An assessment, strictly speaking, is “an activity that involves students undertaking tasks, the outcomes of which enables judgements to be made about what they have learned” (Ashwin, 2020, p.279). In other words, when designed and implemented well, assessment can provide information that can help us improve teaching and learning, and make the experience more meaningful for us and our students. Conventionally, assessments take the form of tests, examinations and assignments of various sorts — but so long as it is a task in which students are required to accomplish something and reveal what they have done, it can potentially be used for assessment purposes.

The notion of assessment solely as a terminal activity to measure, grade and sort students is no longer viable. We have shifted from designing and administering tests after completing a course to designing assessment tasks before we develop the instructional plan. We have shifted from keeping test information a ‘secret’ from students to communicating clearly the criteria for success and assessment requirements prior to instruction. While tests were often seen as something done to students, we now see the need to involve students in the assessment process by co-constructing rubrics with students, creating opportunities for peer and self-assessment. As we change our assessment approaches, there is a need to ensure students receive feedback timely, are able to understand the feedback and given opportunities to use the feedback in subsequent work. Assessment is an integral part of the process of learning and students play a concerted role with teachers to make this happen.

Assessment is an integral part of the process of learning and students play a concerted role with teachers to make this happen.

Further readings

A classical textbook on assessment in teaching: Measurement and assessment in teaching by M. David Miller, Robert L. Linn, Norman Gronlund.

For a more recent guide to innovative assessment, consider: Bryan, C., & Clegg, K. (Eds.). (2019). Innovative assessment in higher education: A handbook for academic practitioners. Routledge.

Phil Race’s guide for university teaching contains a large section on evidence-informed strategies about designing assessment tasks and using assessment information to support learning: Race, P. (2019). The lecturer’s toolkit: A practical guide to assessment, learning and teaching. Routledge.