Connecting Assessments to Students’ Interests

No matter when we graduated, we can all remember at least one teacher, class, subject, or concept that we dreaded in school. We all had that moment as a student when we hung our head in our hands and wondered, “What’s the point? When am I ever going to use this?”  

Truth is, that question not is only valid—it is, by definition, a good question. Questioning of this sort demonstrates a learner’s desire to apply the information they’ve received to their real life, and when we think about higher-order thinking, application is at the center of the hierarchy. As educators, if our goal is for students to reach the top of Bloom’s Taxonomy, the act of creation, it makes sense that we steep our assessments in real-world contexts so that they’re able to create something out of the teaching-learning process.  

Because assessment is an integral part of education, it’s imperative that we provide students with opportunities to demonstrate what they know about the content we’ve taught, in ways that matter to them. That’s why I believe in designing assessments based on real-world scenarios that require my students to utilize the skills that I’ve helped them develop over the course of the year.  

I’ve found this to be the best way to connect purpose to what they’re learning. And with that purpose should come pleasure—that’s why I also allow my students a level of choice. Over the past 17 years I’ve been a high school humanities teacher, this approach has proven not only effective but empowering for me and my students. Here’s how to get started.

Getting to Know Your Students

First-day-of-school icebreakers aside, how well do you know your students? I find it helpful to have students complete a “Who Am I?” survey via Google Forms at the start of the year. Their answers allow me to learn about their interests, personalities, career goals, and more. The data help me communicate more effectively with my students and create lessons and assessments that speak to their interests.  

You can use this strategy in any discipline. If you’re a math teacher who is teaching a section filled with football players, you might create a formative assessment that includes word problems that require students to use math to create plays. You can build on this theme by creating a unit-long or cumulative project where students track the stats of their favorite players or coaches and identify averages, etc.  

I know what you’re thinking:  What about the kids who don’t like football? For those students (like me), you’ve created a wonderful opportunity for peer-to-peer teaching, which, as you know, is teacher nirvana.

The Design Process 

When designing assessments, I typically ask myself five essential questions:  

1. What similarities do my students have in terms of interests?
2. What type of assessment will make them feel empowered? 
3. Based on what I’ve taught, for what concepts should they be able to demonstrate understanding?
4. What skills do they need for this demonstration? Have I taught these skills? 
5. In what real-world scenarios (job duties, social interactions, etc.) would they need to demonstrate these skills?

I consider my answers, as well as data I compile and analyze from student surveys, when creating my outline for meaningful assessments. When designing classroom assessments, I always consult state standards and assessments to ensure that I am assessing students comprehensively and equitably, covering the same skills as state tests while allowing choice and avoiding a one-size-fits-all approach. 

Scenario-Based Assessments

Here are just a few of the real-world assessments I’ve designed, integrating state requirements and student interests, as described above.

1. The culminating project in a course I taught, Intro to Hip-Hop Studies, presented a scenario to students: “You are an artist with an affinity for old school hip-hop. Compose a song that celebrates the core elements and principles of hip-hop and devise a plan to get your music to the masses.” In this project, students must demonstrate their understanding of the foundations of hip-hop as well as what it takes to make music in this age of streaming and social media.

2. As a formative assessment in my hip-hop course, I similarly presented something scenario-based: “You are trying to convince your parents that you can make a living as an independent hip-hop artist. Create an equation that explains how streams equal album sales, and identify how many streams you will need to sustain to make a comfortable living making music.” I group students heterogeneously in fours. Once they’re in groups, they select a recorder, a reporter, and two researchers. Researchers are responsible for searching the streaming information and explaining it to the rest of the group.

Together, groupmates try to come up with an equation and argument that will persuade their parents to allow them to pursue a career as an artist. Recorders take notes, and reporters share the findings with the class. Students’ findings vary; however, I grade them on what they learned from the process, using a two-point rubric for a classwork grade: two points for a convincing or clear conclusion, which equates to 100 percent, or one point for an unconvincing or unclear conclusion, which equates to 50 percent. I allow and encourage students to correct their conclusions with no penalty. 

3. As a summative assessment in the course African/African-American History, I presented students with this scenario: “As the professor of this course, you must defend the teaching of certain topics after grievances were brought against you.” In this on-demand summative assessment, students reflect upon and respond to the scenario in no less than one class period (40 minutes). I use a rubric to score their responses, which must be clear, logical, and convincing, and must follow the rules of standard English.

My students’ performance on these scenario-based assessments has been overwhelmingly positive. No student has failed the final examination in four years. The key is knowing your students and what excites them and/or pushes their buttons—they will forget that they’re actually doing work and show you the stuff they’re really made of.