Nokia dominated the mobile phone industry between the late 1990s and early 2000s. But how come this company declined in sales and was later bought by Microsoft in 2013? Suppose you evaluate Nokia’s performance, they were known to create top-quality hardware. Yet did they change over the years? Not much. Also, bad news for Nokia started when Steve Jobs introduced the iPhone in 2007, where user experience changed since phones don’t have keyboards already. So is lack of change the main reason for Nokia’s downfall? Investigate further if there are more. It is wrong to conclude right away after discovering a single factor only. Instead, create your criteria for an effective evaluation using an assessment checklist.
An assessment is a systematic process that determines, measures, and evaluates the abilities, quality, skills, and nature of a specific subject. And if you list down all the criteria and evaluating factors in a sheet, you form an assessment checklist. This assessment tool makes it easier to collect information and make observations about any matter to scrutinize. So instead of writing lengthy forms or wordy evaluation sheets, assessment checklists give you a quicker experience as the rubrics are merely listed. And, you only put checkmarks on where observations are applicable.
According to the Society of Human Resource Management (SHRM), studies concluded that 54% of people rely on job simulation, and 51% go with culture fit in a pre-employment assessment.
More so, a survey stated that 82% of enterprises evaluate using pre-employment assessment tests.
Meanwhile, Harvard Business Review reported that assessment tools are often used for entry-level (59%), middle management (72%), and senior-level positions (80%).
Generally, the one who conducts the assessment should make the assessment checklist. That way, evaluations get easier because you planned and organized the list in the first place. Hence, you know what the rubrics or scoring means. However, you can make checklists for other people expected to evaluate too. But be sure to orient them about the criteria, descriptions, and specific instructions so they will be guided accordingly on how to work on the list. And don’t forget that assessments are flexible for many fields like school, business, agriculture, hospital, and more.
After realizing that assessments are crucial to other fields, it is essential to familiarize what those other examples are. Moreover, find out how each field handles assessment as its purpose varies. Who knows? You might assess similar to the way other fields manage assessments. So in this section, we will orient you on when to use assessment checklists.
Aside from discovering where assessments are applicable, it is time to familiarize what’s inside these checklists in the first place. Yes, assessment sheets are different as those depend on who made it and what the sheet’s purpose is. But common aspects are found too. Hence, find out the common elements of an assessment checklist:
Always input a title. Otherwise, people might wonder what the sheet is about. But, putting the “Assessment Checklist” label is not enough. Be more specific if it is a job training assessment checklist, a personality test evaluation, or any other example. Thus, the title should give the gist about the form’s content.
To spell out the assessment’s goal, don’t forget to include the assessment purpose. This segment clarifies why there is a need to assess. Not having a purpose often leaves assessors and the audience confused about the whole process. Also, this part is where you introduce who or what is being evaluated. For example, many businesses use pre-employment assessments for entry-level (59%), middle management (72%), and senior positions (80%). For your case, finalize the main subjects.
The meat of an assessment checklist is the criteria. Are you familiar with research surveys? There are questions and descriptors inside to complete the survey. And assessment checklists are similar to those. Yes-or-no questions and the 5-point rating scale are the common rubrics used among checklists.
What is a checklist without any space to put checkmarks? Although checkboxes can sometimes be in the form of circles and lines, its function is still the same, which is to put those marks. On the other hand, some lists don’t require checks if instructions state that answers are to be encircled, boxed, underlined, or shaded.
At the end of the assessment checklist, there will likely be extra lines to write the remarks. That space can be used freely by assessors. If there are some observations not outlined in the list, then add those observations, comments, or feedback in the remarks section.
While it is easy to understand what the assessment checklist is, the challenge goes on how to make it. But remember that it is quite easy as it is similar to making a to-do list. You ensure that all the criteria will be assessed and done. However, don’t be hasty as there could be a bunch of errors in your list. To prevent failure, learn these easy steps on how to craft the assessment checklist:
You already know that the assessment purpose is one of the key elements in the assessment checklist. And it is your first concern to clarify because poorly constructed goals could cause the assessment’s outcome to fail. Meeting the objectives is your priority anyway. So when you finally know what or who to assess and why it is needed, you are guided accordingly.
Next, set up the criteria. How will you assess your subjects? Do you use yes-or-no questions or maybe the Likert scale? Also, take note to plan this part carefully. Poor criteria would not derive at the best conclusions. To perfect this, evaluate first if you think your rubric system is appropriate for your assessment. Also, are the questions or descriptors written in the list relevant to the topic? Plan it out.
Be concerned with your list’s format too. Nobody wants a checklist that isn’t aligned well, like when there is no proper spacing of words and if the checkboxes are too far from each other. You adjust the format in a way where assessing is no longer difficult. And don’t forget that the assessment checklist templates available to download here are easy to edit. So, take your time and tweak the format based on your preference.
Many evaluators want their assessment lists to be very informative, like a detailed letter. However, don’t overdo it. Maybe you have descriptors that are wordy. Omit those unnecessary words that are only consuming a lot of space on the list. Instead, use specific terms to keep it clear. Short but concise statements already suffice compared to lengthy sentences and flowery words with almost no point.
Lastly, keep the checklist understandable and straightforward. As the evaluator, you wouldn’t want to have a hard time assessing anyway. And you can do so by organizing the list. For example, you divide the descriptors and questions according to their groups. Take the health assessment, perhaps. One group of questions asks about the client’s physical health factors. Hence, other groups concern the mental, emotional, social, and spiritual aspects.
Performance-based assessments are common for students. First, teachers evaluate the student’s grades in math, reading, science—you name it. And aside from the grades, how the pupils perform in dances, speeches, and plays can be assessed.
There are five known types of checklists. And these are:
Good and efficient assessment checklists are easy-to-use lists that reach the results effectively. Such documents should be practical and understandable to work.
Educator Andy Hargreaves once said, “On assessment: measure what you value instead of valuing only what you can measure.” His statement tells us to prepare for the unexpected when it comes to assessing, as long as you know what you value or what your goal is. Because at the end of the day, creating a decent assessment checklist and assessing are not your only concerns. Your next challenge is to analyze and interpret the findings until learnings are gathered.
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