combine assessments?

 If raising the bar of an individual summative assessment does not provide an easy answer, another logical step would be to combine several assessments together making progress decisions on the cumulative performance in all the assessments. 

One way of achieving this is through the Progress Test. This is an assessment which seeks to evaluate students’ knowledge of the learning objectives covering the whole curriculum. Administered several times per year, it is designed to encourage deeper learning strategies and discourage last-minute superficial learning. The progress test is just one approach; other cumulative approaches to assessment have been proposed as a way of encouraging retention of previously learnt material, with some promising preliminary results. 

Unfortunately, it is not inevitable that any of these approaches will have the desired positive learning effects. The overall design of the assessment system can prevent these benefits being realised. The frequency of administration of the progress test, and the use of other end-of-block assessments can influence whether students perceive the test as an aid to their learning or is instead regarded as just another hurdle. A recent study demonstrated that students made less use of feedback available after progress tests if summative decisions were made on the cumulative performance in the last four tests. By contrast, when the progress test was embedded in a more comprehensive programme of assessment, and the results of the tests not used summatively but were instead part of a broader portfolio system, supported by long-term mentoring, students made significantly more use of feedback.

The important implication of these studies is that it is not the assessment instrument (such as the progress test) which inevitably fosters an assessment for learning approach; instead the critical issue is how the instrument is used within the overall assessment culture. 

To explore other options for moving assessments forward, please click below.