Lesson 1 - The History of Assessment
What is this lesson about?
We will start the course by defining assessment, figuring out what it's purpose is, and how it has changed over the years. This will be where we build the foundation for upcoming lessons, and get the ball rolling on a productive discussion about assessment.
Focus Objectives
In this lesson, learners will
- Become introduced to assessment
- Reflect on how assessment has changed over time
- Be able to predict where assessment may be headed in the future
Do Now
Notice: Throughout the course, you will see a Do Now at the beginning of every lesson. Typically, these Do Nows will be a review of important information from a previous lesson. However, seeing as how this is just the first lesson of the course, let's start by talking about assessment.
What is the first image that pops into your head when you think of assessment? Describe that image, either using words or drawing a picture. I have included helpful applications below for you to reflect your thoughts in the manner of your choosing.
1) Record your thoughts, using a note-taking program such as Evernote
or, you may
2) Draw the image that pops into your head, using a drawing application such as Scribbler.
- You may notice that organizing your thoughts by using an online journal or note-taking application will be quite handy for taking information away from this course. Plus, by recording your notes digitally, you can review the material you find most useful anywhere!
Activity #1
Watch the following video, giving a (very) brief history of assessment.
1) In this instance, what would the narrator say is the difference between a graduate and a learner?
2) Think of a problem we face that has only existed or become widely known about in the last decade. How have we used education to solve this problem?
3) Consider what the narrator said in the video, about assessment informing education. How, then, can we use assessment to help us solve new problems that have never been encountered - or even considered - previously in human history?
What is Assessment?
The video you just watched is a good starting point for our course because the message it conveys provides us a valuable observation: assessment has changed drastically over the years - not just aesthetically (design and format), but also in the content we expect our learners to understand. Instead of having students recall facts, or memorize patterns, we are focusing more of our resources today on solving problems.
And to respond to this growing demand, we need learners who are capable of having the answers to questions we have not even begun to consider. It is our responsibility, as educators, to prepare them to meet to these challenges one day; to make sure they have the physical and cognitive tools necessary to thrive in a progressive, rapidly changing global community. But how? That is the fundamental question this course is developed to answer.
In the past, assessment was more about trying a system or a framework of thought so that it developed into something better. As we understand it in the modern context, 'assessment' evokes in the mind one word: preparation. Our students need to be prepared not just for their own future lives and careers, but for an entirely new world. We will be talking more about this new future in an upcoming lesson.
Ultimately, assessment is a process. It is something that is meant to measure a sample over time, and indicate whether or not the current form of learning is achieving its purpose by reaching all learners. It frequently can and should be thought of as an experiment, to be conducted for the purpose of achieving a result, and revealing whatever criterion (or criteria) its function is to reveal. Assessment is what we use not only as a means of which to measure the success of our teaching, but to reveal any ineffectiveness in our programs as as well.
In future lessons, we will be looking at different forms of assessment and measuring their effectiveness - taking what we see as valuable from each one, and removing from it what has become obsolete or is just not working. Learning how assessment has changed over time is one way to appreciate the criteria educators of the past had once looked for learners to be able to do and to understand. We can contrast this information with our own understanding of what educators look for today, as well as what they will soon be looking for in the rapidly-approaching future.
Activity #2
The following test was used as a "Common Exam" in 1912 to gain entrance to Bullitt County schoolhouses.
Try out the exam by following the link below:
Bullitt County Historical Society "Common Exam" (1912)
When you are finished, you may check your answers here -
How many did you get right?!
As it says on the website, this test should not be compared with student knowledge of today. What this does show us, however, is that tests one-hundred years ago really did not look all that different from tests we have seen right up to the modern day. Sure, the material and content may have changed a great deal, but what we are talking about here is the format. The format of a test refers specifically to a test's stylistic design, which, we will see, now may come in a variety of different styles. But we will address test format further in our next unit.