Form Follows Function

We just started the school year, but many of you are thinking carefully about your first semester final exams.  This is a topic well worth giving time and thought, especially as you continue to create Understanding by Design units.  The first step of UbD is to identify very clearly what you want students to know and be able to do, and the second step is to decide how best to assess student understanding.

I have a test question for you:  According to a recent survey of Harvard undergraduate and graduate courses, what percentage required typical final exams (Blue Book, short answer, multiple choice, etc.)?

You can find the answer at the end of this entry.

Final Exams Redefined

Grant Wiggins says that he is often asked about assessments when he is presenting on the topic of Understanding by Design.  Should teachers give traditional exams?  Should we avoid final exams and use writing projects, portfolios, or projects instead?  Below is an excerpt from one of his recent blogs:

Exams vs. Projects? UbD is agnostic about many educational practices, be they final exams or projects.  Yet we often get queries such as these two recent ones: What’s the official UbD position on final exams?  Should we be doing more hands-on projects if we’re doing UbD?  The glib answer: No technique is inherently sacred or profane; what matters is how the exams and projects are shaped, timed, and assessed—mindful of course goals.  We tend to fixate on the format instead of worrying about the key question: Regardless of format, what evidence do we need and where can we find it?

He goes on to say there are only three non-negotiables in UbD:

1. There has to be a clear, constant, and prioritized focus on understanding as an educational goal.  Remember that in UbD, understanding has the specific meaning that students can transfer their learning.  Content mastery is only a means to get to the real priority: Students must be able use the content. 
2. The assessments must align to the goal.  If the goal is transfer, the assessment must measure the depth of a student’s ability to do so.  Wiggins: “The issue, therefore, is not whether or not there are final exams, but what kinds of questions/tasks make up any exam given and whether the kinds of questions are in balance with the prioritized goals.”
3. The instructional practices must align with the goals.  The lessons within a given unit must lead students to the level of understanding.  Students must be given the opportunity to actually transfer the knowledge and skills in order to reach the goal.  Furthermore, they must be taught how to transfer.  We cannot wait until the end of the semester before students see a performance task that requires transfer.  Rather, we scaffold them throughout the semester with direct teaching, modeling, group work, and short tasks, so students are prepared to perform well on our final assessments—whatever they might be.

We need to be careful we don’t create a false dichotomy.  We shouldn’t ask whether we should use a traditional final exam or a performance task.  Rather, the question should be this:  Does this assessment actually measure what I want it to measure? 

Again from Wiggins:

There is typically an unseen mismatch between assessment methods (and types of questions) vs. goals.  That’s not an ideological critique but a logical one; it has nothing to do with whether we "like" or "value" content, process, multiple-choice questions, or performance tasks.  What matters is the evidence we seek logically derive from what the goals demand.

Use the form that fits the function.  Once you know exactly what you want the student to know and be able to do in your class and what level of understanding you hope to achieve, you as the teacher, have to answer the question of what is the best way to gather evidence of a student’s understanding.  That may mean using a typical final exam, it may mean using a performance task, or it may mean using a combination of the two. 

The Answer to the Question

In an article entitled “Bye-bye, Blue Books,” Harvard Magazine reports that of the 1,137 undergraduate level courses, 259 (about 23%) scheduled final exams.  Furthermore, of the more than 500 graduate-level courses, only 14 (3%) scheduled final exams.  Please note that this does not mean they completely eradicated the use of traditional final exams.  It does mean, however, that they are looking at other ways, hopefully more useful ways, to accurately assess student learning.

One thing that is certain in the midst of all the uncertainty is that we will continue to work together to find answer to these difficult questions surrounding teaching, learning, and assessment.  The very best answers to tough questions will be discovered together.

Enjoy your Monday off and have a great week, HSE. 

Phil