1. Designing assessment that works
Dale Wache
TIU

2. Designing assessment that works
Agenda:
Welcome
Introduction and context
Principles for good assessment
Assessment design process
Plan your assessment
Implement your assessment
Review your assessment

3. Welcome!
Who are we?
Who are you?
Housekeeping

4. Setting the Scene
Father Guido Sarducci’s humorous idea of the Five – Minute University.
What is the message in this video clip about assessment at university?
Where you could be taught in 5 minutes everything you will remember about economics five years after graduation.
the ubiquitous availability of information on our Smart phones and 3G networks means that remembering isn’t enough anymore – we need to know how to evaluate the information

5. Introduction Purpose of assessment Constructive alignment
Assessment at UniSA
Criterion-referenced Assessment
Assessment is the primary force that shapes what and how our students will learn. It is the means by which we, as academics, teachers and educators, judge students' achievements; and ultimately forms the basis by which we award a qualification. It matters because if we get it wrong, it can be catastrophic for the lives and careers of our students.
We need to be sure that students learn what they need to, so that they can be effective and safe in the profession they will be working. Assessment is the instrument we use to assure ourselves, the students, the institution, the workforce and society more generally - that they are.
Nothing matters more to students than assessment and its outcomes. The type, timing and amount of assessment is the most important concern for students when they start their courses; and they can be quite strategic about how they go about it.
This is frustrating for us – but for students it’s often an intelligent response to the situation theyfind themselves in: a heavy assessment load combined with external work and life responsibilities. Student patterns of participation at University have changed, and are still changing. Many students have other equally important family and social commitments and many more work and study concurrently. University forms a part of their life and doesn't always come first. Hence, assessment, like all learning activities, must be clearly relevant and manageable to engage and support these students.
It is no longer acceptable to include assessment as an add-on activity; only considered after the design of your curriculum. The process used to be content-teaching-assessment
Assessment needs to be central to our thinking and curriculum design. Students can survive (with difficulty) poor teaching, but they can't escape the effects of poor assessment (Boud, 1998).
Matters of assessment matter and must be central to your thinking and curriculum design.

6. Purpose of Assessment Assessment for Learning (Formative)
Assessment of Learning (Summative)
Assessment as Learning (Metacognitive)

7. Activity Can you think of examples of assessment
of learning
for learning
as learning
Share with the person next to you
In your group identify the most common examples of each type.

8. Constructive alignment

9. Assessment at UniSA Assessment central to student learning
Criterion based assessment
Assessment Policies and Procedures Manual (APPM) 2017

10. Criterion referenced assessment
Norm-referenced assessment
Normal Distribution

11. Principles for Good Assessment

12. Activity
Can you link the UniSA principles of assessment with the principles drawn from the literature?

13. Activity
Examine the provided case study against the set of principles of assessment. Discuss at your table.

14. Assessment Design Process
A systematic approach is needed for effective assessment design encompassing a planning phase, a 'doing' phase (what the students and academics are required to complete), followed by an evaluation and enhancement phase (reviewing and improving).

15. Plan your assessment What
A well considered plan will help you achieve these goals.
When planning your assessment, clarifying the learning objectives that you wish to assess and the purpose of the assessment is vital.
However, it is not enough! There are four key areas to consider:
Who are the students being assessed? (i.e. the type student and their experiences)
What needs to be assessed? (i.e. aligning with the course purpose and learning objectives)
Where is the assessment situated? (i.e. the context)
How will the assessment be best conducted? (i.e. the pattern of assessment and choice of tasks)
You must also consider the context in which the assessment occurs (i.e. where the assessment will sit within the course and the program). Understanding the type of student you will be assessing and their prior learning experiences is also important. In addition, the timing, sequence and weighting of assessment must

16. Activity
Analyse the planning underpinning the assessment task in the case study provided.
Discuss at your table

17. Implement Your Assessment
Through careful planning, you should have a clear picture of what you are going to assess, why, and the most appropriate method to do this heeding the principles for good assessment. You will also have considered the implications of the students, context and resources available.
Now you must develop or write the task itself. An effectively written assessment task will have the following components:
A clear task description
A clear marking scheme
A range of model exemplars

18. Review and Improve Your Assessment
Effective review of assessment evaluates whether the assessment were influenced by the principles for good assessment and was pedagogically sound.
It looks at the resourcing implications and considers the student experiences and perspectives.
What to Evaluate
Pedagogies
Resources
Results and Experiences
How to Evaluate
An effective evaluation of assessment gathers data and feedback via processes of self reflection and peer review. It also gathers data on student assessment results and asks students for feedback on their experiences.
Self Reflection
Peer Review
Student Results
Student Experience

19. Activity
Review and develop suggestions for improving the assessment task in the provided case study

20. References
Anderson, L. W., & Krathwohl, D. (Eds.). (2001). A taxonomy for learning, teaching and assessing: A revision of Bloom’s taxonomy of educational objectives. New York: Longman.
Biggs, J., & Tang, C.(2007). Teaching for quality learning at university: What the student does (3rd ed.). Berkshire, UK: Society for Research into Higher Education & Open University Press
Boud, D., & Falchikov, N. (2007). Rethinking assessment in higher education: Learning for the longer term. London: Routledge.
Burton, L.J., Dowling, D., Dorman, M., & Brodie, L. (2005). Understanding student diversity and the factors that influence academic success: a preliminary study. In: McInerey, D.M., & Van Etten, S. (Eds.) Focus on curriculum. Research on sociocultural Influences on motivation and learning (5) (pp ). Greenwich, CT: Information Age Publishing
Falchikov, N., & Boud, D. (1989). Student self-assessment in higher education: a meta-analysis. Review of Educational Research, 59(4), doi: / Retrieved from
Nulty, D. D. (2010b). Curriculum review tools for QAA - Quality assurance of assessment: Part 2 - A four step approach to QAA of assessment planning. Retrieved from
sets/pdf_file/0007/344446/Curriculum-Review-Tools-for-QAA-Part-2.pdf
Sadler, R. D. (2005). Interpretations of criteria-based assessment and grading in higher education. Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education, 30(2), doi: / Retrieved from
UniSA APPM (2017)