Effective assessment
| Learning and Teaching in Practice | |
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| Module 6: Critique learning design | |
| Assessment theories, principles and practices | Introduction | Purpose of assessment | Effective assessment | Methods and tools | Summary |
For assessment to be effective, certain principles and values need to be followed, and these are described in this section. Generally, assessment and moderation policies and procedures guide expectations in organisations and are aligned to quality assurance requirements for the tertiary sector. In New Zealand, these are directed by NZQA (New Zealand Qualifications Authority).
Contents
Principles and values of assessment
How do you know if assessments are suitable for purpose and what was intended (e.g., formal or informal, or formative or summative)? Generally, formal assessment attracts a mark or a grade contributing to a final recorded result, and informal assessment is used to provide feedback to support students' learning. The principles of assessment are described by Dorothy Spiller (2009) in her easy to read booklet.
It is also important to consider the values of assessment such as validity, reliability, authenticity and transparency etc. of the assessments you use. To understand why these matters are important, you need to refer to the The fundamentals of effective assessment: Twelve principles published by the Centre for the Study of Higher Education at Melbourne University. The first principle is: Assessment should help students to learn. The authors identify that formative assessment is crucial to effective learning.
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Race et al. (2005) consider that assessment should be:
From: Race, P., Brown, S. & Smith, B. (2005). 500 tips on assessment. London: Routledge Falmer. (Available in the Robertson library.)
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| The challenge for Emilia, using criterion-based assessment, is to develop marking criteria that are fair, transparent, valid and reliable. This is especially important since she won't be the only lecturer marking the e-portfolios, and the assessment requirements could be misinterpreted. Even though she knows that moderation will assist in ensuring that the assessment is effective, she decides to develop a marking rubric.
First of all, Emilia reads her organisation's policies about assessment and moderation. Then she explores some resources about marking criteria and rubrics.
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Policy and procedure
Policy about how to conduct assessment and ensure that it is effective through moderation is particularly important when it is formal and results are recorded.
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References
Spiller, D. (2009). Principles of assessment. Hamilton, New Zealand: Teaching Development, The University of Waikato. Retrieved from http://www.waikato.ac.nz/tdu/pdf/booklets/16_AssessmentPrinciples.pdf
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