{"id":2356,"date":"2026-03-11T09:56:28","date_gmt":"2026-03-11T09:56:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.manchester.ac.uk\/edi\/?p=2356"},"modified":"2026-03-11T09:56:28","modified_gmt":"2026-03-11T09:56:28","slug":"dr-anna-forringer-beal-rethinking-assessment-how-optionality-can-build-a-more-neuroinclusive-classroom","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.manchester.ac.uk\/edi\/2026\/03\/11\/dr-anna-forringer-beal-rethinking-assessment-how-optionality-can-build-a-more-neuroinclusive-classroom\/","title":{"rendered":"Dr Anna Forringer-Beal: Rethinking Assessment: How Optionality Can Build a More Neuroinclusive Classroom"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Within higher education literature, constructive alignment theory<\/a> begins from a simple but transformative premise: meaningful assessment must align directly with intended learning outcomes and prior teaching. Students are not passive recipients of information but active constructors of meaning, and assessments ought to capture that process. Yet neurodiversity complicates assumptions about how students demonstrate learning. An autistic student who thrives in written communication may struggle with oral presentations<\/a>. A dyslexic student may engage deeply in class discussion yet receive lower marks on traditional written exams<\/a>. In these cases, the misalignment lies not with the teacher’s instruction or the student\u2019s learning, but with singular assessment design.<\/p>\n

This is where optionality in assessment may offer useful insight. Assessment optionality broadly refers to a burgeoning pedagogical approach wherein students are invited to choose some aspect of their assessment process and thus take a more active role in their experience<\/a>. This practice has been divided into two approaches<\/a>. First, variance optionality refers to using the same format (an essay, presentation, group project, etc.) but allows the student to determine the length, weight, and deadline for the project. Second, format optionality enables students to choose different formats to present their work, but maintains the same length, weight, and deadline.<\/p>\n

Each of these frameworks are based on the principles of Universal Design Learning (UDL)<\/a>, which maintains we design our teaching and learning to be useable by as many people possible. UDL frames accessibility not as a series of individual accommodations, but as a structural responsibility. While this may feel like an onerous task to implement, designing courses with UDL can potentially save time and energy by removing barriers to access without the instructor needing to build multiple, separate points of access. When applied to assessment, UDL encourages educators to build flexibility and choice into their modules<\/a> so that all students can demonstrate their learning authentically using assessment optionality. This shift also challenges the deficit model<\/a> in which disabled students must continually seek exceptions to standard practice. Instead, variability is centred as pedagogically valuable and academically rigorous.<\/p>\n

Alternative assessments do not require abandoning structure. Instead, they invite creativity<\/a>. Educators might provide a range of assessment formats\u2014blogs, essays, presentations, reflective commentaries, reports, or video essays\u2014each aligned with the same learning outcomes. Students of all neuro-types broadly appear to welcome assessment choice<\/a>, and early research<\/a> suggests broad support for more flexible evaluation practices. Despite student interest, there may still be significant pushback from Higher Education Institutions because of the unfamiliar nature of assessment choice and difficult, time-consuming processes instructors must pursue to change assessment type. There are also understandable concerns about creating equitable evaluation criteria for different forms of assessment across disciplines, departments, and even courses.<\/p>\n

Despite these challenges, assessment optionality may offer important insights for making our classrooms inclusive and innovative. As AI continues to change the landscape in higher education, assessment choice that scaffolds learning and facilitates the demonstration of ILOs outside of (or in addition to) normative essays or exams, may just hold the solution. One thing is clear, any form of assessment choice must be undergirded by clear learning objectives<\/a> to ensure that variety does not come at the expense of structure.<\/p>\n

Ultimately, alternative assessments help more students demonstrate what they know\u2014accurately, confidently, and in ways that reflect their genuine strengths. As our classrooms become more cognitively diverse, our assessments must evolve with them. Neuroinclusion is not a niche project; it is a necessary condition for high\u2011quality, equitable education.<\/p>\n

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