Assessment is an evaluative process through which a judgment is made about the extent to which a student has demonstrated graduate capabilities objectives and has achieved required learning outcomes.

Assessment is about several things at once - It is about reporting on students' achievements and about teaching them better through expressing to them more clearly the goals of our curricula. It is about measuring student learning; it is about diagnosing misunderstandings in order to help students to learn more effectively. It concerns the quality of the teaching as well as the quality of the learning. (Ramsden, 2003, p 177).

What is the function of assessment? The literature suggests that there are two clear functions, assessment has a:

i. Formative purpose - assessment for learning in order to:

• Give feedback to students on their progress, on whether they are on the right track;
• Give feedback to teachers about what students know, their misunderstandings and difficulties; and
• Encourage and motivate learning.

As well as a:

ii. Summative purpose - assessment for the record in order to:

• Measure what the student has achieved;
• 'Filter' students, by assigning marks and grades, resulting in either success and failure and therefore impacting on their ability to access further learning;
• Credential students for degrees and professional practice; and
• Demonstrate that standards are appropriate (accountability).

There can be a tension between these two purposes, with the availability of resources and grading procedures interfering with the goal of assessing for learning.

Macquarie's Assessment Policy

In recognition of the importance of assessment in driving students' learning, Macquarie has recently introduced a new assessment policy.

In terms of unit and assessment design, for many units nothing may have to be changed provided:

1. there is a sound educational argument for the existing approach;
2. there is alignment between the learning outcomes and the assessment tasks;
3. there is more than one assessment task in a unit, especially more than a single end of semester
   exam worth 100% of the assessable activities;
4. students have the opportunity for formative feedback on their learning and time to make
   adjustments;
5. there is a very deliberate attempt to ensure students are educated about academic honesty and
   how it is to be evident in their approach to assessment.

One of the significant changes is a move to standards-based assessment.

Standards-based assessment

In standards based assessment, specified qualities of performance in relation to specified criteria are used to assess student achievement. The challenge for assessment task designers and assessors is to identify and articulate the various levels of quality in performance that are associated with a grade and communicate that to students. Marks are awarded to students to reflect the level of performance they have achieved and comparisons can be made between students based on their achievement of the standards.

The Assessment Toolkit provides resources to support the implementation of this policy, code of practice and procedure.

Assessment Toolkit

The Assessment Toolkit is part of a series of short, focused resources on learning and teaching being produced by the Learning & Teaching Centre. The resources are designed to help you implement effective assessment in your teaching.

Resources from ALTC Projects

There are a range of ALTC projects that have as their focus either assessment and even though some are related to specific disciplines they are useful for providing prompts and ideas related to assessment:

Jackson, M., Watty, K., Yu, L., Lowe, L. (2006). Inclusive assessment. Improving learning for all. A manual for improving assessment in accounting education. Strawberry Hills: The Carrick Institute for Learning and Teaching in Higher Education, online at Inclusive Assessment Manual [pdf file, 71 pages - 340k]

Jackson, M., Watty, K., Yu, L., Lowe, L. (2006). Assessing Students Unfamiliar with Assessment Practices in Australian Universities. Strawberry Hills: The Carrick Institute for Learning and Teaching in Higher Education, online at Assessing Students [PDF, 119 pages - 572k]

Krause, K., Harris, K., Garnett, R., Gleeson, D., Peat, M., Taylor, C. (2007) Enhancing the assessment of learning in Australian higher education: Biological sciences. Strawberry Hills: The Carrick Institute for Learning and Teaching in Higher Education online at Enhancing Assessment [PDF, 33 pages - 284k]

Methods of Assessment

Oxford Brookes University Learning and Teaching Methods
External web site discussing the selection of assessment methods

James, R; McInnes, C. & Devlin, M. (2002). Assessing Learning in Australian Universities. Centre for the Study of Higher Education Web : The University of Melbourne and The Australian Universities Teaching Committee, online at Assessing Learning [PDF, 67 pages - 256k]

Developing a Personal Grading Plan 
University of Iowa
External web site describing how to develop a grading system and the issues of standards versus norm referencing.

Types of Assessment  
University of Technology Sydney
External web site describing the various types of assessment methods

Guide for Reviewing Assessment [PDF, 22 pages - 104k]
University of Melbourne

Assessment Portfolio Template 
The University of Queensland Assessment Portfolio Template
External website with very detailed information on what to take unto account when designing and assessment program

Supportive Resources from Other Australian Universities

• University of Melbourne External web site with tips for new staff on assessment describing the fundamentals of effective assessment.