine of Higher Education.
• Palm, T. (2008). "Performance assessment and authentic assessment: A conceptual analysis of the literature." Practical Assessment Research and Evaluation, 13(4).