Developing Effective Assessment in Higher Education

Acknowledgements

PART 1: INTRODUCTION AND CONTEXT

1.Introduction
The primacy of assessment<brAssessment pressures and influences
Policy
Research evidence
Why another assessment book
Situated Practice
Audience
Plan of the book
How to use this book
A note about terminology
Conclusion

2.The Evidence base for assessment practice in higher education
The relationship between assessment and learning
The relationship between feedback and learning
The validity of assessment tasks
Constructive alignment
Conclusion

3.The conflicting purposes of assessmentValidity
Reliability
Effectiveness
Comparability and consistency
Equity
Practicability
Transparency
Attribution
Conclusion and possible ways forward

PART 2: DEALING WITH ASSESSMENT

4.Teaching a module: maximising the potential of assessment
Assessment basics
Assessment and learning
Writing assessment tasks
Designing and setting up group assignments
Writing assessment criteria and standards
Peer and self assessment
Designing tasks to reduce plagiarism
When problems crop up
Conclusion

5.Preparing students for assessment
What is involved in becoming academically literate?
A framework for preparing students for assessment: integrating guidance and feedback
Giving explicit information to students
Telling what cannot be told: tacit information transfer
Conclusion

6.Marking
Introduction
Marking and marking practices
Assessment criteria, grade descriptors and marking schemes
Other approaches to improving accuracy of marking
Managing your marking
Issues in marking
Peer marking
Marking group assignments
Conclusion

7.Providing effective feedback for learning
Timely feedback
Written feedback
Formative feedback
Engaging students with feedback
Evaluating the student perspective
Conclusion

8.Moderation: towards greater consistency in markingSetting the context
Moderation
Internal moderation
External moderation
Conclusion

9.Managing assessment in different roles
Introduction
Promoting equity
Tutor level
Module leader level
Programme leader level
Head of department level
Chairs of assessment boards
Institutional leadership
A note on data protection
Conclusion

10. Supporting widening participation through assessment
Introduction
Widening participation, retention and achievement
Using assessment to support retention and achievement
Equal opportunities in assessment practice
Assessing disabled students and those with specific
learning difficulties
Assessment and promoting race equality
Conclusion

PART 3: DEVELOPING ASSESSMENT

11. Planning a programme assessment strategy
The importance of a programme approach
Validation
Six steps to an effective programme approach
Step 1: Programme learning outcomes
Step 2: Mapping learning outcomes across a programme
Step 3: Make it fit for purpose
Step 4: Provide for progression
Step 5: Match assessment and pedagogy
Step 6: Identify constraints on assessment
Conclusion: an iterative approach

12.Planning the assessment for a module
Introduction
Reference points
Deciding on the assessment plan
Module Descriptor template
Building in flexibility
Conclusion

13. Diversifying assessment methods
Introduction
Why diversify?
Caution
Diversification in action
Challenge one: developing authenticity
Challenge two: assessing skills
Challenge three: improving the validity of examinations
Challenge four: assessment which supports learning
Challenge five: linking formative and summative assessment
Challenge six: assessing large cohorts
Assessment methods
Sources of information
Conclusion

14. Computer aided assessment
Introduction
Benefits of computer aided assessment
Challenges of computer aided assessment
On-line testing
Assessing on-line discussion
Supporting diverse learners in CAA
Cheating and plagiarism detection
Sources of further information
Conclusion

15. Professional development and assessment
Introduction
Workplace learning
Areas for review
Conclusion

References
GlossaryIndex