STEM Assessment Ideas

While we recognize that everyone has their own style of teaching and assessment, we want to provide some general recommendations to help you and your students navigate the technology that comes with virtual assessment arrangements.

Proficiency Assessments

Timed Live-Proctored Tests

Note: Highline College currently does not hold a subscription to 3rd party proctoring services.

Highline's policy is that video cameras can be required for assessment monitoring only. This can be used for live, timed testing so the instructor can see the student working the exercises, and be reasonably confident that another person is not completing the test in their stead. Keep in mind two things:

  1. This requirement must be clearly stated in the syllabus. (We also recommend sharing it as part of the pre-course letter for your course.)
  2. Some students will not have enough devices, or insufficient internet bandwidth to support this requirement. 

To support students who aren't able to deliver a consistent video feed, have a few back up plans ready to go. Some recommended options:

  1. Students can use a web cam connected to a desktop computer OR Laptop, OR use the Tablet OR Cellphone. Zoom clients are available for all major mobile and computer devices. 
  2. Have standardized language offering alternatives should a student request that. Alternatives are described below and on our page of Test Design Strategies.
  3. Tell students what to do in case they have a technology failure mid-exam. 
  4. Have a standardized response ready to go if technology fails, so you can paste that into an email to students. 

The Placement and Testing Center will not be available during Spring Quarter for proctoring course assessments.

Alternatives to Live Testing for STEM

We understand that you are working hard and doing everything you can to improve your student’s experience in your remote learning environment. We also recognize that not everyone has the luxury of teaching the same class over and over again. With this in mind, trying to develop meaningful projects that are open-book and/or open-note can be challenging and time consuming. If you choose to make this a priority this quarter or in the quarters to come, we know your work will be rewarding and inspirational - might we even say - fun to grade?

EdTech Faculty in Residence would love to work with you as you begin to develop these types of assessments. In the meantime here are some ways to minimize cheating while facilitating a range of assessment formats. 

Timed Testing

Timed tests with randomly selected questions from a topic group, pulled from a question bank, can add variety while simultaneously generating unique assessments for every student, and still assessing each learning outcome. The bigger the question groups, the more randomized the tests will be.

Timed tests with limited options to review questions, or conditional release tests that provide one question at a time, also help. While this tends to deter Chegg uploads, it also generates high levels of anxiety in students who want to be able to go back and review and/or change an answer later.

In all the timed testing situations we recommend student’s work be required to show proof of topic mastery. This will deter some cheating tendencies. 

Testing Window

Open-window tests are set up so students have a set time-frame - up to several days - to complete a list of questions. This can be open book or closed book with more theoretical questions and less procedural assessment. This could provide students with time to talk to each other. Depending on the topic, student-to-student discussion may be an acceptable and serendipitous outcome.

Open Book (Timed/Windowed w/Collaboration Allowed...or Not)

Open book and/or open note tests with more conceptual questions where students do the research to learn about topics and how they relate to their interest or life experiences. In this scenario the students need to generate a unique research report from their unique findings and regardless of classmates work, they will turn in something completely different from their peers.

Projects

Projects with parameters defined - Transparency in Learning and Teaching(TiLT) - and connections to Culturally Responsive Teaching Strategies Links to an external site.. For example, list the action items, the deliverables, what you are hoping they learn, and about how much writing you are expecting.

Inquiry based projects on a topic can provide even more flexibility in how you assess the student. Consider developing a robust rubric to pair with the project. Provide a starting point for these types of assessments. Sometimes research or a scholarly article or a list of connected topics can be the starting point for students to dig deeper into a topic in which they are interested. 

  • Implement Universal Design for Learning (UDL) by providing multiple means of representation to let students explore the topic first. 
  • Next, provide freedom by allowing multiple means of expression so students can share their findings in their preferred format. For example - they could upload a PPT, a Word document research paper, or a video of their findings. 
  • Allow students to research the area of interest that provides information or strengthens a connection they have to their socio-historical background, interest, or goal.
  • Provide clear expectations for the finished product - For example, include a list of desired deliverables, a rubric, and a clear description for length of response.

Looking for more?

Here are some great articles posted on Edutopia about assessments and cheating Links to an external site.. EdTech's Test Design Strategies  and Academic Integrity and Remote Assessment pages offer additional approaches to remote testing.

Contract Grading is another option for providing the parameters required for an A, B, C, etc.. While it can provide more opportunities for mastery, it can also be a never-ending review and modify process for the instructor. It is not for everyone, but if you like to see improvement over time and don't mind the iterative review process it might be just what you have been looking for! 

Cultural Responsiveness in STEM Assignments

5 Common Culturally Responsive Teaching Attributes - bullet points by Kristin Burnham; a journalist and editor, as well as a contributor to the Enrollment Management team at Northeastern University.

  • Activate Student’s Prior Knowledge
  • Encourage students to Leverage their Cultural Capital
  • Contextualize the Learning Experience
  • Reevaluate the Classrooms Environment & Resources - Reflect Diversity
  • Build Relationships 

Start with a Topic - Look for strong contextualized presentations 

Connect the learning to Prior Knowledge - this is flexible, but think about how you frame the deliverables so that the students have a scaffold upon which to climb.

Encourage Engagement via Cultural Capital - this could be done by encouraging students to research the topic from a specific perspective - historical, cultural, social, or spiritual.

Again, clearly define the deliverables using TiLT.

Building cultural responsiveness into any assessment practice can create a more constructive assessment environment.