23. Types of activities. The activities of the teacher include

2. Learner-designed

If student participation is a central pillar to success, then why not let them help design their own tests?
Over the years, teaching has become progressively more student-centric and participatory. This next type of assessment is a product of that school of thought.
Here’s what it looks like: A week or two before testing is set to begin, do a review day with students. Go through every lesson together and determine what would qualify as mastering that lesson, what would qualify as passing/average and what would qualify as failing/unsatisfactory.
Let’s say the chapter you’re looking at covers irregular verb conjugation and vocabulary about weather. Students could determine that, in order to have mastered this chapter, they should be able to:

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  Show that they can conjugate all of the main irregular verbs (written exercise)
  

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  Be able to use them in a sentence (written & verbal exercises)
  

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  Have a conversation using them without making mistakes (verbal exercise)
  

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  Write a 300-word text that incorporates all of their weather vocabulary and each irregular verb, using a provided word bank (written exercise)
  

This is a time-consuming process, but by the end, not only have you developed a logical, end-of-course assessment that your students think is fair, you’ve also made them accountable and invested. They designed the test, after all.
The test-designing class activity doubles as a thorough review of everything learned in the course.
Here are few tips for this type of assessment:

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  Have this conversation sitting in a circle so that you don’t become the focal point, although you’ll still be the facilitator.
  

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  You can adapt this method and have students design their test requirements in groups. Afterwards, the groups will share their answers and you’ll choose the best.