The Promise of Scenario-Based Assessments for College Instruction

The lecture-high stakes test structure of many college courses does not promote deep learning that can be transferred to real world contexts. Scenario-based assessments (SBAs) provide an approach to assessment that grounds authentic problem solving and scaffolds students to a solution for those problems. The paper reports the first iteration of a design-based research (DBR) design cycle to develop an SBA authoring system, which will enable college instructors to use SBAs in their courses. An SBA was administered in an introduction to interdisciplinarity course taught at a large, public university. Data from students and faculty suggest that it was usable, and they perceived it to support learning beyond traditional course assessment formats. We reflect upon the affordances of SBAs that led to these positive perceptions.