Each assessment item maps to a stated objective and asks for the same level of thinking the objective names.
Why it matters
If the objective says learners will analyze and the quiz asks them to recall, a passing score tells you they remember a term, not that they can do the analysis.
The score looks good and means less than it seems, for the learner and for whoever reads the completion report.
What passing looks like
- Each item clearly matches one objective.
- The item asks for what the objective’s verb asks for: an “apply” objective gets a scenario, not a definition.
- Higher-level objectives aren’t assessed only with recall questions.
Example
Objective: Analyze a customer complaint to find its root cause. Question: What does RCA stand for?
The problem: The objective asks for analysis. The question checks whether learners remember an acronym.
Read the complaint below. Which underlying cause best explains it, and which detail in the complaint points to it?
What Pedagrade can’t tell
Pedagrade judges level from the wording of the objective and the question. If a question depends on a case file or image it can’t see, describe what the learner is given.
This check is covered by Pedagrade’s published accuracy tests. See the accuracy report.
Learn more
- John Biggs and Catherine Tang, Teaching for Quality Learning at University (constructive alignment)
- Lorin Anderson and David Krathwohl (eds.), A Taxonomy for Learning, Teaching, and Assessing (the revised Bloom’s taxonomy)
- Pedagrade guide: How to align learning objectives and assessments
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