Making assessment criteria explicit

Discipline Area

Education (but applicable in most disciplines)

Key assessment issue addressed

Criteria which inform students of both the scope and quality of work which is expected.

The initiative

At the beginning of semester, for each assessable task, students are provided with a one page table stating the criteria of work which they are expected to demonstrate in each task. The criteria are set out in categories. for example in a written task the categories usually include such things as:- reading; research (where appropriate); interpretation; organisation/understanding; higher order thinking; reflection and critique; presentation and documentation; & writing and expression; whereas, for an oral presentation the categories can be: participant involvement; materials and learning activities; teaching for understanding; presentation; language, communication and expression.

The criteria are also defined in three levels, stating what constitutes an excellent standard; satisfactory; and poor. Grading of the work (HD; D; C; P; ...) is then decided according to the pattern of criteria which the piece of work demonstrates. (see attached example of criteria for essays for second year students)

Initially many students take some convincing that the stated criteria are the exact criteria. But after early experience they quickly learn to shape their submissions towards the higher level expectations which means that students are able to learn what it means to produce high quality work. For example, over the years of developing and adapting these criteria sheets I have found that without the stated requirement for higher order thinking, students found it difficult to comprehend the kinds of thinking and conceptualisation expected to achieve the highest levels.

Tutors also find the criteria sheets very useful to ensure shared understandings of assessment tasks, and marking, across tutorial groups.

The reason for the initiative's effectiveness

The quality criteria are effective because students have clear guidance as to what is expected in both scope and standard, and consequently are able to improve the quality of their work to meet those standards.

Further details

Dr Wendy Crebbin
School of Education
University of Ballarat
w.crebbin@ballarat.edu.au