The fieldwork for this project allowed the Centre for
the Study of Higher Education (CSHE) to put a critical spotlight
on student assessment in Australian higher education.
During the past year we have seen outstanding examples of good
assessment practice. The project uncovered much innovative assessment,
clever strategies for embedding assessment tasks in the learning
process, and sustained efforts by faculties to review their assessment
practices. These initiatives are taking place despite significant
impediments to high quality assessment, such as larger classes
and heightened academic workloads.
Notwithstanding the good practice we have seen, there is considerable
scope to make assessment in higher education more sophisticated
and more educationally effective. Assessment is often treated
merely as the endpoint of the teaching and learning process. There
remains a strong culture of ‘testing’ and an enduring
emphasis on the final examination, leaving the focus predominantly
on the judgmental role of assessment rather than its potential
to shape student development. In all, we believe assessment can
be more fully and firmly integrated with teaching and learning
processes. Assessment should not only measure student learning
but also make a contribution to it.
The CSHE research also identified significant gaps and inconsistencies
between institutional policies and faculty or departmental practices.
While excessive central regulation can be counterproductive, a
stronger alignment of institutional assessment policy with faculty
and departmental activities is critical for ensuring academic
standards. Just as significantly from the point of view of standards,
assessment criteria can be used more explicitly. There has been
a strong and welcome trend in universities to provide clearer
statements of criteria and standards for the benefit of students.
A closer matching of these criteria to student grading, so that
grades refer specifically to learning outcomes, is a desirable
next step.
Enhancing assessment in higher education may involve assessing
more strategically, providing assessment tasks that require the
integration of knowledge, and expanding the use of assessment
that provides early feedback in the undergraduate years. There
is an inherent conservatism in universities towards considering
new or alternative assessment practices. But changes are afoot,
particularly in the use of on-line assessment, group assessment
and new ways of assessing large classes. From what we have seen,
any reluctance to challenge assessment traditions is balanced
by the vision academic staff have for the learning of their students
and by their commitment to assess student learning thoroughly
and fairly.
Richard James, Craig McInnis and Marcia Devlin
Centre for the Study of Higher Education
September 2002
