Assessment and Feedback

Serena Bufton

Faculty Teaching Fellow

Planning Context

• SHU Assessment and Feedback Policy (April 2008)

• D&S Feedback Policy (July 2010)

• SHU new Standard Assessment Regulations and Assessment Improvement Precepts (October 2010).

Faculty Feedback Policy

• Draws on SHU Assessment and Feedback Policy (‘assessment for learning’) and Faculty priorities.

• Emphasises the importance of formative feedback in module and course design and supportive summative feedback for all assessments.

• Has implications for assessment design: a more incremental approach in which students build up towards the assessment task, getting feedback on the way?

SHU Assessment Improvement Precepts

• Two assessment models:

– Model A: a maximum of 6 tasks per module; up to 3 is the preferred number; pass or fail overall (not all tasks necessarily need to be passed).

– Model B: a maximum of 3 tasks per module; 2 is the preferred number; all tasks must be passed.

• Model A is the default model: modules being validated for 2011/12 will only be allowed Model B status in a few contexts.

Conditions for Model B

• Professional Body requirements.

• ‘subject discipline and/or legislative requirements (eg health and safety) which generally can be evidenced and which would damage the employability of students if they were not recognised’

• Applications for Model B assessment have to be approved by the Faculty Implementation Team before validation and agreed by the Secretary and Registrar. ‘Case law’ will be established.

Implications for Course Planning

• If Model B is being planned, there needs to be a rationale and evidence to support this as early as possible so that agreement can be sought.

• In the case of Model A, the implications for module design and assessment strategy need careful planning, especially the relationship between assessment tasks and learning outcomes.

Learning Outcomes (LOs)

• These should cover knowledge and understanding, intellectual skills, subject-specific skills and key skills (QAA). 3-6 LOs are recommended.

• Subject Benchmark Statements identify discipline-specific LOs.

• Existing SHU advice (LTI ‘Guides’) imply a firm link between LOs and assessment tasks, as do the QAA codes of practice.

• Custom and practice may therefore be that LOs are attached to tasks rather than to the module as a whole.

• The University’s current position is that all LOs have to be passed.

Implications for Assessment Design

• Under Model B, as all tasks have to be passed, this is not a problem.

• Under Model A, students passing a module overall may not meet all the learning outcomes.

• How therefore can assessment design under Model A ensure that all LOs are met?

• Advice has been repeatedly requested from the University. The problem has been acknowledged but no solution offered as yet.

• In the meantime, some suggestions:

Designing assessment for Model A

• Possible ways forward (we have some case studies if these would be of use to you):

– end-loading the assessment: one task at the end of the module. This may be possible for a 10-credit module or even a semester-long 20-credit one, but may not be generally appropriate;

– designing each assessment task in such a way that it covers all the learning outcomes. This may not be possible or desirable (over-assessment?)

• Other possibilities….

Ways of minimising the problem

• Weight the assessment tasks differentially with later tasks more heavily weighted and carrying more of the LOs.

• Use in-module retrieval of failure.

• Write your LOs at a very general level (but this simply hides the problem or introduces further complexity - eg tiered or incremental LOs, a blurring of LOs and assessment criteria).

Things to think about

• Prioritising assessment for learning and an assessment design that is pedagogically defensible.

• Designing the assessment and feedback strategy and course content concurrently.

• Thinking about ways of maximising formative feedback.

• Looking early on at the balance of assessment activities across and between levels of study.

• Presenting a case for Model B as soon as possible if this is being planned in.

How we can help

• We have no answers; there are no prescribed ways of responding to the University and Faculty ‘givens’ in assessment design.

• Our role is to support you.

• We can make suggestions and work with individuals and teams as they plan their modules and courses.

• We will also maintain pressure to get more information and guidance from the University and pass this on to course planning teams.