2. Assessment
One of the most important drivers of student learning is how that learning is assessed and
it has been shown that students’ attitudes towards their studies are strongly affected by
the nature and timing of assessment1
In module descriptors, one of the most important sections for students and coordinators
alike is the description of how the expected learning outcomes are going to be measured
through assessment. Assessments not only measure achievement of learning outcomes
but they also classify or grade student achievement. Well-timed and well-designed
assessment can have a powerful impact on how students approach their learning. Early
assessment, particularly when it provides students with timely feedback, can encourage
them to get down to some serious work, give them an idea of how they are progressing
and what indicate they still need to do. Importantly it also gives lecturers an indication of
how effective their teaching approaches are in terms of student progress. Effective
feedback on work submitted is crucial in helping students learn by pinpointing where
they may be going wrong and what they need to do to improve.
Listed below are some of the advantages and disadvantages of various assessment
techniques. All assessment techniques have disadvantages, and there is no single
assessment technique that results in a perfect assessment. Finding the right assessment
method depends on what you are really trying to assess in terms of skills or knowledge or
understanding. The advantages and disadvantages listed below are presented to help you
decide what kinds of assessments could be best suited to measuring the learning
outcomes that you have set out for your module. A perceived disadvantage in an
assessment strategy might not apply to your particular module because of the way that
module is organized. The tables below are merely offered as a guideline in helping you
determine the most effective strategy to allow students demonstrate how well they are
learning.
The information below is dealt with more fully in:
Race, P. S. Brown and B. Smith. 2005. 500 Tips on Assessment. Routledge.
1 Rust, C. (2002) ‘The Impact of Assessment on Student Learning ’ Active Learning in Higher Education,
Vol. 3, No. 2, 145-158 http://alh.sagepub.com.eproxy.ucd.ie/cgi/reprint/3/2/145 (through UCD
Connect)
3. Assessment types:
Exams
• Traditional time constrained unseen exams
Advantages Disadvantages
relatively economical
equality of opportunity
less chance of plagiarism
familiarity to students and staff
fixed date forces students to learn
often just measures exam technique
tests memory sometimes more than
understanding
no feedback to students as the module is
over by exam time
can encourage surface learning
not a complete picture of a student's
performance
• Open book exams
Advantages Disadvantages
less stress on memories
slower writers not penalized
measures what students can do with
resources not just what the can
remember
not everyone might have access to the
book(s)
hard to run in teaching rooms as more
desk space is required
students not familiar with the system
4. • Open notes exams
Advantages Disadvantages
help encourage good note taking
not a test of memory or technique
students need to get used to the system
bad note taking penalized
can discourage use of memory
needs larger desk space
• MCQs etc (structured exams)
Advantages Disadvantages
can be very reliable
excellent validity as test
greater syllabus coverage
can show how fast students think
can be carried out quickly
requires less effort all round
can be used to test interpretation and
decision skills as well as more basic
skills
students may be guessing
takes skill to design good questions -
especially questions to test high level
skills
needs careful planning to ensure the
answer choices are clear
risk of hacking
risk of impersonators,
not always available to students with
certain disabilities
• Vivas/ Oral exams
5. Advantages Disadvantages
high degree of authenticity
good for isolating particular areas or
skills
good practical experience towards later
interview situations
not all candidates perform well in vivas
the use of the same questions may lead
to later candidates being prepared for
the questions
questions can get tougher as the day
goes on
can only deal with a narrow range of
skills
exams are not anonymous
Essays
Advantages Disadvantages
familiarity for many students and
examiners
allow for individual expression
can show depth of learning
test written communication well
examine students ability to form
coherent arguments
can show breadth of student knowledge
and understanding
some students may not be able to show
their abilities in the essay format due
to not having been well trained in
essay writing
very time consuming to mark objectively
'halo effect': the level of the essay just
marked can change expectations of
the essay about to be marked
essays are time consuming to write and
so cannot test all of the syllabus
students can be rewarded for simply
regurgitating 'all they know' on a topic
grading can vary from marker to marker
so grades can be subjective
Plagiarism can be difficult to detect
6. Reviews and annotated bibliographies
Advantages Disadvantages
good test of students' abilities
can stimulate thinking in students as
they review and stimulate group work
and discussion
useful later for students when revising
help train for later research activities
develop critical skills
can expose students to a wide range of
material
the material for review may not be
available to the student
the range of material may vary in
relevance and degree of difficulty
Reports
Advantages Disadvantages
develop a key transferable skill
reports can involve a wide range of skills
that are otherwise hard to directly
assess
can be very time consuming for students
using the same format and structure for
a range of reports may decrease their
effectiveness
Portfolios
Advantages Disadvantages
7. can contain evidence of a wide range of
skills and attributes
Can be very effective in combination
with a quick viva exam
Portfolios can demonstrate progress in
learning
Portfolios can reflect students' attitudes
and individual strengths
looking through portfolios can be time
consuming
hard to mark objectively
authenticity of evidence can sometimes
be questioned
Presentations
Advantages Disadvantages
no doubt re authenticity of presenter
students take presentations seriously
can be used for individual or group work
questions and answer sessions as follow
ups can help develop important skills
students learn from their own and
everyone else's presentations
can be time consuming (especially in a
large group)
unfamiliarity of our students with giving
presentations
appeals regarding grading of
presentations can be hard to deal with
presentations cannot be anonymous
students with some disabilities may find
presentations difficult
Student Projects
Advantages Disadvantages
very good for students in their final UG
year aiming towards a research
postgrad programme
they take a lot of time to assess as well as
to supervise
they do not all involve the same degree
8. they help students link theories, as well
as linking theory and practice
they can identify the best students
of difficulty as some projects may be
more complex than others in the same
class
there isn't time for a second chance.
Posters
Advantages Disadvantages
they add visual dimension to assessment
tools which may benefit students not
good at traditional assessments
they allow for peer to peer interaction
students can learn from each other's
posters
they develop a wide range of key
transferable skills
there is a possibility of subjectivity in
grading
Theses
Advantages Disadvantages
individual work, allowing a student to
demonstrate their understanding
double marking generally used which
guarantees quality
assessment takes a long time
subjectivity may creep in
issues of structure and style may over-
shadow assessment of the work
9. • Student Self Assessment
Students sometimes waste time while doing assessments trying to figure out what the
thought processes of the grader might be. They attempt to deliver what they think the
grader wants to hear or read rather than developing their own skills and understanding
in completing the assessment. Although the students should be developing critical and
analytical skills, they do not apply them to their own work as they feel that their
evaluation of their work will be different to the grader, and the grader’s evaluation is
shrouded in mystery. Involving students in the assessment process eliminates the
mystery and empowers the students to get on with actually learning rather than worrying
about how their assessment should look. Having students involved in the assessment
process can also help cut down on the time lecturers and students have to spend dealing
with assessment. Peer assessment can also help students learn better from other
student’s successes, and weaknesses.
A lot of the assessments styles listed above are amenable to peer or self assessment:
Presentations, Reports, Essays and Essay Plans, Annotated Bibliographies, Posters,
Portfolios can all be assessed by the students.
Using student self and peer assessment at first seems daunting, but it can be introduced a
little at a time so that you can see its value without feeling that you have lost control of the
assessment. It could first be introduced in a non-binding way, where students submitting
work are asked to give it a grade as part of the submission process. This can reveal
important problems in the student’s understanding that need to be addressed but can
also identify students who are doing better than they realise! A student who thinks that
their essay is worth an A, for instance, but whose essay you think is worth at most a C,
may well be underperforming as a result of not realizing what it is they need to do as
learners. A few questions can quickly identify what the student is not grasping and the
problem can be remedied for later work, leading to improved grades, showing the student
the reward possible for putting increased effort into their assessments. This non-binding
approach also helps get students used to the idea of self-assessment. As you develop a self
or peer assessment strategy, you might consider averaging the self/peer assessment
grade with the grade you have assigned to produce a final grade for the piece of work,
with negotiations possible where the grades vary a lot. Self and peer assessment can be
useful in work where the criteria for marks are clear and simple, so it helps if you are
clear on what your own criteria are for an assessment and you can let the students ask
questions about the criteria before assessment takes place. The grading and assessing
thus become integral parts of the learning process rather than standing apart form it.
Students can also be encouraged to respond to some clear questions about their work as
they submit it. Simply asking them what they thought was good about their work, what
was most difficult about the assignment, or what they would do differently, can help the
student reflect on their own work and thus assess it objectively. Where a student’s
10. perceptions vary widely for the grader’s, then a dialogue can identify and eliminate the
misconceptions of the student, again improving the ability to learn.
Students sometimes feel that their grade didn’t reflect the effort they put into, say, an
essay. A grader cannot determine how much time and energy was put into completing an
assignment, but the student doing the work can. If students are asked to grade the effort
they put into a piece of work, then this can be compared with the grade assigned to the
work by the lecturer, and where the effort grade is higher than the awarded grade,
students can be encouraged to reflect on the way that the time they put in to the essay
was wasted on some unimportant part of the essay or did not lead to a coherent and well
structured finished piece. In this way, students can begin to see where they have gone
wrong and begin to develop new learning strategies in order to produce better work.
The use of Portfolios often needs a degree of self assessment, as students reflect on their
progress. This assessment doesn’t lead to grades being awarded by the student but marks
can be awarded for the insight and depth of the student’s self-critical evaluation, thus
encouraging a higher degree of awareness in the student of the strengths and weaknesses
of their own learning strategies.
Introducing an element of self or peer assessment into a module is a challenging and
complex task which demands a lot of thought on the part of the coordinators but it can
have huge educational pay-offs. It is worthwhile considering how it may become part of
the assessments in your modules, and by introducing it gradually you will be able to
become comfortable with using it as part of your overall set of assessment strategies.
