Short Answers: Short answer assessments can be extremely valuable to educators and students by providing flexibility to educators when asking the questions and by allowing students an opportunity to demonstrate an understanding of the subject matter.
Strengths: Short answer assessments allow educators flexibility when asking questions that require the student to analyze their knowledge manipulate the information to produce answers that will satisfy the question. Students can demonstrate their understanding of the subject matter by comprehensively answering the questions leaving no doubt to the scope of their understanding, when aligned with a pre-assessment short answers can assure educators and parents that learning has occurred.
Weaknesses: If short answer assessments are not created properly they can elicit different responses that all can be considered correct, students can be confused as to what is being asked causing the student to answer in a way that is incorrect, students may not fully demonstrate their understanding with their answers.