It’s time to change the way we assess students

It is no doubt that in the age of virtual learning, teachers are compelled to be even more creative to keep students engaged through an impenetrable screen and to ensure assessments accurately depict student’s learning.

For many, tests and quizzes are the bane of existence; studying hours on end to regurgitate information in a high-stress, unpredictable environment. The number of times I have completely mastered the material but blanked out during the testing period is too many to account — millions of students must have similar experiences too.

We all do not learn the same way. Most often, at the beginning of the school year, students are provided with a “what type of learner am I” quiz. The irony is while school boards love to see the diversity of learning in their students, the way the curriculum and assessments methods are structured only cater to a select few.

How do visual learners show their understanding of the Krebs cycle with 10-minute multiplechoice quizzes? How do kinaesthetic learniners write about the acceleration of a cart within a paragraph? The examples are endless and while for a long time the excuse was catering to all of these learning styles is too challenging, my COVID-19 experience has demonstrated otherwise.

There is no point in conducting tests on Google Forums — students cheat and teachers can’t do anything about it. My chemistry teacher decided that instead, she would require us to send in videos explaining certain concepts and how to solve complex problems.

There is no doubt that when you can explain something well enough, you know it well enough. My French teacher decided that by using creative writing assignments, she would assess our understanding of grammar and sentence structure rather than with quizzes.

As I have taken on the hybrid learning model, I have also been able to listen in to my Grade 8 sister’s virtual lessons. She creates colourful infographics for math class and explains the various sections to her classmates, something I would have loved at her age. Working in partners on chatting platforms, my sister collaborates with her peers to create presentations for language and history courses. The unique virtual model has allowed her teacher to blend subjects creatively, such as understanding the history of residential schools using mathematical principles.

I recognize that not all students have had such a positive pandemic learning experience as I have but that is not what I am trying to highlight.

For decades, students have been looped into a cycle of regurgitation without the ability to truly learn life lessons from the material. It is no wonder so many can’t see a future for themselves in any field — students are only tested but not understood.

Changing the way we assess students is no simple task. But for the betterment of Canadian students, it must be done and COVID-19 has shown us that it is possible.