Assessing in the Virtual World by Meredith Stewart

One of the challenges in working in a fully virtual environment is designing meaningful assessments that accurately reflect student knowledge. In US history this year, we began with snapshots from important events throughout our country’s history. As a cumulative assessment, students were given three questions that asked them to make connections across events and to analyze significance. Each student was scheduled for a five-minute conference with his or her teacher and randomly given one of the questions to discuss. While students were being assessed other students were working on an independent research assignment. In addition to assessing students’ understanding of the material, it was a great way to gain some “face time” in the early weeks of virtual learning.