Learning and Teaching in Practice/Assessment theories, principles and practices/Effective assessment

''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).''

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.

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.