Ipsative assessment

Hi there kiddo! Today we are going to talk about something called ipsative assessment.

Okay, so let's say you are taking a test. Usually, the test has questions that are all scored separately - one question might be worth 1 point, and another question might be worth 2 points. When you finish the test, all the points are added up and that's your score.

But with ipsative assessment, things are a little bit different. Instead of scoring each question separately, you are comparing your answers to each other. So instead of getting points for each question, you are comparing your answers to each other and seeing which ones you did better on.

Let's say the test has 3 questions: Question 1 asks you to draw a picture, Question 2 is a math problem, and Question 3 is an essay. With ipsative assessment, you would compare your drawings, your math work, and your essay and see which one you did best on, and which one you did worst on.

So in a way, ipsative assessment is a little bit like grading yourself. You aren't getting a score based on how many points you earned, you are just figuring out which things you did better on and which things you need to work on more.

I hope that helps you understand ipsative assessment, kiddo!