What do students hate the most? Of course, different students might give varying answers; however, a common response that you might get to hear would relate to examinations.

Even though tests are crucial for teachers to determine the student’s progress, they might not be the most pleasant thing for the latter. Nevertheless, a standardized assessment structure has stood the test of time and enabled institutes to establish a systematic student learning hierarchy. 

Global educational trends are changing in response to industrial, socioeconomic, and cultural developments. Therefore, it is hardly surprising that institutes started adopting changes in curriculum and pedagogies. Simultaneously, the need to conduct online tests grew as online learning merged with the higher education system. Therefore, you might have noticed the rising demand for online exam software that could facilitate different assessments. 

Besides. the same question-and-answer pattern, fill-in-the-blanks, essays, etc., have been used by faculties for the longest time. Hence, it would be appropriate to include some new assessment methods to help the faculty better monitor students’ academic progress. 

Take a look below at some of the assessment types that you can create for students. 

Diagnostic Assessments 

You are about to teach complex coding, but you don’t know if the students remember fundamental mathematic concepts like linear algebra, calculus, statistics, and probability. Would you continue teaching? Most probably, you would like to figure out the level of their pre-existing knowledge. 

Furthermore, diagnostic assessments are the best ways to ascertain how much they know about a particular topic. And a few examples of such assessments are as follows: 

• Mind Maps – Mind maps are diagrams you can draw to streamline information visually; the map contains a central idea, branches with associated keywords, and images. 

• Short Quizzes – Short quizzes are excellent questions and answer methods that you can carry out to check how much they can recall about the topic. 

• Classroom Discussions– When you conduct discussions in the classroom, students have the opportunity to engage and share their knowledge about the topic. 

Formative Assessments

The urgency to complete the syllabus in sync with the curriculum rarely allows teachers to invest time in determining students’ understanding levels. Therefore, they might have finished teaching a chapter, but that does not necessarily mean that all students succeeded in gaining the in-depth knowledge. Thankfully, teachers can assess student learning efficiently during the instruction process with the help of formative assessments. 

In fact, with the help of specific tests, they can determine individual learning capacities and adjust their teaching strategies accordingly. Some examples of formative assessments are as follows: 

• Extry and Exit Tickets – Entry and Exit Tickets are classroom instructions wherein you can distribute index cards containing short questions for students to answer before and after the lesson. 

• Student Portfolios – Student Portfolios are excellent tools to keep track of learners’ comprehensive, conceptual, rational, and creative growth throughout the academic process.

• Group Projects – Group projects are collaborative assignments that require students to work together amongst assigned teams of two or four. Moreover, each team member needs to participate and work towards a common goal. 

Summative Assessments 

Summative assessments have been one of the most vital examinations of institutes held as a midterm, a final project, or a paper. Although they give a somewhat cumulative insight into student progress, it does not provide clear feedback about the student’s learning. 

Fortunately, you do not need to stick to the standard multiple-choice questions or other typical summative assessments; with the help of varied ed-tech tools, you can create varied assessments to engage students. However, adding questions relevant to real-world topics and events is essential, and you must give rubrics for students to understand the learning outcomes. 

Some examples of summative assessments are as follows: 

• Case Studies – Case studies are in-depth analyses of specific topics or events that enable one to get a comprehensive understanding. 

• Podcast– Podcasts are essentially discussions conducted through audio platforms on a particular subject; they can be a source of debate enabling listeners to hear diverse opinions. 

Ipsative Assessment 

Have you come across students who continuously underscored in a particular subject? If yes, then you must have noticed that they just stopped trying and gave up after a point of time. And this is where you must employ strategies such as ipsative assessments, which enable teachers to motivate students. 

Furthermore, an ipsative assessment is a kind of assessment that compares previous and current performances. As a result, it helps teachers identify students’ mistakes and allow them to learn from their mistakes and improve their skills. 

An excellent example of ipsative assessment includes: 

• Project-based learning(PBL) Activities– PBL activities are a part of a student-centric approach that targets learners to take an active role in the in-class educational tasks. For instance, teachers could ask them to compare a movie and a novel with a presentation. 

Criterion-Referenced Tests 

Criterion-referenced tests are assessments that compare an individual student’s score according to a specific learning standard and performance level. Moreover, these assessments do not evaluate the students against their peers and depend upon an independent analysis of learners’ skills and capabilities.

Therefore, criterion-referenced tests are effective in determining individual strengths and weaknesses. 

In Conclusion 

Examinations are vital for tracking the student’s progress and monitoring the overall growth of their theoretical and practical comprehension of core subjects. However, it is high time that institutes encourage faculties to implement different kinds of assessments; thanks to various in-built templates, online exam software can help them create online assessments.