When constructing assessment instruments both the purpose of the assessment (feedback, grading) and the skills which are being assessed need to be considered. The main purpose of this chapter is to help teachers develop their own assessment instruments by giving specific examples of tasks. Unsatisfactory tasks are used to illustrate the pitfalls, and alternative versions are given as examples of good practice. Some comments on grading are included. The emphasis is on written assessment in the classroom, mainly of pupils aged about 14-19, but much is relevant also to introductory statistics courses at college and university level. Consideration is given to ways of assessing factual knowledge, the ability to use computers, understanding of concepts and application of techniques, and communication skills. The pros and cons of multiple choice and open-ended questions are discussed as are the challenges of oral assessment and assessment of group work.
The CAUSE Research Group is supported in part by a member initiative grant from the American Statistical Association’s Section on Statistics and Data Science Education