KEY CONCEPT
Authentic alternative assessments foster deeper understanding, encourage critical thinking, and prepare students for practical challenges they’ll encounter beyond the classroom. They enhance the online learning experience by bridging theory and practice, making education more relevant and impactful.
What are the Types of Evaluative Interventions in Online Assessment?
There are many different types of summative assessments that instructors can use to evaluate learners’ achievement of course learning outcomes. As an instructor, you are likely familiar with conventional, grade-focused summative assessment options (e.g., tests, exams, essays, and presentations). These conventional assessments are commonly found in online post-secondary courses. However, the landscape of online assessment in higher education is changing, and alternative, learning-focused assessment is emerging as a powerful force.
Conventional Assessments
Conventional assessments ask learners to complete a test or assignment on a specific day and at a specific time. This approach provides a snapshot of what learners know at a given moment in their course or program. Feedback on conventional assessments may be limited to grades or brief after-the-fact comments. It is not surprising, then, that the grades attached to conventional assessments become important. Thus, another defining characteristic of conventional assessments is the focus on the assessment outcome rather than the learning process (Seneca College et al., 2022).
Examples of conventional, grade-focused assessments include mid-term tests, essays, presentations, and final exams.
Alternative Assessments
Alternative assessments, sometimes called authentic or performance assessments, provide opportunities for learners to demonstrate what they know and can do through real-world applications, novel problem-solving, and critical reflection. Alternative assessments can be brief activities but are often ongoing throughout the course and prioritize formative assessment (e.g., self- and peer-assessment or instructor feedback) before final grading.
Examples of alternative assessments include case study analyses, e-portfolios, infographics, and podcasts.
The following table highlights key differences between conventional and alternative assessments to be aware of when designing, implementing, and revising assessments in your online course (DeLuca et al., 2022).
| Conventional, Grade-Focused Assessment | Alternative, Learning-Focused Assessment | |
| Goal is to measure the acquisition of knowledge | GOAL | Goal is to enhance the development of meaningful skills |
| Instructor controls assessment process (instructor-centred) | CONTROL | Learners participate in assessment process (learner-centred) |
| Emphasizes developing a body of knowledge (“what” knowledge, lower cognitive levels) | KNOWLEDGE | Emphasizes constructing and applying knowledge (“how” knowledge, higher cognitive levels) |
| Prioritizes summative purposes and products (grading, judgement) | PURPOSE | Prioritizes formative purposes and processes (improving, development) |
| Separates assessment from the teaching and learning process (isolated) | TIMING | Continuous assessment within the teaching and learning process (integrated) |
| Narrow, discrete focus with limited learner choice | FOCUS | Broad, integrated focus with learner choice |
| Relies on proxy measures of learning to represent target skills | MEASUREMENT | Relies on direct measures of target skills |
| Provides a snapshot of learning at one point in time | EVIDENCE | Provides evidence of learning over time |
| Promotes grade obsession and competition (individual) | CULTURE | Promotes dialogue, feedback, and collaboration (social) |
| Encourages memorization and correct answers | THINKING | Encourages divergent thinking and multiple possible responses |
| Decontextualized, simplistic skills and tasks | COMPLEXITY | Authentic, complex tasks with real-world applications |
How Do Alternative Assessments Support Online Teaching?
In short, alternative assessments support online teaching and learning more effectively than conventional assessments because they:
- integrate assessment and instruction;
- serve both formative and summative assessment purposes during learning cycles;
- allow instructors and learners to improve through ongoing feedback during a course while also contributing to learners’ final grades;
- provide learners with authentic opportunities to apply learning in professionally relevant ways;
- promote meaningful engagement and deep learning that endure beyond the course;
- support learners’ overall achievement and well-being in the context of post-secondary education and beyond.
How Do I Create and Implement Evaluative Interventions?
Effective assessment strategies for online delivery are purposeful and strategic. In-person assessments should not simply be adapted for online learning – they should be constructed and developed with online delivery and execution as the guiding framework. Any assessment in a course, big or small, should be meaningful to learning, effective in checking for understanding, and relevant to real-life application of content to new contexts.
When developing your course assessment scheme (e.g., purposes, types, timing, and frequency of assessment), it is important to deliberately consider not only the set learning outcomes for the course but also how the assessment will translate into an authentic and meaningful demonstration of learning. Alternative assessments provide learners with multiple opportunities to develop their knowledge or skills through scaffolded activities and feedback, and the flexibility to demonstrate their learning in a way that is authentic and connected to each of them personally (Seneca College et al., 2022).
Let’s Review
What are Alternative Forms of Online Assessment?
Here are some examples. Click each type to reveal more information about the assessment method:
Annotated Bibliography
An in-depth review and summary of salient literature on a relevant topic. Requires learners to identify, analyze, and summarize the quality literature on a selected course topic.
Case Study Analysis
Present learners with a real-life or hypothetical scenario specific to a discipline and/or future profession. Require learners to analyze the situation and propose potential solutions critically.
Critical Reflection Paper
A paper that allows learners to explore and evaluate transformative learning experiences in relation to course content and lived experiences. Requires learners to combine critical and reflective thinking skills to articulate key concepts and new learning.
e-Portfolio
A digital collection of multiple products (artifacts of learning) and processes (reflections on learning) constructed over time. Requires learners to select the best evidence of their learning through self-assessment and peer and instructor feedback.
Infographic or Info-Poster
A visual representation of information, including data, charts, diagrams, pictures, icons, and some text. Requires learners to synthesize and convey salient information about a topic in a creative, engaging, easily understood graphic.
Mind Map
A visual representation of a subject or topic that allows learners to represent key information creatively. Requires learners to create a diagram with pictures, words, drawings, and links or connections between different ideas.
Critical Reflection Paper
A paper that allows learners to explore and evaluate transformative learning experiences in relation to course content and lived experiences. Requires learners to combine critical and reflective thinking skills to articulate key concepts and new learning.
e-Portfolio
A digital collection of multiple products (artifacts of learning) and processes (reflections on learning) constructed over time. Requires learners to select the best evidence of their learning through self-assessment and peer and instructor feedback.
Infographic or Info-Poster
A visual representation of information, including data, charts, diagrams, pictures, icons, and some text. Requires learners to synthesize and convey salient information about a topic in a creative, engaging, easily understood graphic.
Mind Map
A visual representation of a subject or topic that allows learners to represent key information creatively. Requires learners to create a diagram with pictures, words, drawings, and links or connections between different ideas.
Online Debate
A discussion prompt that promotes analytical and critical thinking in relation to current “hot topics” or events. Requires learners to create one original post supported by course content and/or personal experience and respond to at least one classmate’s posts in written or audio form.
Podcast
Individuals or groups of learners create an audio-recorded narrative of their self-reflection and analytical skills. Requires learners to create a three- to five-minute audio recording plus a written script.
Video
Individuals or groups of learners create a video to demonstrate new knowledge and skills for an academic or professional audience. Requires learners to do storyboarding, video recording, and video editing.
Website or Brochure
Learners create a website or brochure to communicate key learning and information using text and multimedia elements. Requires learners to synthesize and convey salient information about a topic in a creative, engaging, compelling way.
How Can I Create Authentic Alternative Assessments for Online Courses?
Creating and implementing authentic alternative assessments in your course may seem like a daunting task. Many questions arise. Where do I start? How much time will these assessments take? How will I grade them? Are they reliable, valid, and fair? (DeLuca et al, 2022)
The following four (4) steps offer guidance on designing, implementing, and grading authentic alternative assessments.
Click to review more information about each of the steps:
1. Identify the learning goals
2. Select an authentic task
Sometimes, the learning outcome clearly denotes the authentic task the learner must perform. In other cases, we must ask ourselves how this knowledge and these skills would be applied in the real world. What discipline-specific tasks related to the learning goal would a graduate perform in the workplace? How could these skills be used in real life?
The following table provides additional examples of authentic assessment tasks suitable for online assessment:
| Category | Assessment Examples |
| Written | Business correspondence Executive summary Legal brief Newspaper article or editorial Policy memo Scientific abstract Standard operating procedure White paper |
| Performance | Client Presentation (recorded) Conference poster Online debate Webinar |
| Creation | Advertisement Brochure Infographic Podcast Poem or play Poster Product development Spreadsheet Video Web page Work of art or music |
| Reflective Practice | Blog Interview Journal Portfolio Resume |
| Collaboration | Online debate Peer teaching Social media campaign Team project |
| Application | Annotated bibliography Annual report Budget proposal Business case for support Capstone project Case study Inventory list Literature review Research proposal to a granting agency Survey and data analysis Technical report |
Adapted from Walvoord, B. & Anderson, V. (1998). Appendix B: Types of assignments and tests. In Effective Grading: A Tool for Learning and Assessment (pp. 193–195). Jossey-Bass.
Source: Seneca College, Durham College, Algonquin College, & University of Ottawa. Rethinking Assessment Strategies for Online Learning: A Short Course for Post-Secondary Educators.
3. Define the criteria for meeting learning goals
As mentioned, authentic alternative assessments require constructed, personalized, and creative solutions to real-world challenges. This attribute often confuses instructors and teaching assistants when it comes to evaluating the assignment. Since there are no right or wrong answers, the assessment design must specify the characteristics of good performance.
4. Develop a rubric
The final step in authentic alternative assessment design is to incorporate the criteria into an evaluation, or grading, rubric. The rubric clearly describes the standards and expectations for each performance level. Rubrics are important tools when grading authentic assessments. They allow instructors to quickly evaluate diverse responses and solutions consistently and objectively by defining exactly what is being measured. Rubrics also make these expectations clear to learners, allowing them to focus on the important learning goals. Be sure to include the rubric in the assignment instructions to support learner success.
Determining these assessment criteria is perhaps the most challenging part of crafting an authentic online assessment. When defining the performance measures, focus only on the essential criteria necessary to meet the learning goals and match the number of criteria with the complexity of the task. Align the criteria to industry and professional standards of practice where appropriate.
Involve learners in the criteria definition process by asking what good performance on the task means to them. Co-creating assessment criteria improves learners’ understanding of assessment expectations and what they must do to meet these standards of performance.
Additional Resources
The following are additional resources for this topic:- Rethinking Assessment Strategies for Online Learning: A Short Course for Post-Secondary Educators challenges educators to rethink conventional approaches to testing and grading and equip them with resources, skills, and confidence to adapt their conventional assessment methods to meet evolving sector needs.
- Transforming Assessment: Strategies for Higher Education from Queens University is a self-paced, professional learning e-course that provides higher education instructors with the opportunity to transform their assessment practices – building on existing assessment knowledge and skills, reflecting on foundational assessment principles, exploring contemporary assessment strategies, and creating new assessments – to support learners across disciplines and contexts.
- Beyond the Exam is a comprehensive toolkit designed to support educators in their exploration of new assessment strategies as part of their commitment to improving and offering flexible online teaching and learning experiences.
- The Stanford Foundations of Course Design provides practical tips and strategies for providing feedback and assessing learning in the post-secondary context. Teaching Commons. (n.d.). Feedback and Assessment.
References
This guide has been reproduced from content found in Module 4: Assessment in Online Environments, in the Online Teaching Fundamentals Micro-credential course by eCampus Ontario and is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Assessments that focus on learner performance after instruction has occurred, to allow students to provide evidence demonstrating their level of achievement of the course learning outcomes. Typically such assessments are formal (i.e., graded). Common forms include: student portfolios, projects that have written and/or oral products, midterm and final exams, or performance tasks that demonstrate student achievement of the learning outcomes.
