To get a complete picture of student learning, it is helpful to have both direct and indirect measures of student learning. However, if you can only do one, direct assessment is a more accurate gauge of student learning.
DEFINITIONS:
- DIRECT: Direct assessment requires students demonstrate their knowledge and skills.They are the evidence of what a student has or has not learned as a result of a class. Actual student behavior or work is assessed. (Examples: papers, presentations, assignments, exams.)
- INDIRECT: Indirect assessment measures students' opinions, thoughts, or perceptions. They do not directly measure student performance. They supplement direct assessment by providing information about how and why learning occurred. (Examples: surveys, end-of-course evaluations.)
If you wanted to incorporate both direct and indirect measures into a class, you might, for example, do an in-class assignment (direct) and then have an end-of-class evaluation (indirect).
