Chapter 6: Assessment and Grading

Assessment is more than just assigning grades — it’s how we check for understanding, give students opportunities to demonstrate their learning, and gather feedback to improve our own teaching. In higher education, good assessment balances fairness, clarity, and rigor with flexibility 

Assessment serves two key purposes:

• For students: to understand where they are in the learning process, what they’ve mastered, and where they need to grow.
• For faculty: to measure whether course outcomes are being met and to inform adjustments in teaching.

Think of grading as one piece of assessment — it’s the official record, while assessment as a whole is the learning process.

Quick Tip: Phrase assessments in terms of learning outcomes. For example, instead of “Midterm Exam,” say “Midterm Exam: Demonstrating Knowledge of Marketing Trends.”