| Assessment
Students often fear assessment and see it as a negative element of the course. However, if the assessment exercise is fair and relevant it can help sustain a sense of motivation and interest. Assessment involves the sampling of some aspect of a person's learning/knowledge at a particular moment. Depending upon the kind of sample taken, inferences can be drawn about that person's achievements, abilities, motivation and aptitude. These inferences can in turn be used in a number of ways to:
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Diagnose a student's strengths and weaknesses - diagnostic assessment |
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Provide him/her with feedback about how he/she is doing - formative assessment |
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Provide a formal recognition of accomplishment or competence - summative assessment |
The results of assessments are statements of student competence at a particular time. However, assessment is about more than merely testing. Constant communication with students provides an opportunity for tutors to gauge opinions, track levels of comprehension and to identify areas of confusion. Likewise, interactive class work or class presentations ensure students can demonstrate their learning, exchange ideas and display their own brand of creativity. In order to develop and improve student learning, feedback is an integral part of the assessment process. Assessment exercises also indicate to tutors whether their teaching has been successful and can help to identify areas of course work that might need to be altered or delivered in a different format.
Setting Assessments
There should be a clear and obvious link between the assessment method used and the learning outcomes being assessed.
Learning Outcomes : Statements of what a learner is expected to know, understand and/or be able to demonstrate after completion of a process of learning.
Have you considered:
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Is the assessment linked to the learning outcomes for your course? |
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Is there consistency between learning outcomes and assessment? |
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Have the learning outcomes been conceptualised and articulated in line with assessment strategies? |
Expectations
Before setting an assignment establish what your expectations are:
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What do you expect students to return/produce? |
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How do you expect the question/task to be addressed? |
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What is the exact nature of the tasks being requested in each assignment? |
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How much do you expect students to write? Have you set limits on the expected word count |
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Is the task achievable? Is it realistic to expect a comprehensive/complete answer in the allotted word count? If the question set is complex and a student is advised to submit an essay of only 1,000-1,500 words this will limit the facility to answer comprehensively. |
Relevance
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Is the task set a fair representation of the coursework? |
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Does the task link theory and practice? |
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Does the task set concentrate on a particular aspect of the course to the detriment of other topics covered? |
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If there are multiple forms of assessment, are they weighted fairly to represent the time spent on the topic over the duration of the course? |
Experiential Learning
A learner bringing their own experience to bear on classroom discussions is a key quality of adult education. This experiential component should also be carried through to assessment exercises.
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Does the task enable the students to incorporate their own experience in the response? |
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Does the task require a degree of critical reflection? |
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Does the assessment task allow for different learning styles/different intelligences in students? Does the exercise encourage creativity and originality? |
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Include the learner in the assessment. Don't just make the assessment about a body of knowledge and a student's understanding of that knowledge. Instead consider how they relate to that knowledge and if this new knowledge has altered their thinking. How does this new knowledge influence the way they work or how they relate to people in work, at home or in their community? What personal insights are evident? |
Objectivity
In order to avoid any unfair bias, it is important to consider:
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Is the language used clear, accessible and bias free? |
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Is it possible for all participants to approach the topic equally? |
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Does the question/task assume certain prior knowledge or cultural references which might disadvantage some students? |
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Could the task/question set cause offence to any group or individual? |
Achievement/Distinction
Tasks set should be fair and allow excellence to stand out while also ensuring that weaker students have a reasonable chance of succeeding.
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Can the task differentiate between low and high levels of achievement? |
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What kind of answer would you envisage receiving from an exceptional student? |
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Does the task set allow students to demonstrate exceptional expertise/skill or hard work? |
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Is the task sufficiently achievable to allow weaker students to produce work of a reasonable standard? |
Reliability
A reliable assessment method is one that ensures consistent results for different assessors on each assessment occasion. It also ensures that the standard of marking does not change from one script to the next. In order to ensure reliability, it is vital that grading criteria are established and made available to students.
Grading Criteria
Ensure a clear and common understanding of the marking/grading criteria among students and assessors (i.e. where tutors are sharing a course or where there are multiple assessors over the course of a programme). Grades should be awarded according to the grading criteria not by comparing students with each other, i.e., make your assessment "criterion referenced" rather than "norm referenced". This is particularly crucial in adult education where students bring vastly different levels of experience and learning with them to class. Some students will excel and their standard may be an unrealistic benchmark for others.
For any given assignment, your criteria for success may vary in the details; whatever they are, make a list of them. Students should receive a copy of this list before they begin their assignments.
If there is transparency about how work is marked and what is required at each level, fewer students will be confused about their grades. If grades are questioned or challenged, tutors can demonstrate how they arrived at their grades thereby eliminating the charge that papers were graded in an arbitrary or purely subjective way.
Presenting Assignments
Many students on your course may not have been required to write an essay, or complete a project, for a number of years. Great anxieties build up and students are unsure about what is required, or about how work will be judged. Rather than seeing assessment as a negative experience, which has to be endured in order to acquire credits/certification, we should aim to promote assessment as an integral and positive part of the learning process.
DO
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Explain the purpose of assessment and how your course will be assessed. |
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Promote assessment as a positive component of the course and elaborate on the learning benefits of completing assessment exercises |
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Provide students with support in terms of writing skills, referencing and editing |
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Distribute assessment assignment(s) early in the term/course |
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Where relevant, advise students of the deadline for submission of assignments early in the term/course. Give a firm deadline and stress the need to meet it. |
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Give clear indications of the marks attributed to each question when there are multiple questions to be addressed |
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Advise students about the weighting attached to each assignment if there are multiple assignments |
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Discuss with students what is required and follow this up with written explanations |
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Distribute written examples of good, fair and poor attempts |
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Illustrate why marks were lost/gained in the model answers |
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Highlight the importance of correct academic referencing (where relevant) |
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Discuss plagiarism with students, make them aware of the issue and let them know it is unacceptable |
DO NOT
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Tell students that everyone will pass automatically as this can serve to demotivate students who then feel there is no point in putting in a lot of effort |
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Promise particular questions in an exam (where relevant). General tips for areas to study can be given but students can sometimes interpret such tips as guarantees that particular questions will be included on the paper. This then leads to anxiety and stress if the exact question they were expecting does not materialise. As an exercise in preparing students for further study, they need to gain experience of approaching an exam under 'real' exam conditions, i.e., unseen paper. |
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Imply that the deadline is provisional and easily postponed |
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Grant extensions generously, or in ad hoc manner, to all those who request additional time |
Tutor Learning From Assessment
Tutors can learn from assessment exercises in order to adapt or modify teaching practices. Marking assignments can help tutors:
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Identify areas students grasped well |
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Identify areas that are still causing confusion |
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Establish which topics are the most/least popular |
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Establish how much student support is needed in terms of assistance with essay writing. Poorly written essays may mean that students need additional support in this area. Likewise, poorly referenced essays may indicate that students have not understood why references are needed or how to integrate them into their writing |
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Recognise topics which might need to be taught in a different manner to facilitate better understanding |
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Rethink questions if answers are not what you had expected to be returned, or if students are interpreting questions differently to how you might have anticipated |
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Identify which areas of the course students are concentrating on in their assignments. Are some areas being focused on to the detriment of others? |
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Consider whether the questions offered students an opportunity to add personal insights and link course material to their own experience. Could the assignment questions be rephrased in future to allow for experiential learning? |
Suggestions for Reflection |
- How do you assess your students?
- What challenges arise with your current assessment procedures?
- How might you assess your learners differently?
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Feedback on Student Work
Student feedback is an essential part of the learning process as it highlights why aspects of an assignment were good, and also suggests how future work might be improved. Feedback, which includes recommendations as to how future assignments might be improved, is particularly helpful. Feedback shows that the tutor has taken time to write individualised comments about a student's work and has given thought to the work over and above awarding a purely numerical mark.
Feedback should be honest and objective without being overly or unnecessarily critical. Students continue to learn from an assignment if they understand what their work accomplished and what it didn't.
Purpose of Feedback
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Motivates students by acknowledging good work and providing encouragement for approaching new assignments |
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Provides evidence of what was done well or poorly and enables students to adopt recommendations for future assessments |
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Students gain confidence as they learn from their errors |
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Lower achieving students identify ways that they can improve their work and this helps overcome feelings of inadequacy or failure |
Giving Feedback to Students
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Identify strengths and areas for improvement in relation to the learning outcomes or grading criteria |
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Ensure from early on that students understand the grading criteria so that the feedback is meaningful |
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Explain why a particular aspect of an assignment was good. A student might not be aware why this aspect stands out and the explanation clearly highlights what has been done well. Once a skill is endorsed a student will feel confident employing similar methodologies in future assignments |
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Likewise, explain why aspects of an assignment are weak or poor and give indications of how the work, and future assignments, could be improved. |
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Be encouraging. Feedback should leave a student with the sense that they can improve and that they can apply the feedback to future projects |
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Use clear and unambiguous language |
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Use positive, enthusiastic language |
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Don't write in a red pen or use 'school-type' language. Many students have negative associations with school reports. They need to see that the feedback assists their learning by being constructive and motivating rather than critical and discouraging |
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Finish completing the feedback by adding a global comment of praise or encouragement |
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For feedback to be of use, students need to see that they can act on the feedback |
Peer Feedback
While feedback generally originates from a teacher, learners can also play an important role in giving feedback. Peer and self-assessment can be utilised to tap into the valuable feedback from peers, and judgements on one's own performance. Peer assessment works well with class presentations once feedback is given in a constructive fashion.
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