Assessments That Measure Learning: Building Assessments Students Can't Just Look Up
Presenter – Becky Mills and Jill Heard
In a world where students can instantly search for answers or ask AI to generate them, traditional assessments often measure a student’s ability to find information rather than demonstrate real understanding. This session explores practical strategies for designing assessments that prioritize critical thinking, application, and authentic learning.
Participants will examine how to move beyond easily searchable questions and instead design assessments that require students to analyze, create, and demonstrate their knowledge in meaningful ways. Examples of authentic assessments, performance-based tasks, and project-based evaluations will be shared across content areas. Attendees will also explore strategies for creating AI-resistant assessments that encourage deeper engagement and reduce opportunities for academic dishonesty.
During the session, participants will analyze sample assessment questions to determine whether they measure understanding or simple information retrieval. They will also practice revising traditional assessment questions to create more authentic, higher-order learning tasks.
Educators will leave with concrete ideas and design strategies they can immediately apply to build assessments that better measure what students truly know and can do.
By the end of this session, participants will be able to:
- Identify assessment practices that unintentionally measure information retrieval rather than understanding
- Recognize characteristics of authentic and meaningful assessment tasks
- Design prompts that require analysis, application, and creation
- Apply practical strategies for creating assessments that remain meaningful in an AI-enabled learning environment