Assessing Student Learning in Remote Contexts

Perspectives from across the country 

UC Davis faculty, students, staff, and administrators are all learning about what it means to take instruction online in a hurry.  The challenges are very real, as are the stakes. Following are perspectives from faculty and assessment practitioners that shed light on the questions we have. 

What Do Final Exams Mean During a Pandemic?

"For some professors, at least, rethinking their finals under duress has raised questions about whether their usual approach was the best one in the first place."

In this article from The Chronicle of Higher Education, Beckie Supiano shares examples of how faculty across the country have turned the crisis of COVID-19 into an opportunity to reflect on--and assess--what matters most in their courses. 

Well before the global health crisis prompted changes to teaching and learning, UC Davis Associate Professor of Animal Science Ann Todgham explained her focus on what matters most in her courses.

Might This Be the Beginning of Education?

Perhaps most important, this moment of turmoil in higher education has caused us to think more carefully about ourselves and our identity as instructors.

In an Inside Higher Ed opinion piece, Paul Hanstedt poses provocative questions and prompts faculty to engage in potentially transformative reflection. For example, he views this crisis as an opportunity to  "recognize that education doesn’t happen because we have a Ph.D. and can deliver an hourlong lecture without glancing at our notes. Rather, education -- deep, lasting, meaningful education -- takes place when we have the courage to allow our students to be partners in their own learning." 

Equitable Exams During COVID-19

It’s vital to reconsider time limits, deadlines, student access, the types of exams created and how to evaluate exams. Such considerations provide a space for flexibility, understanding and, ultimately, student achievement.

In this Inside Higher Ed advice column, Pamela Chui Kadakia and Allan A. Bradshaw offer suggestions for faculty related to ensuring assessment practices in remote teaching contexts are equitable and accessible.

Ensuring Fairness in Unprecedented Times: Grading Our Nation’s Students

While we all try to adapt to a strange new world, we must begin a dialogue about how education for students can be delivered effectively and, even more importantly, equitably. 

In their recent viewpoint published by the National Institute of Learning Outcomes Assessment (NILOA, Tammie Cumming, M. David Miller, Jennifer Bergeron, and Fredrik deBoer invite faculty and administrators to consider how student performance may be adversely  affected by the rapid shift to remote teaching environments, as well as by factors beyond courses and instruction.