Criterion 3
Good practice guides and other resources
Criterion 3 | Assessment and giving feedback to students on their learning
Sharpland, N. (2011). Assessment matters!: Griffith Institute for Higher Education, Griffith University.
This web guide is an excellent starting resource for those new to designing and implementing effective assessment, but is also detailed enough to provide experienced assessors with new insight. The website is easy to navigate and the resources have been written in straight forward English. Key topics covered include; the purpose of assessment, the importance of constructive alignment of assessment with course learning objectives and activities, the principles of good assessment and the design process, descriptors of assessment methods and tasks, and assessment moderation and review.
Harris, K. (2005). Guide for reviewing assessment; prompts and guidelines for monitoring and enhancing assessment practices: Centre for the Study of Higher Education, The University of Melbourne.
This guide is designed to provide subject and course coordinators with a question-based checklist of the fundamental aspects of effective assessment. It will be useful to those involved in assessment design, practice or policy development. It was developed for the University of Melbourne but permission is granted for copying, distribution and use by other institutions, with appropriate acknowledgement. An MSWord version is available for users that elect to replace the examples with ones they believe best illustrate thoughtful and practical approaches to assessment relevant to their discipline and learning environment. This document and other assessment tools from the University of Melbourne are available from: http://www.cshe.unimelb.edu.au/resources_teach/assessment/
Kinash, S. & Knight, D. (2013). Assessment @ Bond. Gold Coast, Queensland: Office of Learning and Teaching, Bond University.
This extensive guide describes the features of good assessment and provides strategies for developing and delivering good practice in assessment. Aspects of assessment covered include; the assessment of learning outcomes, constructive alignment, modes and types of assessment, grading guidelines and rubric use, assessment for learning, formative and summative assessment, giving feedback, criteria vs. norm-referenced assessment models, and universal design for learning and quality assurance.
Ball, S., Bew, C., Bloxham, S., Brown, S., Kleiman, P., May, H., . . . Waterfield, J. (2012). A marked improvement; transforming assessment in higher education. York, United Kingdom: The Higher Education Academy.
This report calls for evidence-based reform of assessment policy and practice at higher education institutions. Six principles are suggested to guide assessment strategy and the evidence-based rationale behind those principles is explained. An assessment tool for reviewing current practice in light of the principle framework is presented, and other practical resources on assessment reform are listed.
James, R., McInnis, C., & Devlin, M. (2002). Assessing learning in Australian universities; ideas, strategies and resources for quality in student assessment. Victoria, Australia: Centre for the Study of Higher Education for the Australian Universities Teaching Committee.
This resource is aimed at helping users to implement quality assessment in higher education. Core principles of quality assessment are identified and supported by examples of good practice. Practical advice is given on five assessment issues in higher education; capturing the potential of online assessment, designing efficient and effective assessment for large classes, responding to plagiarism and developing policies to foster academic honesty, using assessment to guide effective group work, and recognising the needs of students that are unfamiliar with assessment practices. This is not the newest resource on quality assessment available, but the principles and advice given are still relevant and it is a good starting resource for consideration with more recent publications.
Griffith University. Good practice guides.
These short guides give a concise picture of the context, key issues and practical strategies for effective assessment and provision of feedback.
- Developing effective assessment; strategies for success
- Writing good assessment items; principles and strategies for success
- Assessment of group tasks
- Developing effective feedback for learning
University of New South Wales (2013). Assessment as Learning Toolkit.
The ‘Assessment as Learning Toolkit’ provides practical resources to help staff with all stages of the assessment process; from designing effective assessment, to marking and the provision of feedback, to review of assessment quality. The resources primarily focus on assessment for learning and achievement of intended learning outcomes. Written guides outline types of assessment, strategies, challenges and further resources. Videos provide teacher commentary on various assessment topics and reflections on experience.
Oxford Brookes University (2013). ASKe Pedagogy Research Centre.
This website offers a range of useful resources including a series of ‘1,2,3’ leaflets highlighting practical ways that staff can improve student learning through assessment. Each leaflet focuses on a piece of assessment-related research and clearly states how that research can be applied to teaching practice in three easy steps.
Videos
The Higher Education Academy (2013). Staff and student views on assessment.
These two videos give insight into assessment and its purpose from a staff and student perspective. Staff and students from a range of disciplines address the same questions; what is the role of assessment? What are examples of good assessment? What does assessment look like when it goes well? And what is the experience of assessment to staff/students?