Search Website
Assessment Series
The Assessment Series includes two to four workshops a year that address a range of assessment topics, such as:
- designing effective rubrics
- writing multiple-choice questions to assess higher order thinking
- designing effective essay questions
- item analysis for multiple-choice questions
- assessing learning online
Upcoming Sessions
Values-based assessmentSeptember 21, 2026, 1:30-3:00 p.m. (in-person)
What and how we assess matters both for what we show matters to our students and how we support student learning. This workshop will critically interrogate assessments from a values perspective, exploring where alignment with what we care about shows up in our assessments, and where refinement may result in more meaningful assessment. Scholarship on values based assessment, as well as practical tools for refinement will be shared with participants
By the end of this workshop participants should be able to:
-identify explicit and implicit values in their teaching practice
-interrogate their assessment approach based on their identified values
-develop and align assessment with their own values and the values of their disciplines
By the end of this workshop participants should be able to:
-identify explicit and implicit values in their teaching practice
-interrogate their assessment approach based on their identified values
-develop and align assessment with their own values and the values of their disciplines
Audience
New and/or experienced Western instructors, librarians, and archivists from all disciplinary backgrounds.
Offered
Typically four to six sessions offered each year.
Writing Multiple-Choice Items to Assess Higher Order Thinking: October 22, 2025
Re-imagining Assessment: An Introduction to Alternative Assessment and Grading Practices: March 12, 2026
Embedding Flexibility in your Assessments: A Hands-On Workshop: November 27, 2023
Writing Multiple-Choice Questions to Assess Higher Order Thinking: November 9, 2022
Writing Multiple-Choice Questions: October 19, 2021
The Good, the Bad and The Ugly: Item Analysis for Multiple-Choice Exams: November 17, 2021
Writing Multiple-Choice Questions to Assess Higher Order Thinking: October 28, 2020
Designing Effective Take Home Exams: November 19, 2020
Implementing Group Exams and Group Projects: February 9 and 22, 2021
Strategies for Effective and Efficient Grading: March 8, 2020
Writing Multiple-Choice Questions to Assess Higher Order Thinking: October 23, 2019
The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly: Item Analysis for Multiple Choice Exams: February 26, 2020
Writing Multiple-Choice Questions to Assess Higher Order Thinking: October 29, 2018
An Introduction to Teaching and Assessing with Cases: March 25, 2019
Writing Multiple-Choice Questions: October 23, 2017
Assessing with Rubrics: November 14, 2017
The Good, the Bad, and The Ugly: Item Analysis for Multiple-Choice Exams: March 5, 2018
Re-imagining Assessment: An Introduction to Alternative Assessment and Grading Practices: March 12, 2026
Embedding Flexibility in your Assessments: A Hands-On Workshop: November 27, 2023
Writing Multiple-Choice Questions to Assess Higher Order Thinking: November 9, 2022
Writing Multiple-Choice Questions: October 19, 2021
The Good, the Bad and The Ugly: Item Analysis for Multiple-Choice Exams: November 17, 2021
Writing Multiple-Choice Questions to Assess Higher Order Thinking: October 28, 2020
Designing Effective Take Home Exams: November 19, 2020
Implementing Group Exams and Group Projects: February 9 and 22, 2021
Strategies for Effective and Efficient Grading: March 8, 2020
Writing Multiple-Choice Questions to Assess Higher Order Thinking: October 23, 2019
The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly: Item Analysis for Multiple Choice Exams: February 26, 2020
Writing Multiple-Choice Questions to Assess Higher Order Thinking: October 29, 2018
An Introduction to Teaching and Assessing with Cases: March 25, 2019
Writing Multiple-Choice Questions: October 23, 2017
Assessing with Rubrics: November 14, 2017
The Good, the Bad, and The Ugly: Item Analysis for Multiple-Choice Exams: March 5, 2018