The Principles
USask has 10 (ten) Assessment Principles. The first six are focused on course-based assessments. They articulate the main things educators do that enable effective assessment. Below you will find expanded detail around these first six principles. We have includedin the summaries where to find more information, resources and have responses to common concerns educators have asked for clarification on.
Effective Assessment of Students:
1. Is aligned with learning outcomes and instructional strategies (assessment of learning).
2. Is inclusive and transparent, so students have equitable opportunities to demonstrate their learning.
3. Gives students multiple opportunities to learn through practice and feedback, so they have sufficient time and support to reflect and improve (assessment for learning).
4. Develops student's ability to learn effectively and prepares students to be self-directed, reflective, and engaged learners (assessment as learning).
5. Is designed so students apply disciplinary learning under authentic, or as close to authentic as possible, circumstances.
6. Is constructed and sequenced in ways that support positive student mental health and well-being.
In addition to the course-based assessment principles, there are four more that are more systemic and not the focus of this document. These principles articulate how effective assessment is embedded in departments, colleges/schools, and system-wide.
Effective assessment is embedded in departments, colleges/schools, and system-wide when it:
7. Provides a valid and trustworthy representation of student achievement that students, educators, disciplines, accrediting bodies, and employers can have confidence in.
8. Is manageable and sustainable for educators, and appropriately facilitated by policy and resourcing.
9. Provides useful information for ongoing course and program enhancement.
10. Forms an integral part of program design, aligning with what programs of study are aiming to achieve within disciplinary communities.
How to implement the Principles in your course
1. Learn how to implement the principles in your course
Alignment refers to the process of planning your learning outcomes to describe what your students will be able to do, know or value, and then planning how you will assess and teach based on those outcomes. When align to outcomes, you only gather evidence of academic achievement that is critical to those outcomes.
- Watch this video on what “aligned” means
- Understand the spectrum of grading practices related to outcomes
- Learn the difference between weighting by outcomes and assignments
- Read about problems with assessing based on attendance and participation
2. Is inclusive and transparent, so students have equitable opportunities to demonstrate their learning.
When assessment is inclusive and transparent, students understand what they are trying to demonstrate through an assessment and what specific characteristics a good assessment product has. When we make assessments more inclusive, they are designed to work well for a variety of access needs and cultures, often through choice or universal design.
- Watch this video on how to make assessment transparent using a rubric
- Read an open educational resource about inclusivity in learning through Universal Design
- Make your Canvas course and exams more accessible
- Read more about how to design intercultural curricula through internationalization
- Learn how to design inclusive assessments in order to provide multiple opportunities to learn
3. Gives students multiple opportunities to learn through practice and feedback, so they have sufficient time and support to reflect and improve (assessment for learning).
When assessment is designed to improve students learning, students get early, often ungraded, feedback on their practice. They learn how to do well, and then do an assessment designed to demonstrate their completed learning. Timely feedback and reflection are designed into the course.
- Get the basics of using Poll Everywhere for practice and feedback, even in large courses
- Learn about how to give efficient feedback
- Read how to make room in your course for practice
- Explore how to use H5P activities to embed practice within Canvas pages
4. Develops student’s ability to learn effectively and prepares students to be self-directed, reflective, and engaged learners (assessment as learning).
The assessments that make the biggest long-term impact on student learning require them to engage with complex issues and problems, make choices about how to proceed and reflect on how they did.
- Learn about grading reflection
- Consider how offering choice in assessment impacts student ownership of learning
5. Is designed so students apply disciplinary learning under authentic, or as close to authentic as possible, circumstances.
Our disciplines play important roles in the fabric of our society. Well-designed assessments help students to think like members of our disciplines and professions and use the types of skills they will use when they graduate.
- Understand authentic assessment
6. Is constructed and sequenced in ways that support positive student mental health and well-being.
A key goal of the assessment process is to help as many students as possible learn course outcomes. To that end, it is important to only assess skills and content you have spent substantial time teaching, and to assess chunks or steps of hard concepts to help students break hard learning into parts.
- Learn planning process for sequencing learning and assessment on a specific outcomes
- Learn about using scaffolding to design assessments, including sequencing, chunking, and the importance of students receiving feedback along the way.
Resources
- The Standard Design Rubric for Online Course Design empowers instructors to elevate their online courses by providing a clear, actionable framework for creating engaging, inclusive, and high-quality learning experiences. With a focus on organization, accessibility, assessment, and student interaction, it helps ensure courses are not only well-structured but also impactful and aligned with institutional goals.
- Attend GMCTL workshops to learn about a specific assessment principle and how to use it for your course.
- Book a one-to-one consultation to design a full assessment consistent with the principles for your course.
Get Help
The Gwenna Moss Centre for Teaching and Learning (GMCTL) offers one-to-one consultations, workshops, and a variety of services to enhance teaching and learning at USask. We can support colleges, departments, faculty, sessionals, graduate students, and teaching assistants.
If you are unsure who to connect with for support, email our team.