Centre for the Advancement of Teaching and Learning - Assessment for different abilities

Given the diverse talents among students, should we attempt to structure assessment in order to cater for this diversity? The following quote might help us to answer this question.

What is the purpose of classroom tests?

To arrive at grades for students
To assist instructors in planning content presentations
To facilitate and increase students' learning
To motivate students to study
All of the above

The best answers to the above question is (e), but many instructors use tests as though (a) were the correct answer ... Too little emphasis has been placed on using tests to help teachers teach and students learn (Jacobs & Chase, 1992, p.2).

In order to facilitate and motivate student learning through assessment, the set tasks need to make a variety of demands, from those that all students can meet to those that intrigue and challenge even the most able. Is this an ideal to be aimed for, but never really achieved? Attempts that approximate the ideal are needed to serve the different purposes of assessment. A possible option is to provide different sets of questions with a stipulation that the most demanding one needs to be answered by those aiming for higher level grades, while omitting the least demanding set. Perhaps a rule of thumb for assessment could be ensuring that the 'must know, should know, might know' aspects of course are included.

Jacobs, L., & Chase, C. (1992). Developing and using tests effectively. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Previously published in Catering for Different Academic Abilities. (1997). Issues of Teaching and Learning, 3(9)

Assessment for different abilities - an incongruity?