When Assessment Holds Back Real-World Learning

Assessments are designed to measure growth. Yet, too often, assessments end up also deterring meaningful growth. In regular discipline-specific units that focus on skills and content, assessments usually serve their purpose well. However, the more ambitious and complex a task, that is, the more it relates to real-world learning, the more assessments seem to fall short. I encountered this tension in an interdisciplinary unit I recently taught. At the end of the unit, students successfully produced exemplary documentary films that will be showcased at various festivals this academic year. Their documentary films featured courageous changemakers in our community, the unsung heroes who dedicated their lives to advancing those of others, and whose stories deserved to be told. 

Students first watched films, studied and analyzed cinematic techniques, and then applied what they learned to tell compelling, inspiring stories. Working collaboratively, students interviewed subjects, developed themes, storyboarded, filmed on-site, edited, and hosted a screening at a conference. The learning was rich, enduring, and the results, impactful. Yet, despite its success, it also surfaced the tension that I could not ignore - when assessment holds back real-world learning. 

In this unit, we explored the concept of perspective and how storytelling through documentary film can highlight local issues and connect them to global movements for social justice. Students were assessed on academic competencies like reading, interpretation, and language use through tasks like analysis and storyboarding. While the assessment effectively measured the technical aspects of their work, it failed to capture the dispositional competencies that were central to the learning experience. 

Consider the student who voluntarily spent hours re-editing their film after the deadline, not for a grade but to meet their own standard of quality. Or the student who took the initiative to organize the conference screening. Or the one who quietly carried the bulk of the group’s responsibilities while classmates turned their attention to “more important” International Baccalaureate Diploma Program (IBDP) subjects. These contributions were central to the learning experience and key to its success, yet in our current assessment system, they were largely invisible. The success criteria simply did not capture or reward them. Despite the rich learning that I know had happened, I felt I had let my students down because of unfair assessment. 

As educators, we regularly acknowledge the subjectivity involved in grading essays or oral commentaries, but the challenge becomes even greater in interdisciplinary, project-based learning where success depends on a complex interplay of skills, mindset, and values. When assessment focuses narrowly on measurable academic output, it fails to reflect the real reality of learning, and it sends the wrong message to students about what really matters.

If we want students to be self-directed learners and be creative with what they know, if we want them to collaborate with others and contribute to a learning community, if we want them to grapple with real-world issues and produce meaningful work, then our assessment practices must evolve. Dispositional competencies cannot be sidelined as “soft skills” or treated as optional; they must be seen as central to success. Schools have begun moving in this direction. Dispositions now inform curriculum planning and are reported in different ways to reflect on their growth. Yet, these steps have not brought about a significant shift. Collectively, we need to do much more to challenge the cultural fixation on academic achievement, which continues to take precedence over dispositions, promoting a narrow, yet socially endorsed, notion of learning. 

In reviewing what my students accomplished in the unit, and what was reflected in their reports, I found myself sitting with discomfort, unable to look past the noticeable gap between the learning that took place and what was acknowledged and recognized. What we assess signals what we value. If we want to inspire changemakers, our assessments must honor the full story of learning.

ChatGPT was used by the author for editing support, specifically to refine clarity and enhance the overall quality of the final content.

Originally published on LinkedIn.