What is adaptive assessment?
To adapt something means to make it suitable for differing requirements or conditions. Therefore, an adaptive assessment is one that has the ability to adjust or modify itself based on the performance of the individual taking the assessment. Adaptive assessment benefits the student because it is tailored to their proficiencies and abilities. Adaptive assessments also "give an accurate picture of what [students] knew, what [students] didn't know, and what instruction [students] needed" (ASCD 2014). Whether students are typically A-earners or low scorers on traditional "fixed-form" assessments, an adaptive assessment allows for insight on their strengths and weaknesses while allowing them a more personalized assessment experience.
How can adaptive assessments be used?
In my teaching context, with Biology being a course with an End-of-Course test, adaptive assessment is not common, nor have I ever been encouraged to incorporate this as an assessment strategy. I have only used an adaptive assessment for formative assessment, and my experience is minimal and very recent. However, there are widely used adaptive testing instruments such as the MAP for mathematics and reading and the ACCESS for ELLs. Some school districts that emphasize personalized learning also purchase adaptive assessment digital platforms and utilize them in all subjects.
When I have administered adaptive assessments, I use them to collect formative data and provide feedback to students. In my first experience with adaptive assessment, I assigned an adaptive assessment as a homework assignment. Students reported spending anywhere from 5 to 25 minutes working on it, since they had to answer all of the questions before it allowed them to submit. In the assessment, I embedded review materials such as videos or links that they could review before returning to a missed question to re-attempt it. On an adaptive assessment, as described by many sources, there usually is a large question bank and students receive questions of increasing or decreasing rigor based on their performance. The purpose of the assessment (formative vs. summative) impacts the type of adaptability that would be best used to help students.
What are the challenges of adaptive assessments?
One challenge of adaptive assessment is that "[they] are generally deployed via online platforms" (Lynch 2020). This requires the use of technology in the classroom which has exponentially increased recently, and there are multiple online platforms with which adaptive assessments can be created. One example is Google Forms.
Embedded here is a screencast I created showing how to create an adaptive assessment on Google Forms, along with the student-facing Google Form. This assessment example incorporates remediation videos, but the same process would be applied to create an assessment that adapts based on item difficulty.
Sources
Lynch, M. (2020, March 17). 3 best practices for implementing adaptive assessments. The Tech Edvocate. Retrieved February 5, 2022, from https://www.thetechedvocate.org/3-best-practices-for-implementing-adaptive-assessments/
The potential of adaptive assessment. ASCD. (2014, March 1). Retrieved February 4, 2022, from https://www.ascd.org/el/articles/the-potential-of-adaptive-assessment