In the last few years I’ve taken up baking. Previously, my attempts were confined to breaking open little cans of dough I would pop in the oven. My addiction to baking began with watching The Great British Baking Show and it has taught me some interesting truths about assessment:
- Order matters. In baking and assessment there are steps in the process that come in a specific order. If you work out of order with some recipes or assessment processes your final product isn’t as successful.
- The right tool is important. Baking requires some specialized tools. I couldn’t believe the difference in my bakes after my husband bought me a high end mixer. Assessing student learning is also best accomplished with specific types of assessments in line with what faculty are trying to measure.
- Practice makes perfect! The more I bake and try to perfect certain recipes, the better my outcomes. The same holds true with assessment. The more you try and determine the best measures of assessment, and examine student performance; the better you will understand student learning.
So on your next assessment project remember, order matters. First, determine what you want to know about your students. Next, make sure you have the right assessment instrument to measure student performance and finally, keep going! You may not get it right the first time, but keep assessing.
As for me, I’m going to keep on baking. My next conquest is going to be a Mary Berry’s Bakewell Tart.
Sheri H. Barrett, EdD