Modern Learning Environments Need Balanced Assessment Systems 

As a doctoral learner and professional development provider, keeping up with blog writing has been nearly impossible. At this point, the best opportunity for me to blog is when it presents itself in the form of an assignment. For the final assignment in the Assessment Strategies course, a blog has been requested. Alas, as I complete this blog, it is a feat and celebration for another reason: this marks my last assignment for all coursework in my doctoral journey. I will now officially be a doctoral candidate, ABD (All But Dissertation). 

What a way to end coursework with a blog, an assessment format fitting for a balanced assessment system. In balanced assessment learning environments, data is collected on learner performance at every step through formative assessments, rather than waiting until a summative assessment, such as an end-of-unit test. Balanced assessment systems rely on continuous, varied activities that provide insight into how a learner is doing academically (Pelligrino, 2014). As the modern learning environment evolves, so must assessment and how we engage learners in their acquisition of knowledge.

Backwards Design: How the Assessment Drives the Objectives

What is assessment?

The time is now for the shift in how educators and learners view assessment. Too often, assessment is used as a final glimpse instead of an overall, comprehensive view of a learner’s strengths. Instead, educators should use formative, summative, and alternative assessments in order to guide instruction and create a holistic approach to developing learner skills (Saeed et al., 2018). When educators have a clear understanding of the end goal, and are provided with professional development that helps them to understand how best to design assessment, they are far more effective, and in turn, learners thrive (Gray et al., 2023). Assessment must be connected to the learning taking place, and assessments must be given frequently throughout the course of learning.

Determining Lesson Objectives

Before an assessment can be built, the targets must be crystal clear. To determine the lesson objectives that anchor an assessment, administrators and educators should follow a backward design framework. Wiggins and McTighe (2005) are the gurus of backwards design. In their text, Understanding by Design (UbD), they posit that educators should ask themselves five questions to determine objectives. When developing lessons with the end in mind, objectives are created based on what the final assessment will look like. Then, throughout the course of the unit, learners are given formative assessments to check that they are on the right path to meeting the objectives and are supported if not. Alignment is critical to assessing for learning versus assessment as learning. When assessment is used for learning, educators can effectively incorporate differentiated instruction tools to enrich and intervene with learners as necessary.

Understanding Various Assessment Formats

There is no single “best” assessment type; the optimal choice depends entirely on the learning objective being evaluated. And, in a balanced assessment learning environment, all types have a place. The most important part of deciding what type of assessment to use is determining what you are assessing. Understanding Bloom’s taxonomy and determining which level of Bloom’s is being assessed will help to determine whether higher-order thinking (HOT) questions or simple recall questions are necessary.

• Selected-Response (e.g., Multiple Choice, Matching): Best for checking foundational knowledge, vocabulary, and quick diagnostic tracking across large student cohorts efficiently. This is the most basic level of Bloom’s taxonomy. Learners are recalling, describing, and explaining what was learned. This is often described as “regurgitation,” where learners forget the content almost immediately after they have finished. 
• Open-Ended (e.g., Essays, Short Answer): Ideal for assessing critical thinking, argumentative writing, and the ability to synthesize divergent ideas. Here, learners are applying, analyzing, and evaluating what was learned to create deeper connections through authentic tasks. 
• Performance Assessments (e.g., Presentations, Portfolios, Labs): The gold standard for measuring authentic, real-world application of complex skills. Learners are using the knowledge gained to create new material and make strong connections that remain long after the assessment. 

When utilizing the Bloom’s Learning for Mastery (LFM) model, all assessment types are utilized, and regardless of which type of assessment is given, the formative assessment data is used to create lessons to enrich or correct based on learner needs before the summative assessment is given (Pelkola et al., 2018). As an English educator, I am a huge advocate for open-ended assessment, but I understand the need for all types of assessment in a balanced system. 

Effort Grades: Yay or Nay?

Historically, effort and grades have formed the bedrock of traditional parent-educator communications (Adrjan, 2025). Effort grades are marks assigned to evaluate a student’s perceived diligence, participation, and behavior, independent of their actual academic mastery. A learner’s work should never be evaluated based on the subjective effort that we think the learner put into the work. When effort and mastery are blended into a single grade, the data becomes corrupted.

 An “A” should mean a learner has mastered the standard, not that they were compliant and polite, or that we perceive the amount of effort that was put in. However, in a dual reporting system, both have a space to be assessed. When educators provide learners an opportunity to reflect on their work before submitting, this also allows the educator to see where the learner believes they are in terms of the effort they have dedicated to the task. Furthermore, when parent-educator communication is shifted to learner-led conference communication, everyone gets a better picture of the level of effort of the learner (Clemensen, 2026). 

Engaging Learners in the Process Through Reflection and Self-Assessment

Self-assessment is the process by which learners reflect on the quality of their own work, measure it against clear criteria, and identify their own strengths and areas for improvement. This is most often and best done through a rubric. When learners have the ability to score themselves against the criteria of a rubric and report why they have rated themselves where they have, this enhances personal performance and allows learners to critically judge their own work (Dao Dieu Nguyen et al., 2024). 

While I love a good rubric, rubrics are only as effective as the criteria used to design them. Rubrics need to be unbiased and consistent, and this is done by having clear, concise, and definitive wording (Casey et al., 2021). Vague wording like “some,” “most,” or “minimal” has no business being in a rubric, as this is subjective and can be based on the scorer’s perception. Rubrics should include connections to the standards and the meaningful criteria necessary to show mastery. Learners should be presented with the rubric before even starting the assignment, so they know what they are working towards. This allows learners to be on the same page, and it allows learners to self-reflect; however, I do not believe learners should be involved in the design of assessments or rubrics. I do, however, advocate for learner choice in assessment when applicable. Using choice boards or offering several ways in which learners can demonstrate understanding is ideal for a differentiated and balanced assessment learning environment. 

Growth Portfolios: Where Do We Grow from Here?

Learner growth portfolios are a purposeful, longitudinal collection of work compiled over time to explicitly demonstrate learning progress, effort, and academic evolution. A portfolio falls under a performance assessment, is usually graded using a rubric, and allows learners the autonomy to choose what artifact(s) best demonstrate their understanding of the content (Lam, 2016). This is not an assessment that necessarily works for every subject or grade level, and the educator must have a clear understanding of the purpose of the portfolio. While there are clear benefits to using a growth portfolio, there are some drawbacks to consider, as well.

Benefits

• Visualizes Progress: Unlike a single exam, a growth portfolio captures the journey of learning, making it an excellent tool for formative growth.
• Fosters Metacognition: Requires learners to look back, critique past work, and actively recognize their own intellectual advancement.
• Authentic Evaluation: Showcases a diverse array of learner talents that standardized tests miss.

Drawbacks

• Time-Intensive: Demands substantial instructional time for curation, reflection, and maintenance.
• Subjectivity: Grading portfolios reliably across an entire school or district requires extensive moderation and training to eliminate evaluator bias.

Leveraging Visual Data in Assessment

Figures, tables, and graphs are crucial tools for converting raw assessment data into actionable instructional strategies. They allow administrators to spot institutional equity gaps, help educators identify concepts that require re-teaching, and clarify learner progress during stakeholder meetings. During parent-educator interactions, educators often manage structural and conversational preferences with delivering student praise and criticism. The table below illustrates the organization that governs crucial diagnostic conversations between educators and parents:

Table 1 

Preferred Organization of Parent-Educator Interactions

Interaction Type	Delivery by Educator	Delivery by Parent/Caregiver
Praising Learner	Preferred (Straightforward, fluent, immediate)	Dispreferred (Delayed, qualified, or avoided)
Criticizing Learner	Dispreferred (Delayed, mitigated, qualified)	Preferred (Straightforward, fluent, without delay)

Shifting from Standardization to Individualization

To truly optimize assessments, we must look past the classroom walls and view evaluation as an ecosystem that interfaces directly with school culture and families we serve. The original purpose for standardized assessments was to sort which branch of the military men went into during World War I (Maranto, 2015). In a modern learning environment, where we preach differentiation, learner autonomy, and future-ready skills, why do we still depend on these antiquated means of assessing learners? Let’s break from the “comfort trap” as Kevin Eikenberry calls it. It’s time to change the narrative of “We’ve always done it this way” to asking the tough questions: Have we ever changed it? Is it working as well as it used to? Has anything else changed? What might make it better? (Eikenberry, 2024). We have gone through an awful lot in our world since the invention of the classroom (1837) and the initial use of standardized assessments (1914). The way we’ve always done it no longer works, and learners today deserve more to prepare them to be global citizens.

References

• Adrjan, B. (2025). Parent–teacher conferences as opportunities for educational partnership: A conversational analysis across three historical models of partnership. Multidisciplinary Journal of School Education, 14(2 (28)), 171-192. https://doi.org/10.35765//mjse.2025.1428.09
• Casey, K., Schultz, T., & Toms, O. (2021). Can you teach intrinsic values? Creating a rubric to support and assess professional dispositions development. International Journal of Special Education (IJSE), 36(1), 13-26. https://doi.org/10.52291/ijse.2021.36.2
• Clemensen, J. M. (2021). Engaging parents through student-led parent-teacher conferences. Midwest Quarterly, 62(2), 135-140. https://www.pittstate.edu/info/midwestq/index.html
• Dao Dieu Nguyen, T., Duong Thi Ngoc, L., Nguyen Thi Phuong, T., Tran Thi, N., Nguyen Thi Thanh, T., Vo Thi Diem, B., Vo Thanh, T., Nguyen Thi, M., Hoang Thi, H., Ton Nu Minh, D., & Hoang Thi Phuong, T. (2024). Comparing effectiveness between rubric and traditional methods to assess clinical practice among Vietnamese nursing students: A quasi-experimental study. Pacific Rim International Journal of Nursing Research, 29(1), 122-136. https://doi.org/10.60099/prijnr.2025.269492
• Eikenberry, K. (2024, May 6). How to respond to “We’ve always done it that way” [Video]. YouTube. https://youtu.be/JgC_WsdwBWI?si=krRjVp0DlJXc8hTl
• Gray, S. I., Wilcox, M. J., & Reiser, M. (2024). Efficacy of the teaching early literacy and language curriculum with preschoolers from low-income families. Language, Speech, and Hearing Services in Schools, 55(3), 696-713. https://doi.org/10.1044/2024_lshss-23-00140
• Lam, R. (2016). Assessment as learning: Examining a cycle of teaching, learning, and assessment of writing in the portfolio-based classroom. Studies in Higher Education, 41(11), 1900-1917. https://doi.org/10.1080/03075079.2014.999317
• Maranto, J. H. (2015). The effect of standardized testing on historical literacy and educational reform in the U.S. Academic Leadership Journal in Student Research. https://doi.org/10.58809/lzsy2873
• Pelkola, T., Rasila, A., & Sangwin, C. (2018). Investigating Bloom’s learning for mastery in mathematics with online assessment. Informatics in Education, 17(2), 363-380. https://doi.org/10.15388/infedu.2018.19
• Pellegrino, J. W. (2014). Assessment as a positive influence on 21st century teaching and learning: A systems approach to progress. Psicología Educativa, 20(2), 65-77. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pse.2014.11.002
• Saeed, M., Tahir, H., & Latif, I. (2018). Teachers’ perceptions about the use of classroom assessment techniques in elementary and secondary schools. Bulletin of Education and Research, 40(1), 115-130.
• Wiggins, G. P., & McTighe, J. (2005). Understanding by design. ASCD.