UD for Adult Education Step 3

hand with pen filling in a bubble test sheet

Plan how you will assess participant mastery of goals

Assessment is a key component of any educational activity. As you create assessments, keep in mind that the best assessments measure the following:

  • Participant learning that takes place as a consequence of the activity/course/program
  • Only the participant learning that takes place as a consequence of the activity/course/program

 

Assessments can be either formative or summative.

Formative Assessments assist the participant by giving them feedback on their learning while also providing them an opportunity for additional learning. Examples of formative assessments:

  • A reading quiz that can be re-taken until the participant achieves a particular score
  • An essay the participant writes with the option to submit assessed rewrites after receiving feedback
  • A self-check quiz

 

Summative Assessments are final measures of the “high water mark” of a participant’s learning. Examples of summative assessments:

  • A reading quiz that the participant takes once and submits
  • A presentation that a participant gives to a group of other participants
  • A test for professional licensure

 

Your activity/course/program assessments may be formative, summative, or a mixture of both. Where possible, use formative assessments as they have the opportunity to support participant learning. Use summative assessments only when necessary.