1. Inclusive Assessment

2. Aim of the session
To explore issues related to inclusive assessment through the medium of cookies

3. Task 1: Constructing Criteria
We’re going to ask you to assess a range of different chocolate chip cookies
Construct a range of criteria which allow you to assess the cookies
You will use your criteria to rank cookies – ‘best’ to ‘worst’

4. Task 2 : Assess those cookies!
We’ll present you with a selection of cookies.
Use your criteria to assess them

5. Discussion

6. Task 3 : Assess these ‘cookies’
Use your criteria to assess this set of baked goodies
How well do your criteria work?

7. Discussion
How would you adapt your criteria to evaluate all biscuits on an equal basis?

8. Inclusive Assessment, or Just Good Assessment Practice ?
We get a long way towards making assessment more inclusive by simply adopting proven good assessment practices

9. Inclusive Assessment, or Just Good Assessment Practice ?
Choose authentic and appropriate means of assessing
Unseen exams, reports and essays are overused
Many other methods which may be more fit-for-purpose
in-seminar assessments, posters, assessed blogs, portfolios, case studies, vivas, short answer tests, multiple choice and other computer-based tests, reflective accounts, logs, projects, (video) presentations, learning packages, annotated bibliographies, in-tray exercises, live briefs, …

10. Assignment Briefs Should
be informative, as clear as possible and readily accessible to students
communicate requirements, tasks and expectations
provide detailed assessment criteria
provide an implicit learning contract
Clear assignment specifications help all students

11. Providing Choice Assessment criteria must
be relevant to the learning outcomes
enable assessment of the learning outcomes regardless of submission format chosen by student
Producing good assessment criteria requires forethought

12. Choice vs Assessment Criteria
Student-centred learning suggests we should offer students (constrained) choices of how they undertake an assignment and meet the learning outcomes
enables students to choose an assessment format they are most comfortable with
gives students agency, a key factor in motivation and engagement

13. Helping Students Understand Assignments
Helping students understand the requirements benefits all students
e.g. Wolverhampton University student-led assignment ‘unpacking’ sessions
provides example assessment for students to mark
improves understanding of assessment
builds staff/student shared understanding of the assessment
increases assessment performance for all students, but especially dyslexic and BME students
improves assessment literacy & student confidence, especially in Y1 => improved retention