1. www.kent.ac.uk Assessment Introduction Unit for the Enhancement of Learning and Teaching

2. 2 A question… A student has worked the following mathematical problem: 269 23 x 5380 787 6167 Working individually, give this student a mark out of ten Mark = ……/10

3. 3 Consider… Was your judgement based on process or product? What might affect the mark you gave?

4. 4 Assessment needs to be Valid (measures what it is supposed to) Reliable (reproducible results) Transparent Free of bias Practicable

5. 5 Reproducibility The consistency or reproducibility of an assessment: Markers: do they agree? Can the test be repeated to achieve the same results? Internal: does it agree with itself?

6. 6 But… Is this achievable In a discipline? Across an institution? How widely can or should results be reproduced? Are these desirable educational purposes?

7. 7 Why assess? Assessment is central to teaching and learning Diagnostic (placement) Summative (certification) Formative (aiding learning) Move towards ‘sustainable’ assessment (Boud 2000)

8. 8 Planning assessment Integral to curriculum planning Defining learning outcomes Linking assessment criteria and learning outcomes Assessment tasks should be designed so that students can demonstrate achievement of the learning outcomes

9. 9 What is being assessed? Content learning Skills (generic) Skills (subject specific) With what effect? Deep / surface learning

10. 10 Assessment and Feedback Assessment by whom? Staff, peer, self How? Three main forms- written, oral, performance Feedback? Written, oral, recorded Motivation, engagement

11. 11 Assessment workload Staff Students Usefulness of assessments Marking load

12. 12 References Boud D 2000 Sustainable Assessment: rethinking assessment for the learning society, Studies in Continuing Education, Vol 22, No 2. Gibbs G & Simpson C (2004) Conditions under which assessment supports students’ learning, Learning and Teaching in Higher Education, Issue 1. Knight, P (2007) ‘Grading, classifying and future learning’ Ch 6 in D Boud & N Falchikov, Eds, Rethinking assessment in Higher Education, Oxon: Routledge.

13. 13 References Knight, P 2001 Assessment: A briefing on Key Concepts, LTSN Generic Centre Assessment Series Number 7, LTSN Generic Centre: York. Price, M; Handley, K & O’Donovan, B (2008) Feedback: What’s in it for me? Paper presented at the 4 th EARLI/Northumbria Assessment Conference, Berlin. Available from http://www.iqb.hu- berlin.de/veranst/enac2008?reg=r_11.