Chapter 5 Assessment
5.3 Assessment Strategies and Practices
From the perspective of History education, historical knowledge can be divided
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into two categories: substantive knowledge and disciplinary or second-order structural knowledge (see Chapter 3, section 3.3.1 for details). Hence, how should we assess our students’ understanding of these two sets of different but inter-related knowledge? In fact, we need a variety of assessment tools to capture the different capacities of our students in their understanding of substantive knowledge and their abilities to apply disciplinary knowledge or second-order structural knowledge. The following suggestions are some common assessment practices adopted by History teachers.
5.3.1 Effective Questioning and feedback
Questioning is widely endorsed in teaching and applied throughout the class. It is commonly used for pre-assessment to check students’ interest and prior knowledge of a historical topic at the beginning of a lesson and for on-going assessment during the lesson to check students’ understanding of a historical concept or contents. It can also be used at the end of the lesson for consolidating students’ historical knowledge and understanding. Teachers should ask a wide range of questions to serve different purposes of assessment.
Questioning allows us to find out more about students and is useful for building rapport and showing empathy. Teachers should encourage enquiry learning by asking students to think historically. For example, when students are studying the Industrial Revolution, teachers can ask them the following discipline-specific questions:
Where and when did the Industrial Revolution start? (Substantive knowledge)
Which industry was the first to be mechanised at the beginning of the Industrial Revolution? (Disciplinary or second order structural knowledge)
Which invention during the Industrial Revolution do you think was the most important to human progress? Why? (Substantive knowledge and disciplinary or second order structural knowledge)
What choices would you make if you wanted to start your own business in the 19th century Britain? In which new industry would you invest? Or would you leave Britain for mainland Europe or the Americas to seek development opportunities?
Why? (Substantive knowledge and disciplinary or second order structural knowledge)
These questions start with the substantive knowledge to check students’ prior knowledge and understanding, followed by substantive knowledge and disciplinary or second order structural knowledge to provoke student thinking using historical skills
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and empathy. When teachers ask higher-order questions, they should give students sufficient prompts and wait patiently for them to answer.
Effective questions should not only engage students in the learning, application, and evaluation of historical content but should also help them learn historical thinking skills. Here are seven criteria for effective questions to guide historical enquiry3:
Does the question represent an important issue to historical and contemporary times?
Is the question debatable?
Does the question represent a reasonable amount of content?
Will the question hold the sustained interest of the students?
Is the question appropriate given the materials available to the students?
Is the question challenging for the students you are teaching?
What organising historical concepts will be emphasized? (Change over time, continuity, causality, context, or contingency?)
Timely and specific feedback informs students how they are doing. When students understand how well they have performed and what they need to improve, they know how to make adjustments. Here’s an example of how specific feedback helps learning in a History lesson:
Teacher: “Why was Thomas Jefferson important in US history?”
Student: “He was the first US president.”
Teacher: “Yes, he was the US president, but he was the third one. He did something great for his country. Do you know which famous historical document was written by him?”
(Clarifying answer and giving prompts) Student: “I see. It’s the Declaration of Independence.”
Teacher: “Exactly! Thomas Jefferson was the Founding Father of America and was the principal author of the Declaration of Independence. You search the Internet for a photo of the Jefferson Memorial in Washington D.C., which is dedicated to Thomas Jefferson.” (Encouraging further study)
Apart from oral feedback, written feedback should also be specific and let the students know how they are doing and what they should do next. Regardless of which type of feedback, teachers should use a supportive tone and ensure the feedback is
3 Extracted from Lesh, Bruce. A. (2011), Why won’t you just tell us the answer?: Teaching Historical Thinking in Grades 7-12. Portland, Me., Stenhouse, p.18
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respectful and actionable.
5.3.2 Formative assessment tasks
Assessment for learning through various formative assessment tasks can be done individually or in groups. In History class, teachers can assess students’ historical knowledge and skills by assigning them to read different kinds of books (e.g. novels and biograhpies) and materials, or do projects on special themes such as travels and adventures, inventions and progress, war and peace, reforms and revolutions as well as famous historical figures etc., and designing classroom activities. Here are some guidelines for preparing these activities for students:
The theme of the fiction or biographies should match the foundation parts of this curriculum, for example, reading The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin to understand the history of American Revolution.
Selection of reading materials should address the diverse learning needs of students.
Teachers can adapt the reading materials according to students’ interest, readiness and reading ability, such as by providing original, abridged version or extracts of scenarios relevant to the learning tasks; or designing boxed set of flash cards with a history topic on one side and key information on the other side, to check students’
understanding of a particular topic through playing games.
Assessment tasks in the form of book reports, role-play or projects should be done in historical context. Clear guidelines should be provided for students to express their views or show empathy with the experiences of the characters in the stories.
Maps can be used as an assessment for some curriculum content, such as wars and the territory of European countries in different periods, etc. A learning task that compares historical maps with the maps today can assess students’ understanding of change and continuity and their ability of locating historical events in contemporary places. Likewise, making timelines is another task that can assess students’ concept of time and chronology according to the incidents or events mentioned in the books or other reading materials.
Movie or documentary appreciation is sometimes used by teachers for formative assessment in History class. Teachers may prepare some focus questions to help students pay attention to a part or episode in the programme. Students can extract relevant clues or evidence from the programme to elaborate and answer the question.
Moreover, by guiding students to watch online videos before the lesson, participate in online discussions or complete tasks on e-learning platforms, more teachers have
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adopted the concept and method of ‘flipped classroom’ to achieve the purpose of pre-assessment. Students’ class performance can be observed and assessed through other class activities such as small group discussion, storytelling and debates etc. Discussion and assessment can also take place at home, for example, students extend the enquiry on a historical topic from the lesson and assessment activities with the use of e-learning platform. Throughout the discussion, teachers can observe and assess students’ ability to apply knowledge and think deeply and broadly.
Field trips or site visits are common ways for History teachers to assess students outside the classroom. Clear learning objectives and assessment rubrics should be given to students before the trips. Students can be assessed via the following:
how students make observations and collect data during the trip;
how students make use of the data collected (e.g. taking photographs and doing interviews for oral history) to make inferences and deepen their historical understanding to reconstruct or interpret the past;
how questions are raised to learn more about the topic; and
how reflections and improvements are made on the ability to learn history through field trips.
5.3.3 Self-assessment and peer assessment
Self-assessment and peer assessment are two common methods that put the theory of assessment as learning into practice. Effective practice of formative assessments not only enables students to better understand their own learning progress, but also encourages peer learning so as to personalise their learning and establish their own learning goals. These, in turn, prepare students for lifelong learning.
To launch self-assessment and peer-assessment in school, preparation works are essential. Prior to the implementation, teachers have to decide and prepare a platform for students to put forward self-assessment and peer-assessment. Traditionally, teachers design a learning journal, which may include various types of questions that help students understand their learning progress. Generally, students are required to complete the self-assessment tasks after finishing one specific topic, although in some cases, self-assessment can be implemented before the commencement of a new topic so as to test students’ prior knowledge. With the help of information technology, e-platforms can also be used to implement self-assessment and peer-assessment. In contrast to learning journals, e-platforms provide more flexibility for students to discuss
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or even have debates. Thus, it is better for facilitating peer-assessment.
After establishing a routine of self-assessment and peer assessment, it is of utmost importance that students are well-informed about the objectives and meaning of the self-assessment and peer-assessment system. Given students’ indispensable role in implementation, teachers have to make sure that students fully understand the practice, criteria and, more importantly, the meaning of the assessments. Teachers should also ensure a positive, encouraging and respectful environment for the smooth implementation of self-assessment and peer-assessment.
Self-assessment and peer-assessment are not meant to lighten teachers’ role.
Instead of giving a free hand for students to practice self-assessment and peer-assessment, teachers have a vital role in monitoring and taking timely actions to ensure efficient and effective execution. The self-assessment tasks completed by students are valuable materials for teachers to keep track of students’ individual performance and the general performance of the whole class. Students can also learn their own weaknesses in learning and seek further improvements from the tasks completed. By making use of this information, teachers may modify the pace of teaching and teaching strategies so as to enhance learning and teaching standards. Meanwhile, teachers’ well-timed feedback on students’ discussions is also beneficial for students’ learning.
To facilitate the implementation of self-assessment and peer-assessment, teachers may create a learning journal for students to complete before or after teaching a historical topic or learning focus. The following are examples used in a local secondary school for teachers’ reference.
77 The society of ancient Egypt
Due: Monday, October 26, 2018 at 11:59 P.M.
In the lesson, you know that the ancient Egyptians took up different roles in the society. Follow the instructions below and discuss their importance.
1. Each group describes one social group and its importance in Ancient Egypt.
Group A & B: Priest
Group C & D: Merchants
Group E & F: Peasants and Fishermen
Group G & H: Craftsmen
2. Each student has to comment at least once on any other social group above, and compare its importance with the social group that your group is responsible for.
Posted today at 10:45 A.M.
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S2 History
Knowledge Rating Chart—Causes of the French Revolution (1789) Name:_____________ Class: ______________ Date: _____________
Many factors contributed to the outbreak of the French Revolution (1789). The table below shows different factors that caused the French Revolution.
If you are able to explain how a particular factor caused the French Revolution in a very detailed way, give yourself ‘5’marks for that question;
If you have only heard of that factor, but cannot explain it, give yourself ‘1’ mark for that question.
Questions: Basic understanding ← → Deep understanding
1. Corruption of the government 1 2 3 4 5
2. Effects of the Enlightenment ideas 1 2 3 4 5
3. The government’s financial crisis 1 2 3 4 5
4. Legacy of Louis XIV and Louis XV 1 2 3 4 5
5. Mis-governance of Louis XVI 1 2 3 4 5
6. Natural hazards in the 1780s 1 2 3 4 5
7. Royal extravagance 1 2 3 4 5
8. Social-economic development of
France after Louis XIV 1 2 3 4 5
9. The development of the US
Revolution 1 2 3 4 5
10. The formation of the Estates-General 1 2 3 4 5
Check your scores here:
Score: Level description
46-50 You have a very good understanding on the topic. Well-done!
36-45 You have a satisfactory understanding of this topic. Good-job!
26-35 You have a fair understanding of this topic. Make sure that you understand all the problems before starting a new topic.
16-25 You only have a basic understanding of this topic. Do ask your classmates or teachers for help to improve the situation.
10-15 Your understanding of this topic is rather limited. Please ask your teachers for help.
5.3.4 Written tests and Examinations
In a school context, tests and examinations are two common types of assessments. They serve as important tools for teachers to implement both assessment for learning and assessment of learning. Therefore, it is crucial to design a reasonable paper with suitable assessment tasks. In junior secondary level, it is necessary for teachers to design a paper that allows students with different abilities to achieve recognition while understanding their own inadequacies at the same time. In other words, a written test and/ or examination should create a sufficient spectrum to accommodate students’ learning diversity. As a result, it is crucial for teachers to understand the ability required by a particular type of assessment task. By using
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different assessment tasks reasonably, teachers can gain a comprehensive understanding of students’ ability, which fulfils the target of assessment for learning, while differentiating students with different abilities at the same time, which echoes the notion of assessment of learning.
A test/ exam paper consists of different types of questions, which measures students’ different abilities more effectively. Basically, the questions can be roughly divided into two types: 1. Factual recall; and 2. Fact-based analysis. For example,
‘completion’and ‘matching’ assesses students’ ability to ‘identify’ and ‘recall’, and are thus more related to factual recall. Meanwhile, ‘essay-type questions’ reflect students’
ability in forming stances and illustrating ideas, which is more related to fact-based analysis. The following table shows the common question types used in junior form secondary history tests/ examinations, and the abilities that each question type is associated with. As it is not feasible to list every ability that a particular question type can assess, the Bloom’s Taxonomy is adopted in the following table for illustration.
Teachers are reminded that the quality of questions rest chiefly on the setting, instead of the question type itself.
Question type Factual recall
Fact-based analysis
Abilities to be assessed (Based on Bloom’s Taxonomy*)
Completion 1 2 3 4 5 6
Multiple-choice 1 2 3 4 5 6
Matching 1 2 3 4 5 6
Time order 1 2 3 4 5 6
Fact-opinion /
True-false 1 2 3 4 5 6
Mapping 1 2 3 4 5 6
Short question 1 2 3 4 5 6
Data-based question 1 2 3 4 5 6
Essay 1 2 3 4 5 6
*According to Bloom’s Taxonomy, Level 1: Remember, Level 2: Understand, Level 3: Apply, Level 4: Analyse, Level 5: Evaluate, and Level 6: Create.
While fairness should be extremely valued in assessments, teachers should also ensure that the test/ exam paper can effectively reveal what the students know and are able to do. The following considerations should be taken into account.
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Balanced coverage
To set design a quality assessment paper which is fair to everyone, it is important to ensure that marks are evenly distributed to every part of the coverage. This practice can honour those students who do revision comprehensively and diligently on one hand and allow students who do not revise the content thoroughly to get their deserved results on the other hand. History assessments always involve a range of historical skills, including comparison, evaluation, summarisation, etc. As students might not be good at every skill, to ensure fairness and achieve a comprehensive understand on students’
ability, teachers should also set questions that involve different skills.
Clear language
Studying history always requires students’ to have language ability. However, it is crucial that students’ language proficiency should not be the determining factor in affecting their performance. Teachers should try their best to use clear and direct language as well as historical vocabulary suitable to students’ standard, so as to enable the students to understand and answer the question properly. Refer to the following question:
What was the conspiracy hidden behind the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact?
Changing the term ‘Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact’ to ‘Nazi-Soviet Non-Aggression Pact’
can reduce the difficulty of the question as students may not understand this term and subsequently do not understand the question. Meanwhile, the phrase ‘conspiracy hidden behind’ is rather abstract, and the term ‘conspiracy’ connotes a negative meaning. As a result, it may complicate the question and cause confusion to the students. The term
‘conspiracy’ in the question actually refers to the agreements on the territorial arrangements and the political consideration of Nazi Germany and Soviet Union.
Therefore, the term ‘territorial arrangements’ is preferred to ‘conspiracy’. In this way, in order to set a question objectively and precisely, a more ideal question can be
‘Describe the territorial arrangements made in the Nazi-Soviet Non-Aggression Pact (1939)’.
Creating suitable space for students to demonstrate their ability
In a history test/examination, to assess students’ critical and analytical ability, open-ended questions are commonly used. Characterised by its openness, there are no fixed answers for open-ended questions. In this sense, students may approach the question in various ways, which may cause difficulties in marking and differentiating students’
ability. It is, therefore, important for teachers to avoid ambiguity by using clear and
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precise question words as well as to provide suitable time frame to set out the scope of discussion. Refer to the following question:
What do you think about Napoleon?
The above sample question is rather abstract. Both the question phrase ‘what do you think’ and the focal point of the question, ‘Napoleon’, are not specific enough which might cause confusion. When approaching this question, for example, students might comment on Napoleon’s performance on battlefields or they might discuss Napoleon’s achievements as an emperor. In other words, this question is open to too many interpretations which might not necessarily fall within the appropriate historical context or be in line with the purpose of assessment. Therefore, to effectively assess students’
ability and serve the purpose of assessment for learning, a suitable context can be created for questions. Taking the above question as an example, it can be modified by changing the question word from ‘what do you think’ to ‘evaluate the achievements’.
It would, however, be too demanding for students as it implies that students need to discuss Napoleon’s achievement from his birth to his death. Another possible amendment is to change the question to ‘Evaluate Napoleon’s leadership in the Battle of Waterloo’. Similarly, it would be too challenging for junior form students since the question is rather narrowly-scoped which means students have to understand the Battle of Waterloo in great depth. Both modifications weaken the effectiveness of the question in differentiating students’ ability. A more reasonable way to set a similar question would be ‘Do you think Napoleon was a capable emperor?’
Versatility
Data-based questions are common in history test/ examination. However, this type of question requires students to demonstrate multiple abilities — understanding, interpretation and evaluation of the sources, etc. The above-mentioned abilities lie scattered in different levels of the Bloom’s Taxonomy. Therefore, to better serve the purpose of assessment of learning and assessment for learning, teachers are advised to add variety to their choice of question types in assessment alongside data-based questions. In some cases, multiple choices questions or true / false questions can be set to test students’ understanding of the sources and to cater for students’ learning diversity.