Evaluating Learners: How Much Is Enough?
This page provides a one-stop spot to dive a bit deeper into thinking about how much is the right amount of evaluation to have in a course that will support quality student learning but also support a balanced course for well-being of the learners and instructors.
Institutional Policy
North Island College has an Evaluation of Student Performance policy (3–33). Key principles and procedures are shared below but NIC instructors are encouraged to fully read the entire policy.
- Policy 3–33 Evaluation of Student Performance
- Principle #3: Evaluation of student performance will be aligned with course learning outcomes and is inclusive of diverse learning needs.
- Procedure #1: The student’s final grade for a course must be comprised of a minimum of three evaluative components with no single evaluation worth more than 40%.
- Procedure #2: Evaluations should be varied to ensure students can meet the courses’ learning outcomes.
- Principle #6: NIC supports student success by not permitting evaluations worth more than 10% of their final grade to be assigned in the last week of classes.
- Procedure #6: Evaluations totaling more than 10% of the final grade may be due in the last week of instruction as long as they were assigned prior to the final week of classes. Normally, assignments will not be due later than the last day of classes.
- Principle #4: Students must receive adequate feedback (normally a minimum of 20% of the total grade) in advance of the academic withdrawal date for their program.
NIC Assessment and Evaluation Principles and techniques
- Principles of Assessment and Examples
- Assessment: Focused, Simple and Aligned Ideas
- Classroom Assessment Techniques
Student Course Time: Workload Calculator
Including both instructional and evaluation strategies this tool, originally created by Betsy Barre at Wake Forest University, can be used when planning activities and learning experiences for students. The Student Course Time Estimator has been adapted by UBC and is available for use. Use it to estimate the workload you will be expecting students to undertake in your course(s); this will help in looking at student evaluations and making suitable alignments.
Evaluation Alignment Chart
The best way to see how much is enough — is to map out your course learning outcomes with the evaluation (summative assessment) and the teaching strategies to see if you are abiding by the principles and procedures per the policy ALONG with the workload calculator results of how much work students are doing in the course ALONG with reflecting on what students learn/stickiness of learning a few months after the course. This is called course “constructive alignment” where each learning outcome has sufficient formative (informal, practice) opportunities and aligned and properly designed evaluations (formal, summative) to allow students to demonstrate their learning. A well-designed evaluation can cover multiple learning outcomes and provide a suitable demonstration of student learning.
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Course Learning Outcome |
Evaluation Method (summative) |
Learning Level |
Assessment (formative) |
Teaching and Learning Strategies |
|---|---|---|---|---|
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Create a project plan with identified deliverables and measures of success for an authentic community project |
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Work collaboratively and efficiently as a team throughout the course engagements and community project |
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Assessment design
Well designed assessments (informal and formal) really help with student learning and cut down on causing more stress for students in trying to understand the assessment off the top. The following pages provide some terrific and simple ways to design assessments to ensure they work from day 1. Some charts to help you align assessments with learning outcome language are also provided via the links below too.
- Approaching Assessment Design (Wilfrid Laurier University)
- Learning Activities and Assignments: How to Maximize Their Effectiveness (Waterloo University)
- Bloom’s Taxonomy Learning Activities and Assessments (Waterloo University)
Learner Readiness: Separating Behaviours from Learning
Instead of muddying the evaluation waters with elements like: participation, attendance, on-timeness etc. — consider separating these “behaviours” from the demonstrations of student learning. One way to do this is use a “learner readiness/professionalism rubric” self- assessment to highlight those actions, activities and aptitudes that help create successful student learners. CTLI Word Doc for editing.