An assessment method is a strategy used to evaluate a student’s performance in some area important to the course that you are teaching. Students think of them as assignments; for us, they serve as activities that enable us to determine what they have learned and can do. They provide data about how well a student is learning and using the material and how well they are applying it or growing in the set of skills important to the course we are teaching. Some of the most common assessment methods include quizzes, tests, mid-term examinations and final examinations. Research papers, essays, short papers, journal entries, oral presentations, projects, menus, participation in blogs, recipes developed, food preparation and food presentation can also be used as assessment methods.

Assessment criteria, on the other hand, are the aspects of performance that we look for in determining how to evaluate how well the students did. For quizzes, tests and examinations, we look for accuracy in answers, ability to apply ideas to various situations, logic of the argument, focus on the question and coherence of answers. We do not necessarily look for penmanship (although it is nice when the handwriting is readable) or grammar and spelling. While some of us do grade for spelling and grammar on tests, most of us don’t—we are delighted if students have the ideas and can explain them or use them correctly. The criteria we apply to essays, research papers and other papers, however, do include grammar and spelling, focus, clarity of the argument or discussion, logic of the presentation, use of evidence and lack of plagiarism.

For some of us, developing criteria has become a habit; others use criteria implicitly, but are not used to explaining them explicitly in syllabi, other documents or discussions with students. However, it is increasingly important to explain the criteria, which we use in grading. It makes it easier on us, and it is only fair, ahead of time, to tell students how they are going to be evaluated. The most common way all faculty members talk about grading is explaining the grading mix.

Grading Mix
Perhaps the easiest aspect of grading to consider is the grading mix—what weight you give to each of the assignments and activities in the class. Some faculty members place great emphasis on daily grades in a culinary kitchen, others place significant weight on professionalism and teamwork, and others give more weight to tests, journals and papers because they believe that students need to be able to know the concepts and think about what they are doing. It often depends on the nature of the course and its place in the curriculum. The next part of grading involves rubrics, details about what level of performance is associated with which specific grade or number of points.

Rubrics
A rubric is a chart that connects each of the criteria that you are using to evaluate a student’s performance with an appropriate letter grade, or set of points, for that level of performance. It is a way of letting the student know how much of each criteria will constitute what grade. While very complicated to write since they requires us to be explicit about evaluation, developing and using rubrics can make the grading process easier and more objective.

An example of a rubric is the one below, which I developed for a comprehensive examination in a course.

As you expand your repertoire of teaching strategies, I encourage you to explore being more specific with students about the criteria you use in grading and the rubric associated with those criteria.

Summary
Thank you for reading this column and the previous four about assessment. I hope they have helped you expand your thinking about evaluating the work of your students. Remember that testing is only one way to ascertain that they have learned the material. It might be easier and quicker, but it only gives you a sample of their performance. There are lots of other ways to determine what they have learned.

Next month, we will move on to a new topic—out-of-class activities—for a few monthly clinics. The first topic will be interviews as a way of broadening students’ educations.

If you have suggestions for other topics or teaching practices you want to share, send them to me at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., and I will include them in future “Mayo’s Clinics.”

Dr. Fred Mayo, CHE, CHT, was most recently a clinical professor at New York University. Principal of Mayo Consulting Services, he continues to teach around the globe, and is a frequent presenter at CAFÉ events nationwide.