Let's talk about tests, baby

Still considering the notion of assessments, both formative and summative, in the world of online classes. I think it meet to start assembling a list of pros and cons, limitations and opportunities. Maybe that will help me devise some method of testing which I would see as honest, fair, useful and full of integrity. You know, educationally sound.

First -- memorization is out as a skill. I can't test it. I can't monitor students in real time to be sure that they aren't relying on some other resources. I know everyone loves to promote higher order thinking skills but lower order thinking skills are still vital and are much more difficult to test virtually.
Second -- synchronous testing (much like synchronous classes, according to many experts) is difficult and probably a waste of time. Getting everyone the test and having all be able to access it in the same way at the same time, and take it and submit it on the same schedule seems daunting (ignoring the issue of the administration of that test and the possibility of cheating)
Third -- many would say to co-opt the strengths of online learning by allowing students to collaborate and create. This is nice except it invokes questions of personal responsibility for a grade (and monitoring participation in group work and allocating fair grades, which is already, even in person, a problem) and, in my humble opinion, it ignores a truth that the future will not be all about collaboration. Even in the workplace of the future, individuals will have to be able to perform on their own.

Exit tickets -- they aren't always relevant. If we are doing Kahoot presentations by 4 students per day, what does another student have to email me? A question that someone used? Who remembers that? Also, any ticket will only show that a student was paying attention at one moment. And how many times do I have to repeat announcements and assignments and students still don't get them. Then they ask "can you post that to Haiku" or whatever other HW platform we use. So simply saying, with 3 minutes to go "before you leave, send me an email with ______" is doomed. And, best case, it means I have to plow through 75 emails to see if they are "good" -- what is the standard for successfully completing this? Is it "done or not done" with the grade being a pass/fail?


There are three modes I am starting with for assessing and I have jotted some notes under each one discussing the problems and limitations associated with it:

1. Timed, written responses (short answer, multiple choice or essay/paragraph)

1a. Enforcing a timing is possible using a third party product that opens and closes the assessment on a fixed schedule, but because of the possibility of "extra time" separate assessments would have to be made for each student to accommodate needs.

1b. Even in a timed situation, it is impossible, remotely, to ensure test integrity

1c. Responses are all written and have to be submitted electronically (typing is a skill not every student has or is comfortable with). Students who struggle with written communication will be disadvantaged by the demanded form of response.

1d. The long form of this (the "paper") stays valid but is not complemented by other assessments which address aspects that a paper cannot account for.

2. Responses to direct questioning (which assesses both knowledge and attention)

2a. Not every student is comfortable answering questions on the spot, participating in conversation, formulating spoken word answers. To shift demands and require that students become something different from what they are (in a classroom that has tried to value who they are now instead of demanding such change) undermines the teacher-student trust-relationship and asks for something unfairly.

2b. Not every student can pay attention via computer in the way that we want to ensure. The distractions and demands are very different. We cannot command, nor can we expect to command, the kind of focus that having students in our classroom allows for.

3. Presentation (individual or group) - a recap of knowledge or a demonstration of ability

3a. Ignoring the problems of group work interpersonally, the technological demands present a problem for some students.

3b. The presentations (technologically) are limited and rarely seamless, wasting time. Even in best cases the time it takes to go through presentations of any sort eats up class time.

3c. It is impossible to monitor both the content and other students in the class unless another level of assessment is added in which then has to be monitored/graded.

Tomorrow, I'm planning to throw this quandary to my 12th graders and solicit insights, maybe hear what other teachers have done, or see what students would respect. I'm also asking other professionals and posting messages on the relevant web forums. More updates as events warrant.