Assessment literacy for trainers and educators: Designing fair, useful formative and summative assessments
A ready-made course you customise for your organisation, with a live session deck and two surveys. You only add the 8 details that are specific to your organisation.
- Length
- 40 min
- Lessons
- 6 lessons
- Frequency
- Before a trainer writes their first test or quiz
- Last reviewed
- 21 Oct 2026
A multiple-choice question has two answers a reasonable expert could defend
Try it: this is one of 21 interactive activities in the course.
What's included
Three pieces that work together
Copy once, get everything. Learners prepare on their own, you answer questions live, and the surveys tell you what stuck.
Self-paced course
Short lessons with real workplace scenarios, not walls of text.
- 6 lessons, about 40 minutes
- Scenario, timeline, tabs, sorting activity and quizzes
Live session deck
An AhaSlides presentation to run after the course, in person or online.
- 10 slides
- Quiz, word cloud, poll, ranking slides
- A closing slide for your contacts
Two surveys
Find out what landed, and whether people use it on the job.
- Post-course feedback, about 2 minutes
- 30-day check-in
- Anonymous by default
- Results feed your next refresher
Learning objectives
At the end of this course, learners can
Each objective and the lesson that covers it.
| ID | Objective | Source | Where it's covered |
|---|---|---|---|
| TO 390.0 | Achieve ≥ 80% on the final assessment | n/a | Whole course |
| SO 390.1 | Distinguish diagnostic, formative and summative assessment by purpose and timing | Best practice | Whole course |
| SO 390.2 | Build a simple blueprint that links learning outcomes to assessment items | Standards for Educational and Psychological Testing (AERA, APA, NCME) [check before build] | Whole course |
| SO 390.3 | Spot common flaws in test items and rewrite them | Standards for Teacher Competence in Educational Assessment of Students [check before build] | Whole course |
| SO 390.4 | Use a rubric and checks for understanding to give feedback that learners can act on | Classroom Assessment Standards for PreK-12 Teachers (Joint Committee on Standards for Educational Evaluation) [check before build] | Whole course |
| SO 390.5 | Apply the organisation's grading, fairness and adjustments rules and use results to adjust teaching + your info | Organisation's assessment policy | Whole course |
Your part: what a template can't do for you
- Your workplace details: fill in the 8 highlighted fields so the course describes your own policies, contacts and locations.
- Records: record completion in your own LMS or record system.
Course outline
6 lessons, about 40 minutes
Minutes per lesson are an estimate, shared out by page count.
1A test that told nobody anything
3 pages
7 min
A test that told nobody anything
3 pages
2Purpose first: diagnostic, formative, summative
3 pages
7 min
Purpose first: diagnostic, formative, summative
3 pages
3From outcomes to items: a simple blueprint
3 pages
7 min
From outcomes to items: a simple blueprint
3 pages
4Grey areas: flawed items and fair grading
3 pages
7 min
Grey areas: flawed items and fair grading
3 pages
5Use the results and speak up
3 pages
7 min
Use the results and speak up
3 pages
6Next steps and final assessment
2 pages
5 min
Next steps and final assessment
2 pages
Live deck and surveys
10 slides to run live, two surveys to close the loop
Pink slides are interactive. Both surveys are anonymous; pink questions are written for this course.
Post-course feedback: 11 questions, about 2 min
- Overall rating 5 stars
- Relevant, realistic, right length, helpful activities agree/disagree grid
- What was most useful? multi-select
- Confidence before this course, and now 1-5 scale
- What do you use to plan a test? multiple choice
- How confident are you writing a rubric? 1-5 scale
- What is one assessment problem you want solved? short text
- I feel safe asking a colleague to review my test. 1-5 scale
- One thing we should change or add open text
- Would you recommend this course? NPS
30-day check-in
- Have you used what you learned since the course? multiple choice
- How confident are you today? Compare with day 1 1-5 scale
- Do you know where to find the organisation's assessment policy? yes / no / not sure
- A moment where the training helped, or where you weren't sure open text
- Which topics should the next refresher focus on? ranking
Results show whether people use the training on the job, not just whether they finished it.
Make it yours
8 fields to fill in, and you're ready
Everything else is done. These are the details only your organisation knows; each one is highlighted inside the course.
- Ld contact
{{LD_CONTACT}} - Training standards link
{{TRAINING_STANDARDS_LINK}} - Concern route
{{CONCERN_ROUTE}} - Support and adjustments route
{{SUPPORT_AND_ADJUSTMENTS_ROUTE}} - LMS or record system
{{LMS_OR_RECORD_SYSTEM}} - Survey 1 URL
{{SURVEY_1_URL}}
Show all 8 fields
- Survey 2 URL
{{SURVEY_2_URL}} - Course URL
{{COURSE_URL}}
FAQ
Common questions
Can I run assessment literacy for trainers and educators: Designing fair, useful formative and summative assessments training online?
Yes. The course is self-paced and online, and the live deck lets you add a live session in the room or online.
How often is this training needed?
Before a trainer writes their first test or quiz; when a programme moves to a new assessment approach; annually for the whole training team.
Who needs this training?
Trainers, facilitators, mentors, instructional designers and teaching staff who design, mark or interpret assessments for adult learners or colleagues; run by the head of L&D, training academy lead or staff-development office.
What records should I keep?
Record completion in your own LMS or record system, so you can show who finished the course and when.
Can I edit the content?
Yes, everything. Change the wording, swap scenarios for ones from your workplace, add your logo, or remove parts that don't apply.
Related templates
Often taught together
Train the trainer: Core delivery and facilitation skills for new trainers
New and early-career corporate trainers and subject-matter experts becoming trainers · Train the Trainer Courses
Digital competence and technology integration for educators and trainers
Trainers · Train the Trainer Courses
Language teacher training: Communicative methods, CLIL and bilingual programme design for trainers
Language teachers · Train the Trainer Courses
Engaging learners: Active learning, questioning and group facilitation for trainers
Corporate trainers · Train the Trainer Courses
Ready to run it?
Open the live deck to see how the session runs alongside the course and both surveys.