In the ever-evolving landscape of education, assessment methods play a crucial role in determining the effectiveness of a curriculum. The alignment of evaluation techniques with teaching strategies is essential for fostering a learner-centered environment. This article explores the concept of subjective assessment, a methodology that encourages qualitative evaluation and personal interpretation, thereby enriching the educational experience for students.

Program and Assessment

Evaluation methods are a crucial component of the curriculum that must align with the program's approach and, consequently, with the teaching methods presented in the program. In learner-centered approaches that emphasize the learner's role, the curriculum focuses on qualitative aspects of the objectives, relying on individual judgments and interpretations. Therefore, the evaluation method aligned with this approach is a subjective assessment.

Read more: objective assessment in education 

Subjective Assessment

Subjective assessment is a type of evaluation that emphasizes more than one correct answer and measures personal judgments, interpretations, and qualitative aspects. Unlike objective assessment, which focuses on specific, detailed, and objective goals, subjective assessment questions are designed to evaluate the quality of interpretation, personal views, and analytical thinking, which depend on the learner's understanding, skills, and abilities.

Tools and Formats for Subjective Assessment

Given that each subjective assessment question must test the respondent's ability to apply their knowledge and explain their viewpoints related to the question content, open-ended, descriptive, project-based, and especially contextual questions formed within a relevant context are suitable formats for subjective assessment.

Subjective assessment questions encourage discussion, debate, and reasoning, and are designed to measure students' understanding, creativity, critical thinking, and ability to express opinions and analyses. Here are some suitable types of questions for subjective assessment:

• Descriptive Questions: Questions that require explanation and elaboration, where the answer can include several paragraphs along with analysis and personal viewpoints.
• Definitional Questions: These require the respondent to define and explain a term or concept, clarifying their definition with examples if needed.
• Creative Questions: Aim to assess the respondent's creativity and innovation, with no specific or straightforward answer, essentially creating and generating a response.
• Theoretical Questions: Ask the respondent to elaborate on a topic, provide their theories, strategies, and solutions, and explain the advantages and features of their theory.
• Comparative Questions: Present two or more topics for comparison in terms of strengths and weaknesses from various aspects, requiring the respondent to provide opinions and analysis with valid arguments.
• Opinion (Viewpoint) Questions: Ask the respondent to express their personal views on a subject, evaluating their ability to present opinions comprehensively and address various facets.

Designing Subjective Assessment

To design an appropriate test including several descriptive questions, create a list of desired topics. Prioritize these topics according to the number of test questions. Don’t rely solely on memorized knowledge concepts; consider higher-order thinking levels such as application, analysis, synthesis, judgment, and reasoning. Ensure that the chosen question formats directly relate to the topic and thinking abilities like creativity, critique, debate, and reasoning, are appropriate for the respondent’s level of understanding, and are free from misunderstandings and ambiguities.

Additionally, focus on the key objectives related to the lesson’s topic. For example, when evaluating a history lesson on governance, comparative questions can be suitable, where the respondent compares the governance styles of two administrations in different historical periods from various aspects.

Review and revise the test questions before finalizing them. If possible, conduct a trial run with a smaller group to identify and correct potential issues.

Read more: tips for taking online exams 

Benefits and Applications of Subjective Assessment

This evaluation method is useful for assessing students' ability to synthesize information and analyze different perspectives, particularly in humanities and social sciences, where personal interpretations and perspectives play a crucial role. By challenging students and employing critical thinking to express their views, subjective assessment provides a fitting ground for evaluating deep learning. Hence, educators use this method to expand evaluation strategies and better understand the complexities of students' learning and comprehension.

Scoring in Subjective Assessment

Given that subjective assessment questions are often open-ended and do not have a single correct answer, scoring them can be challenging and may hinder quick access to results, even with the help of computer capabilities and software. One common method for scoring students' responses is designing rubrics and criteria for acceptable answers. If these rubrics are clear and distinctive, they can make the scoring process more valid and better able to evaluate and compare respondents' results.

Subjective Assessment and DoExam

The DoExam product includes features that enable users to design appropriate tests with access to formats for open-ended and descriptive questions, considering the above requirements. Highlights of this software include the ability to insert images and videos into questions, allowing for varied question designs, as well as the opportunity to review and alter questions to enhance quality and save them for future exams.

This process includes features for scoring and commenting on students' responses. Students can see the allocated score for each question and the grader's comments. These scores, along with the automated scoring of objective assessment questions by the software, provide a comprehensive evaluation. This software offers a suitable environment for designing a combination of objective and subjective assessments for the user.

Artificial Intelligence and DoExam

A key feature of this software is its use of artificial intelligence, providing users the opportunity to generate questions and receive correct answers related to the intended learning objective. By entering the educational subject, users can receive AI-generated questions and answers, add them to the question bank, and select them for test design.

The unique feature of this process is the automated conversion of AI-generated questions and answers into the format required by the software, eliminating the need for user editing.

Conclusion: The Future of Subjective Assessment in Education

As education continues to evolve, the role of subjective assessment becomes ever more critical in engaging students and fostering deeper learning. By focusing on qualitative evaluation methods that encourage critical thinking and personal interpretation, educators can support diverse learning styles and promote a richer understanding of the material. Tools like DoExam, with their innovative features and AI integration, provide valuable resources for educators, enabling them to assess student learning more effectively and adaptively. As we embrace these advancements, subjective assessment is poised to play a vital role in shaping the future of education.