Traditional Vs Non-Traditional Assessment Activities as Learning Indicators of Student Learning: Teachers' Perceptions

In online settings, some teachers express reservations about relying only on traditional assessments (e.g., tests, assignments, exams, etc.) as trustworthy instruments to evaluate students' understanding of the content accurately. A previous qualitative study revealed that the richness of online environments has allowed teachers to use traditional assessments (anything contributing to the final grade) and non-traditional assessment-based activities (not factored into the final grade but useful in gauging student knowledge) to assess their students' learning status. This study aims to compare the perceived accuracy of both types of assessment activities as indicators of student learning. A total of 124 participants engaged in online teaching completed a self-report instrument. The results revealed a significant difference in teachers' perceptions of the accuracy of traditional assessment activities (M = 3.16; SD =. 442) compared to non-traditional assessment activities (M = 3.05, SD =. 521), t (122) = -2.64, p =. 009 with small effect size (eta =. 02). No significant gender differences were observed in the perceptions of the accuracy of either assessment activities type. The most commonly employed traditional assessment activities were “final exams” (85.5%) and “individual assignments” (83.9%). In comparison, the most common non-traditional assessment methods to evaluate students' knowledge were “questions on previously taught content” (79.8%) and “asking students questions about current content during the lecture” (79%). A one-way analysis of variance revealed no significant differences in perceptions of the accuracy of traditional and non-traditional assessment activities among teachers with varying years of experience (up to 10 years, 11–15 years, and 16+ years). The findings suggest that certain non-traditional assessment activities can also be as accurate as traditional learning activities. Moreover, non-assessment-related activities are perceived to be effective learning indicators. This study has implications for academic institutions and educators interested in supplementing traditional approaches to assessing student learning with non-traditional methods.