Frequency and number of assessment items
Students in any BEE unit will be assessed between 2 or 4 times in each unit.
At least two of these items must be summative assessment with feedback and a mark attached to the result given.
The 3rd and 4th (if 4 items are used) items of assessment may be formative only.
Regular formative feedback is encouraged. |
MOPP Policy recognises that, in large units in particular, having too many pieces of assessment causes a marking burden for staff and may prevent timely feedback.
It is possible within BEETLAP to set two pieces of assessment only. They should be different in their nature.
Formative feedback is encouraged for all items of assessment. Where only two items of assessment are set formative feedback on work in progress towards completion of these items is essential. The definitions of formative and summative assessment are contained in the MOPP at 9.1.4 which states:
9.1.4 Formative and summative assessment
The purposes of assessment are stated in section 9.1.1 of this policy. The second and fourth of these point to both formative and summative assessment methods being necessary in each unit and course.
Formative assessment is about feedback being provided to students so that they can find out how they are progressing, and how their work can be improved. Formative assessment can be diagnostic in nature since it focuses on why an outcome was obtained, and how it can be improved, rather than the standard of the outcome. Formative assessment should be offered to students from an early stage of each unit.
Feedback on assessment should be timely and available to students before they submit a subsequent formal piece of assessment. For formal pieces of assessment as appropriate, verbal feedback should normally be followed up with written confirmation. Written feedback should be clear, respectful of the student and contribute to positive learning outcomes.
Summative assessment is about grading students. Its purpose is, therefore, classification and prediction. It focuses on outcome, standard and comparison with criteria.
The Unit Outline proforma describes how formative and summative assessment are linked into the overall curriculum design in a unit.
Individual assessment items may be entirely formative, or entirely summative, or may contain elements of both types. |
Variety in assessment
Students in BEE will, in any unit, be assessed in a variety of ways thus giving students opportunity to demonstrate their learning by a variety of means.
For the purposes of this policy a mid-semester test and an end of semester examination are both considered examination and such an assessment regime in any unit would not comply. Three written assignments or three design projects in any one unit would, similarly, not comply. Course Coordinators, in consultation with Subject Area Coordinators, will ensure that a variety of assessment methods are used across whole courses |
Students learn in a variety of ways; there is concomitant variety in the way this learning can be demonstrated. Equitable assessment policy recognises that students have a right to demonstrate their abilities in a variety of ways.
Similarly, patterns of assessment should vary across a course to reflect the fact that students develop skills throughout their learning. What is appropriate in the early years may not be so appropriate later on.
Student feedback suggests that the lockstep deployment of assessment is not only boring to students but feeds into a rote learning mentality. Students who are always presented in every unit with, say, a mid-semester assignment, an oral presentation and an end of semester exam learn how to ‘do’ these things rather than stretch their capabilities to include other skills. These students may become adept at the process for assessment without really grasping the essential nature of the material being examined. |
Length of exams
Students in BEE will, when undertaking examination, be examined for no more than two hours in any examination block in any one unit. No examination will be worth more than 60%. |
The evidence basis for length of exams and their value in the consideration of whole-of-unit assessment is poor. Any particular length of examination is not proven to be better or worse than any other length of examination. In a whole-of-unit assessment regime where a variety of assessment methods are used there is no evidence that two-hour examinations will adversely effect assessment of student learning.
The benefits of a two-hour exam are in the shortening of the exam period so that staff and students can get on with other things including, for staff, the proper moderation and review of examination results. In a cost-benefit analysis and in the absence of proof that two-hour exam produces inferior results, the benefits of good moderation and review of course prevail.
60% is recommended as maximum assessment value in the MOPP. |
Value of assessment
All assessment items will be worth 20% or more. |
Student feedback suggests that any item worth less than this is not recognised, by students, as valuable. If assessment drives learning our students are telling us that valuing something less than this amount drives them to ignore it or rate it as unimportant. |
Aggregation of marks
A student’s grade in a unit will be aggregated from all their assessment items according to the percentage weighting of the task. Students will not be required to achieve a passing grade or particular percentage grade in any one piece of assessment to pass the unit. |
Assessment necessarily requires sampling. Assessment should be related to the objectives for the unit in a coordinated way. All the assessment of the unit when taken together should evaluate a students understanding of all the unit’s objectives if not necessarily all its content. If the objectives and/or knowledge sets presented in a unit are so disparate that they can be assessed independently of each other the design of the unit requires reconsideration.
In fairness to students, as it’s not possible to enrol in part of a unit (if the student fails that part) it should not be possible to fail a part of a unit and need to repeat that part.
The situation has existed in some units in some courses where two completely different knowledge sets are ‘bolted’ together in a unit. Within the University’s conception of courses, units are considered units because they form a holistic representation of some aspect of a discipline’s knowledge base. |
Special concessions to first year students
Students in all first year units will complete, and receive feedback, on at least 20% of their assessment by the end of Week 6. |
The evidence about First Year Experience suggests that the confidence and security of beginners is enhanced when early feedback is given and when that feedback can be used to guide to future learning. With increased confidence and security comes enhanced performance and satisfaction. |
Assessment feedback for all students
Students in all other years will complete, and have received feedback, on at least 40% of their assessment by the end of Week 9.
An indicative grade and feedback will be made available to students within two weeks of the submission of their work for assessment except at the end of semester when feedback and assignments will be available to students two weeks after the release of grades. |
All students have a right to know how they’re going in their units and to not have to negotiate the reassessment of early material at the end of semester.
During semester assessment will assist students to guide their future learning. It is only useful if it allows students to adapt their learning behaviours while there is time to make a difference to their outcomes. |
