Draft SLMS Assessment and Feedback Strategy 2013
SLMS Education Domain
Assessment and Feedback Strategy
This strategy reflects the aims of the UCL Institutional Learning and Teaching Strategy and the UCL
Assessment Strategy
Assessment and feedback shape student learning. This strategy is designed to:
1. improve the student experience of assessment and feedback on their work
2. exploit the full potential of assessment to enhance learning and progress.
Some definitions
Summative assessment - assessment which counts towards a grade for a module; this needs to be
closely aligned with the programme aims and learning activities
Formative assessment - assessment tasks which provide information on progress but do not count
towards the final grade.
Summative and formative assessment should cover a range of different methods to ensure that
students develop key skills, such as essay writing, oral presentations, group work, critical evaluation
of papers, etc.
Students receive feedback on both formative and summative assessment from many sources and in
different mediums e.g. oral feedback and written feedback. This document suggests ways of helping
students recognise, understand and exploit feedback opportunities.
Planning assessment and feedback across a programme
Students benefit from carefully planned assessment tasks which help them to develop their ability to
think and communicate within their discipline(s). To achieve this it is necessary to:
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Map assessment across the programme to avoid ‘bunching’ of assessments;
Ensure all key skills are covered;
Ensure that assessment is relevant to the intended learning outcomes.
Reduce the number of summative assessment and increase formative assessment;
Publish feedback dates and ensure students receive feedback from one assessment before
they submit the next.
Diversifying assessment
Assessment that is related to a future profession or is developed in partnership with employers (and
other external bodies) is motivating and can enhance students’ employability. It is advised that
teachers:
Draft SLMS Assessment and Feedback Strategy 2013
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Use authentic assessment (closely related to key skills and professional tasks) wherever
possible
Ensure that assessment tasks enable students to demonstrate higher order learning
(application, problem-solving, critique) rather than recall of factual knowledge
Vary assessment tasks over a programme; include individual and group tasks and oral and
written work.
Reduce reliance on exams and MCQs; increase or introduce coursework.
Developing students’ understanding of assessment and feedback
It is essential that students are made aware of the different types of assessment and what key skills
are being assessed in each module. Programmes need to:
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Improve students’ understanding of assessment criteria and how they are used to evaluate
the quality of work. For example, through guided marking (where students mark and discuss
a range of their peers’ assignments from a previous year) and through peer review and peerassessment;
Give students practice in the tasks they need to do for summative assessment. Ensure that
students practise any new form of assessment before it ‘counts’;
Students should be aware of how they have used feedback to improve their next assignment.
Improving marker reliability
Markers benefit from comparing and sharing their judgements. This is especially important for those
new to marking such as teaching assistants and early career academics. Programme leaders need to:
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Ensure markers have a clear understanding of the marking scheme.
Give assessors/examiners the chance to standardise the application of assessment criteria to
students’ work (to increase the reliability of assessment) through regular standardisation
meetings where markers grade and compare comments on a range of student assignments.
Ensure markers give individual feedback at the appropriate time.
Ways of implementing and suggested time frame:
Dates
Activity
By August
2014
Assessment and feedback strategy to be discussed at
departmental teaching and learning Away Days or similar
event. Opportunity to discuss/amend/agree strategy. Action
plan to be submitted to DTC and FTC.
Report to Education
Domain
HoDs/Faculty Tutors
to report to the
Education Domain
Draft SLMS Assessment and Feedback Strategy 2013
Mapping
and action
plan
completed
by
September
2015
By 2015-16
Map assessment across the programme (by January 2015, in
time for change of assessment forms to be approved).
Review assessment and produce action plans, where
necessary, to reduce summative assessment, increase
formative and align assessment tasks and learning activities
with programme aims.
Develop new assessment methods if necessary to diversify
assessment and reduce reliance on MCQs and exams.
Increase student understanding of assessment processes and
criteria by giving them the opportunity to carry out guided
marking, peer review and assessment, and self assessment.
Introduce standardisation meetings for all programmes. This
involves teachers meeting before marking to check that there
is a shared understanding of how assessment criteria will be
applied, using examples of student work.
(see ‘Improving Marker Reliability’ above).
HoDs to report to
Education Domain
FTCs to monitor.
Faculty Tutor to
report to Education
Domain
Resources: Hyperlinks to info about Transforming the Experience of Students Through
Assessment (TESTA) and Identifying skills learning: Active and object-based learning (OBL)