Assessment
Links
Assessment Tools
There are a large number of assessment strategies that you can employ that ensure that the students have learned from the activities you have provided. The following list gives you a few options:
- peer-assessment
- self test quizzes
- self-assessment
- written assignments
- class presentations
- reports
- exams
- portfolios
SPARK 
Self & Peer Assessment Resource Kit is an open source tool developed by University of Technology Sydney that allows students to rate each others and their own performance in group/team situations.
The numerical factor derived from this feedback can be used to modify group marks for individual students and presents strong motivation for all students to work effectively within their groups/teams.
Recently, a proposal was submitted to construct a BlackBoard Building Block for SPARK and the Division of Teaching & Learning Services is in discussions with SPARK stakeholders with a view to collaboration on this proposed project.
Learn more about SPARK
a catalyst to assist staff in making explicit the assessment criteria and to allow students to 'self-assess' against those criteria.
An ALTC project addressing groupwork. This project was completed with the media and communication disciplines in mind, but the issues it addresses are similar across all fields. The site also provides a forum for peer contributions.
This videostream presentation highlights issues about assessment, especially marking, and the challenges facing staff in giving students appropriate and timely feedback.
This presentation is especially relevant to early career academics and sessional staff.
Resources for this presentation:
1. Paul_Hogan.pdf
2. criterion.pdf
3. performance_standards.pdf
4. Generic_Assessment_Rubric.pdf
5. grading_and_feedback.pdf
The IDEA Centre (Individual Development and Educational Assessment)
This page, maintained by the Kansas State University, has interesting examples of Student Ratings, as well as Feedback systems for Deans, Administrators and Chairpersons, and short publications (the IDEA Papers) on a range of topics related to learning and teaching.
Online Assessment
This page, from the Centre for the study of higher education's Website, deals with the issues that surround assessing students online.
The approach taken by the author is one focused on more traditional approaches to curriculum design and assessment.
Assessing Learning in Australian Universities
This is an AUTC initiative that offers advice on, and examples of, assessment for Higher Education
Assessment in Higher Education >
Information and resources about student assessment.
Link to website -
http://ahe.cqu.edu.au/
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CQU has its own assessment guide for staff that deals with important issues and CQU policy associated with assessment. There is a separate assessment guide for students available also.
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Assessment is an integral part of any learning material and is used to measure the desired learning outcomes of the particular course of study.
The desired learning outcomes are developed as part of the curriculum design process and take the form of knowledge, performance (skills) and attitudinal objectives.
The importance of the assessment design should never be underestimated. In Courses where attaining a set minimum level leads to certification, the assessment design drives the majority of students' learning behaviour. " What do I need to do to gain a pass, credit, distinction, etc .". It is for this very reason that the assessment should be carefully crafted and woven into the fabric of the Course. Authentic assessment tasks can assist in this regard with the students undertaking this type of assessment demonstrating higher levels of learning and engagement.
Before we continue, we need to know and understand the following assessment terms :
Norm Referenced vs. Criterion Referenced Assessment
Norm referenced assessment refers to the practice of allocating marks according to a Bell Curve.
This relied on an assumption that students' marks would always fall in a predictable pattern and that we could grade them accordingly. There is also an underlying assumption that standardised tests were being used and the testing population was high.
Unfortunately, this method fails to address the problems of small class sizes and what criteria students must achieve to pass the Course.
Also, it is not uncommon for the spread of results to be bi-modal in nature. The Bell curve assumes a single peak, not two.
Criterion Referenced Assessment
Criterion referenced assessment is based on students achieving a particular stated level of performance in order to be successful in a Course and does not rely on the marks of others.
This type of assessment has clearly stated objectives and criteria for achieving the desired level.
CQU Course assessment policy clearly states:
"4.1 The University policy is to use Criterion-based assessment."
Summative and Formative Assessment
Formative Assessment
Formative assessment refers to assessment tasks that occur regularly throughout the Course and its prime purpose is to provide constructive feedback to the students and guide their learning.
Summative Assessment
Summative assessment requires the learners to demonstrate the knowledge, skills and attitudes they have learned throughout the Course. It is here that the vast majority of the Course marks are allocated.
Assessment Design
Once you have designed your learning objectives/outcomes it is time to design your assessment.
Remember, that your aim is to encourage your students to engage with the learning activities you are going to design.
An important goal of assessment is to engage the learner. If you design assessment that the students find interesting and enjoyable, the learning they experience is more likely to be deeper than if they feel that they are "just jumping through hoops".
Assessment that is woven into the Course is more likely to engage the learners than assessment that sits apart from the learning activities.
The summative assessment needs, where possible, to be negotiable within set parameters.
Students that are able to negotiate their own assessment tasks are more likely to develop ownership and a deeper level of learning. By undertaking assessment tasks within their area of interest, students are likely to set their own learning goals and will often work harder to achieve these than the performance goals set by the Course designer.
Plagiarism is also less of a concern, as each student has the capacity to negotiate their assessment items. Sometimes, however, the nature of the assessment requirements means that this is not possible.
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The B Factor Project
An ALTC funded project on beliefs about graduate attributes.
> more information
Assessment Beyond Intuition (Videostream)
Presented by: Associate Professor Jan Orrell (Carrick Institute for Learning and Teaching in Higher Education)
Highlights issues about assessment in general and marking in particular.
This presentation is especially relevant to early career academics and sessional staff.
>To view, click here.
>Other useful sites are listed in our Learning and Teaching Resources section. |
