Reimagine Summative Assessments for Increased Student Agency

After your students have learned and practiced something new, you will want them to demonstrate their learning. While a final test may be a common face-to-face assessment practice, it is usually not the best choice when your learning environment is online. In an online classroom, tests and quizzes are often better used as formative check points rather than high-stakes, summative assessments.

Whenever possible, strive to give your students voice and choice in how they show their learning. Let them be creative. Let them find a way to communicate their learning that aligns with their strengths and passions. This will both empower and motivate them to do better work. By unlocking student creativity and igniting their problem-solving skills, you will also be making learning much more fun and engaging. On top of that, you may find that you get a much more personal understanding of your students and what they know than you would have through a test score.

The articles in this collection provide key considerations for designing remote assessments as well as strategies and tools you can use when designing those assessments for both live and self-paced virtual classrooms.