Guide to Implementation
of Assessment Policies and Procedures
L e a r n i n g a n d T e a c h i n g C e n t r e • M a c q u a r i e U n i v e r s i t y
GUIDE TO IMPLEMENTATION OF ASSESSMENT POLICIES, MACQUARIE UNIVERSITY, SEPTEMBER 2008 |
Table of Contents
PREFACE .................................................................................................................................................................... 2
GLOSSARY OF TERMS.................................................................................................................................................. 3
INTRODUCTION TO THE READER ................................................................................................................................ 9
About the guide .................................................................................................................................................... 9
Your feedback on the guide ................................................................................................................................. 9
About assessment ................................................................................................................................................. 9
What is different about the new assessment policy? ........................................................................................ 10
MACQUARIE UNIVERSITY POLICIES .......................................................................................................................... 13
Assessment ......................................................................................................................................................... 13
Assessment – Code of Practice ......................................................................................................................... 16
Assessment Procedure ....................................................................................................................................... 21
INSTITUTIONAL LEADERSHIP OF ASSESSMENT........................................................................................................... 31
Leading and Managing Assessment.................................................................................................................. 31
Leadership Procedures...................................................................................................................................... 33
ABOUT STUDENTS’ RIGHTS AND RESPONSIBILITIES .................................................................................................. 34
Student Engagement in Assessment .................................................................................................................. 34
Procedures pertaining to students .................................................................................................................... 36
FOR UNIT CONVENORS AND INDIVIDUAL ACADEMICS .............................................................................................. 37
Designing assessment........................................................................................................................................ 38
Managing Assessment ....................................................................................................................................... 42
Interpreting and Grading .................................................................................................................................. 44
Giving Feedback................................................................................................................................................ 47
FOR ACADEMIC LEADERS AND MANAGERS............................................................................................................... 50
How well is your Department/Faculty doing in assessment? .......................................................................... 51
Setting goals and targets for change ................................................................................................................ 52
Procedures for Faculty Deans .......................................................................................................................... 53
Procedures for Associate Deans Learning and Teaching................................................................................ 53
Procedures for the Head of Department........................................................................................................... 54
ABOUT WORKING WITH EXTERNAL GROUPS............................................................................................................. 55
Assessing students in collaboration with external groups ............................................................................... 55
Employers’ perceptions of assessment.............................................................................................................. 55
THE ASSESSMENT TOOLKIT ...................................................................................................................................... 57
Contents of the toolkit........................................................................................................................................ 57
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Preface
Assessment of student learning is a vital activity in Macquarie University’s provision of high quality
educational experiences. Research has demonstrated very clearly that assessment directs how students
approach their learning. Good designs ensure that students actively engage with the learning
activities and find meaning in them. Assessment design is also a major determinant of academic staff
and student workloads. Most importantly, rigorous and valid summative assessment of student
learning is the means by which Macquarie University assures society of the capabilities of its
graduates. Our new assessment policy enshrines our shared values and principles in regard to student
learning and assessment.
The new Macquarie University assessment policy and procedures have been developed based on wide
consultation across the University and will, as with all policies and procedures, undergo regular
reviews to ensure that they supports good practice. The policy itself is accompanied by several related
documents to assist individuals and departments to implement the intentions and maintain the values
inherent in the policy. In recognition that there are numerous stakeholders who have expectations of
the processes and outcomes of assessment, a code of practices that clarifies for all stakeholders their
rights and responsibilities has been developed. Similarly, in recognition of the emerging innovations
in use to make assessment more challenging and authentic, a set of clearly articulated procedures and
guidelines accompanies the policy and code of practice. These policies, procedures and guidelines can
be found at Policy Central on the Macquarie University website www.mq.edu.au/policy/.
The existence of a policy framework is very important for Macquarie, but this alone is not enough.
Most important is that we now engage in a systematic process of implementation. This includes
establishing management and quality assurance systems and habits that encourage and support
reviews of assessment design and enhancement of assessment, grading and feedback processes. I
recognise that there are many exemplary assessment practices that have been, and continue to be,
developed at Macquarie. To assist in sharing these practices across the institution for others to adapt
in their own teaching, the Learning and Teaching Centre is developing a central repository of
practical ideas and examples of good practices to be shared.
It is true to say, however, that changes and improvements are needed to many of our common rituals
and routines in the management, design and conduct of assessment. While there is not an
expectation that practices will change overnight, change will need to occur at an incremental and
steady pace. You in your department or teaching team will need to identify the changes needed and
prioritise them. Therefore, it is expected that departments will establish their own goals and targets
for change. These targets are important to ensure that we are working towards common goals, to
appropriately assign resources and to provide tangible evidence of achievement in implementing the
new policy. The Learning and Teaching Centre is a resource to assist you in establishing goals for
change as well developing strategies to meet the targets you set. Their role is important in facilitating
the sharing of our collective good practices across the University.
This guide has been designed to assist with the implementation process. It provides another window
on the assessment procedures by focusing on how people can enact their responsibilities in three key
dimensions, namely, leading and managing assessment, designing assessment, conducting and
engaging in assessment. The guide also provides you with exemplars and links to further practical
resources.
I commend this guide to you as another step towards our shared goals of providing the very best
learning experience for all our students.
Professor Judyth Sachs
Deputy Vice-Chancellor and Provost
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Glossary of Terms
Formative assessment
Activities of assessment that are directed at supporting, encouraging,
motivating and enhancing learning are formative assessment. Its purpose
is to:
 inform students on their progress and provide guidance for
improvement;
Summative assessment
 inform teachers about what students know, their
misunderstandings and difficulties, and where best to direct
teaching efforts.
Summative assessment is for the record and provides a measure and record
of what student learning has been achieved to:
 direct students’ access to further learning;
 credential students for degrees and professional practice; and
 demonstrate that standards are appropriate (accountability).
Frames (or points) of
reference
A frame of reference is required to make judgments about students’
learning achievements demonstrated in performances or learning
products. Transparent assessment requires public and explicit disclosure
of frames of reference to be used at the time of assigning the assessment
task. There are four distinct types of frames of reference and often more
than one is used. They are:
Standards referenced: in which performance is assessed against the
exhibition of a set of predetermined qualities of criteria or elements (see
below for elaboration)
Criterion referenced: in which performance is assessed against the
exhibition of a set of predetermined elements (see below for elaboration)
Norm referenced: in which the level of performance is set post hoc by the
performance of the group (see below for elaboration)
Ideographic: in which achievement is determined by comparing each
student’s final performance with earlier performances to determine
progress, or change (see below for elaboration).
Standards-based
assessment
Standards based assessment will include aspects of criterion based
assessment whereby 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 is associated with a grade
and communicate that to students. Standards of performance, however,
are often tacit expectations and constructs of assessors generated from
their years of experience at teaching and assessing. It is unfair to
students if expected standards are not clearly explained as they will not
know what they must demonstrate to achieve a high standard of learning
achievement and will not be able to self assess.
In standards based assessment, marks are awarded to students to reflect
the level of performance they have achieved. Comparisons can be made
between students based on their achievement of the standards. Under a
standards-referenced approach it is still possible to make interpretations
of individual performance relative to position in a group. For example,
the higher a student’s mark is, the better their achievement. This means
that a standards-referenced system can still support a selection process, as
well as providing much richer information about student achievement by
describing what students know and can do.
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the higher a student’s mark is, the better their achievement. This means
that a standards-referenced system can still support a selection process, as
well as providing much richer information about student achievement by
describing what students know and can do.
Final examination marks are determined by the proportions of students
who achieve each performance standard. There is no predetermined
distribution of marks. This means over time, while learning outcomes
standards remain constant, the proportions of students achieving each
standard may change from year to year and there is no limit to the
number of students who can reach the highest standard. All students
who meet the minimum standard receive a pass mark of 50%. Students
who perform above the minimum standard expected receive higher
marks.
In order to help students develop their skills, it is essential that they not
only know what the criteria are, but also understand what they mean and
how they can demonstrate that they have met them and at what level
(standard).
Criterion referenced
assessment
Criteria are descriptions of elements of a student performance or learning
product or indicators of the domains of learning tasks used to define and
delimit expectations of what the students must exhibit at the completion
of the learning task.1
Criterion-based assessment can be used in a non-graded required
assessment task, for example submitting a research proposal or essay or
group work plan as part of a series of tasks that make up a larger
performance.
Unlike norm-referencing, there is no pre-determined grade distribution
to be generated and theoretically students’ grades should not be
determined by the performance of others. However, research has proven
that such influences are tacit and difficult to avoid, even when assessors
are trained to resist 2 when assessors make holistic professional judgment
about the level of students’ performances in relation to particular criteria.
Norm referenced
assessment
This frame of reference uses the achievement of the student cohort to set
standards for grades or determine passes and fails. Attempts to do
“grading on a curve” is an example of norm-referenced assessment.
Students are assessed by ranking their performance in relation to the
performance of the cohort of students who have taken the same course in
the same year.
Marks awarded to students reflect their achievements relative to the
achievement of other students in the group. Final examination marks are
based on a predetermined proportion of students in each mark range.
There is a limit on the number of students who can receive top marks.
Students can receive marks below 50 even though they have achieved the
course outcomes. Guidelines are set for markers which indicate the
specified percentage of students who can be given specific grades – pass,
credit, distinction, and high distinction. Grades in this case will not be an
accurate representation of student capability as the abilities of student
cohorts vary from year to year.
Linn, R.L. & Gronlund, N.E. (2000). Measurement and assessment in teaching (8th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Merrill. (Chapter 6 Aligning
Assessments with Instruction)
2 Daly, J. & Dickson-Markman, F. (1982). Contrast effects in evaluating essays, Journal of Educational Measurement, Vol. 19, No. 4, pp 309-316
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cohorts vary from year to year.
It is not an accurate calculation merely to add up the marks for a number
of tasks and relate them to a grading curve. For an accurate ranking of
students in norm referenced assessment, specific techniques are required
which utilise the mean, the median and spread of grades on each
assessment task that comprises the régime.
The only reasonable purpose for this kind of assessment is to rank
students in order to determine awards, prizes and scholarships as it
carries no reference to particular predetermined criteria or performance
standards. This means standards can change over time but the
proportions of students achieving each mark range will remain the same.
Ideographic
(self-referenced)
The value of this frame of reference is that it does account for different
starting points in student capability and it also encourages all students to
progress. A profile of student capability across a range of key attributes or
criteria is determined at the commencement of a unit or program of
study. Students must then demonstrate at the end of the study period
that they have made progress and improved their level of capability. This
is often used in “work required” non-graded assessments and in skills
mastery learning programs.
Non-graded pass
Non-graded pass is used where specific activities are required to be
undertaken to achieve a pass. This is often used in mastery learning
whereby particular skills need to be fully learnt and performed accurately
in order to pass, for example, accurate drug calculation.
Academic integrity
Integrity is a fundamental tenet of exemplary academic practice of both
students and staff. It has quite specific dimensions that students need to
be taught and that academics need to model for their students. It
embodies careful acknowledgment of the work and contribution of others
in research, creative activities and the production and reproduction of
knowledge. It requires adherence to legislation, regulations, policies and
codes of practice pertaining to university ethical standards, professional
practice and academic disciplines.
Academic dishonesty
Academic dishonesty infringes the code of academic integrity and
includes cheating, plagiarism, fraud and any form of intentional collusion to
assist cheating, plagiarism or fraud.
Formal assessment
Formal assessment is the publicly advised activities and performances
required of students in order to complete a unit of study.
Informal assessment
Informal assessment is the observations of, and comments on, student
performance in class as well as opportunities for practice with feedback
that inform students and staff about students’ progress towards desired
learning outcomes. Records of such assessments are not always publicly
noted as assessment tasks and do not always attract grades.
Feedback
Macquarie University aims to provide a learning environment in which
students receive a range of ongoing feedback throughout their studies.
This may take the form of group feedback, individual feedback, peer
feedback, self-comparison, verbal and written feedback, discussions (online and in class) as well as more formal feedback related to assignment
marks and grades. Students are encouraged to draw on a variety of forms
of feedback to enhance their learning.
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Feedback is a consequence of performance and can be conceptualised as
information provided regarding aspects of students’ learning performance
or products including corrective information. Feedback is part of
formative assessment – it can be used to clarify and correct conceptual
and skills-based errors or underdeveloped ideas. Feedback can help
learners to generate higher level responses.
There are multiple sources of feedback including peers, teachers, other
expert sources (eg a book can provide information to clarify ideas or
enable learners to evaluate the correctness of a response).
Examination
This term refers to a formal final supervised test, quiz or essay paper in
an official examination period in which the results contribute to
summative assessment.
Tests
Tests are used during a unit to determine student mastery or
understanding of aspects of the unit objectives. They are assessment
activities, which are carried out under examination-like arrangements,
but occur during normal semester time, not the official examination
period. Tests can perform a useful formative learning function for
students and teachers as well as a summative function.
Rubrics
Rubrics are scoring tools that list the criteria for a piece of work and
against each of these describe the value levels, standards of performance
and the associated grade that would be attributed to that level of
performance. A well designed rubric can lay out teacher expectations
very clearly and list the criteria for assessment in digestible format.
When distributed with the assessment task, they can be used to
communicate what’s important in the process, and guide the student in
preparing the assignment and encourage reflection and self-assessment.
Generally rubrics specify the level of performance expected for several
criteria. The level of quality may be written as different ratings (e.g.
Excellent, Good, Needs Improvement) or Developing (not passing),
Functional (pass), Proficient (credit) and Advanced (Distinction and
High Distinction) or as numerical scores (e.g., 4, 3, 2, 1).
Self assessment
Self assessment involves students making judgments about their own
learning: both their process of learning and its outcomes. To be effective
self-assessment requires the criteria and standards to be applied to the
learning outputs to be communicated clearly to students, so that they can
make informed judgments about their own progress. It does not have to
include self grading.
Peer assessment
Peer assessment involves students commenting upon and judging the
work of their learner colleagues. It can be used to develop students’
ability to work cooperatively, be critical of others’ work and receive
critical appraisals of their own work 3. Once again, it is essential that the
criteria and standards that will inform their decisions are easily available,
transparent and well understood by all students. It does not necessarily
include grading.
Group assessment
Working in groups has many advantages. For example, it:
 helps students engage with different ideas & clarify ideas &
concepts through discussion;
3
Murray-Harvey, R., Silins, H., & Orrell, J. (2003). Assessment for learning. Flinders Press, Flinders University, Adelaide.
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 provides opportunities for learners to share information & ideas;
challenge assumptions; critique their own level of understanding;
and receive feedback from their peers;
 develops generic skills: critical thinking, communication,
interpersonal cooperation and collaboration, project management,
problem solving etc;
 enables learners to take control of their own learning in a social
context;
Learning objectives
 helps validate individuals' ideas & ways of thinking through:
conversation (verbalising); multiple perspectives (cognitive
restructuring); and argument (conceptual conflict resolution).
Learning objectives are the teaching intentions espoused in a curriculum
document regarding learning that the planned learning experiences set
out to help students achieve. These underpin and direct the unit design
and teaching activities. Their effectiveness is what is evaluated by
students and peers through standard student feedback on teaching
measures and peer review processes.
Learning outcomes
These are the capabilities that students must demonstrate in order to pass
a unit or graduate from a program of study. These are what must be
assessed in each unit.
Graduate capabilities
These are descriptions of knowledge, skills and dispositions that the
institution aspires to develop in their students and that all graduates will
demonstrate on completion of their respective program of study.
Componential grading
Refers to assessment of discrete elements of an assessment task in which
grades or scores are recorded against each required element of work or
criteria and then tallied to arrive at a final grade. There are usually
differential weightings for the various elements which are dependent on
their relative importance in relation to the unit learning objectives.
Holistic grading
Holistic grading takes the learning product or performance as a whole
and compares it in its entirety against an expected standard of
performance or product.
Impressionistic grading
Impressionistic grading utilises assessors’ accumulated expertise in the
mode and/or the content to make accurate, consistent and representative
judgments about students’ learning products or performances and what
they demonstrate in terms of students’ progress towards achievement of
the desired learning outcomes.
Professional judgment
Professional judgment is judgment that is grounded in the accumulated
expertise of academic teachers and disciplinary or professional experts.
Authentic assessment
This form of assessment attends to real world problems, skills and
performances. Such tasks are designed in such a way as to encourage
connectedness of learning outcomes with real work tasks, problems and
the development of graduate capabilities that make it possible for
graduates to be “work ready” as well as be competent and responsible
citizens. Typically, authentic assessment tasks comprise projects,
investigations and report writing instead of essays; interviews and analysis
instead of exams; surveys and analysis instead of tests; team tasks instead
of individual tutorial presentations.
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“Work required”
assessment
This form of assessment outlines activities to be undertaken that will not
be graded, but will be assessed for their completeness and mastery. Each
task must be completed in order to meet the requirements for passing the
unit, e.g. completion of a resource folder, attendance at an external
seminar, completion of a number of days work experience.
Constructive alignment
Constructive alignment refers to the comparability between the espoused
Unit and Course Objectives and the expected learning outcomes. It is
expected that there will be direct alignment between espoused objectives
and the teaching, learning and assessment activities.
Assessment literacy
This refers to the level of knowledge and awareness of the complexity
and inter-relatedness of the multiple elements involved in assessment in
education. It includes appreciation that changing one aspect will have
consequences for all other aspects.
Moderation
Moderation ensures parity in assessment focusing on two assessment
functions: (a) assessment design and (b) grading outcomes.
(a) The role of assessment design moderation is to ensure that (1) tasks
are aligned to the Course and Unit Objectives; (2) stated learning
outcomes satisfy academic discipline or professional community
standards; and (3) the workload involved in the assessment design is
appropriate for the unit weighting.
(b) Moderation of the grading process and outcomes is intended to
ensure (1) consistency across multiple markers and (2) that the grades
attributed to student products and performances reflect the appropriate
standards for the Unit level and satisfy institutional, national and
international standards of academic discipline or professional
community.
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Introduction to the Reader
About the guide
This guide has been developed to assist the Macquarie University community to understand the
implications of the new assessment policy, to interpret it in their engagement with the learning and
teaching process, and to ensure that the assessment policy is implemented appropriately at all levels.
Along with the new assessment policy, code of practice and assessment procedure, the guide contains
many practical resources to help you in implementing this policy. Its main sections are organised
around people’s responsibilities, whether as unit convenors and academic assessors, whether as leaders
and managers of assessment, or whether in broader institutional leadership roles, as set out in the
code of practice for assessment.
The practical resources themselves are to be found in the Toolkit at the end of the guide.
Throughout the guide, you will find cross-references marked by the Toolkit icon , for example,
from a statement of a requirement listed in the assessment procedures, to a resource explaining or
illustrating how to meet that requirement.
Sometimes the cross-reference is to other information, for example, to other policies at Macquarie
University, or to other available resources, shown by the Link icon .
Many of the practical resources reflect good practices already in use at Macquarie University.
Additional examples of effective assessment practices are being sought from across the University for
review and possible inclusion in an online collection showcasing good practice in learning and
teaching at Macquarie.
Your feedback on the guide
This first version of the guide has been produced to support the Macquarie Learning and Teaching
Forum on Assessment (Assessing Learning, Communicating Standards) held in September 2008.
Your feedback on the value and usefulness of the guide and its associated resources is warmly
welcomed.
About assessment
The activities of the assessment process are central to the learning process and a crucial aspect of
teaching.
Assessment embodies the teaching objectives of an education programme.
Assessment methods and requirements probably have a greater influence on how and what students
learn than any other single factor …This influence may well be of greater importance than the
impact of teaching materials. 4
Assessment also is the most significant factor to influence student learning.
What influenced students most was not the teaching but the assessment. 5
Boud D. (1988). Assessment in problem-based learning, Assessment and Evaluation in Higher Education, 13 (2) 87-91.
Gibbs, G. & Simpson, C. (2004). Measuring the response of students to assessment: the Assessment Experience Questionnaire. In C Rust (Ed)
Improving student learning: Theory, research and scholarship. Oxford: Oxford Centre for Staff and Learning Development.
4
5
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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.
If we wish to discover the truth about an educational system, we must look into assessment
procedures …The spirit and style of student assessment defines the de facto curriculum. 6
The University relies on assessment process to assure and maintain academic standards.
The main purpose of assessment is to provide:
 A guide to student learning, directing students’ attention to what is important.
 Feedback to students on their progress towards achieving desired learning outcomes.
 Feedback for teachers so that they can identify where it will be most productive to direct their
teaching efforts.
 A tool to determine, report and certify student learning outcome achievement.
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. 7
What is different about the 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.
In terms of interpreting and grading students’ learning products and performances, once again
nothing may have to be changed provided standards of performance have been articulated prior to
assessing students’ learning products and performances and they have been clearly communicated to
students. The ways that grades are arrived at and combined and recorded will also need to be
transparent.
Most importantly, the new policy specifies that there is NO REQUIREMENT for a normal
distribution of grades and it is the quality of the individual student’s performance compared with the
established and publicly available performance standards alone that should determine the grade.
In terms of rights and responsibilities for the design, conduct and management of the complex
process of assessment, this policy framework spells them out very explicitly. It recognises that there is
a wide range of stakeholders and encompasses the involvement of all in a Code of Practice. In this
guide you will find the section of the Code of Practice as it pertains to each major group of
stakeholders at the beginning of each section. This policy has been careful to outline not only the
rights but also the responsibilities of students. The policy has at its heart a belief that while
institutions and academics have the responsibility to make successful learning possible, students need
6
7
Rowntree, D. (1987). Assessing Students: How Shall We Know Them? Harper & Row, London. Page 1
Ramsden P. (2003). Learning to teach in higher education. (2nd ed). London, UK: Routledge Farmer. Page 177.
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to be actively engaged in their learning through well designed assessment and become agents of their
own success.
In terms of management, there are quality assurance and enhancement systems that need to be
established. In particular, moderation systems will need to be designed and implemented to review
assessment design and to review the reliability and standards inherent in the grading outcomes of
each unit. Furthermore, now that the diverse responsibilities have been identified, it is the
responsibility of academic leaders and managers to ensure that everyone is aware of the new policy
and its implications for their practice and the uptake of their own particular responsibilities.
It is understood that where these aspects of the policy are not evident in current practice, then time is
required to establish them. However, all units and departments will be required to identify what
needs to be changed or introduced, to plan and prioritise the introduction of new modes of practice
and to establish incremental targets as evidence of improved and enhanced practice.
To assist you in this work, exemplars of good practice have been identified and still more are being
sought. Some will be referred to in this guide and others will be incrementally added to the Learning
and Teaching website for you to access. Efficiency is a key goal in the introduction of this policy and
every attempt is being made to ensure that good practices are recognised and communicated across
the institution.
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Macquarie University Policies
Assessment
POLICY
Assessment
Contact Officer
Chair, Learning and Teaching Committee
Purpose
To articulate the principles that underpin the Macquarie University approach to
assessment of student learning and feedback. These principles guide the procedures to
be used in the conduct and management of assessment and feedback practices in all
coursework units.
To outline the University’s expectations for grading and for reporting the outcomes of
grading student learning products and performances.
Overview
The Assessment Policy is informed by research into current practice, examples of
practice in Australia and internationally and theoretical literature.
Assessment of student learning performance and feedback on progress are pivotal and
important processes in University learning and teaching. Assessment tasks
communicate to students what must be learned and are vehicles by which the
University assures itself, and society, of its graduates’ capabilities.
The design of assessment tasks, feedback processes and grading strategies are to be
efficient, effective and ethical, as well as imbued with educational integrity and equity
and grounded in research-based evidence regarding effective practice.
Importantly, this policy is based on the premise that all assessment practices must be
aligned with curriculum intentions, and measured against externally validated
standards and not merely directed at arriving at a grade. Equally, this policy is based
on the premise that it is important that through assessment students are encouraged to
engage in their education, rather than merely pursue grades. Student engagement is
best facilitated by learner managed learning in which students are active partners in
the process through undertaking challenging responsibilities and making choices.
Scope
Academic leaders and managers of learning and teaching, all teaching staff, including
sessional teachers, and all coursework students.
The Policy also provides information for internal University educational enabling
services and external stakeholders, such as professional accrediting bodies, work
integrated learning placement providers and employers of graduates.
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The Policy
Assessment procedures and practices will be derived from evidence-based
assumptions that:
Ensure that student and teacher efforts play a pivotal role in focusing learning and
teaching efforts on intended learning outcomes.
Promote active student engagement in learning which is characterised by:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Motivation and enthusiasm for learning
Increasing mastery, competence and academic independence
Student inquiry and research-based learning
Disposition towards life long learning
Utilisation of feedback to improve performance
Connectedness to real world issues
Engendering and development of graduate capabilities
Recognise and value student diversity, including the indigenous and international
character of the student body and promote and support internationalisation and the
international experience of learning to achieve personal, social and cultural
development by students, teachers, and the University community.
Exemplify ethical practice, honesty, integrity, objectivity, equity, social justice,
tolerance and inclusiveness, thus providing an opportunity for success for all
students.
Produce grades and reports of student learning achievements that are valid,
reliable and accurate representations of each student’s capabilities in relation to
clearly articulated learning objectives and result from procedures that are
consistent, fair and equitable.
Demonstrate a scholarly approach by both students and staff characterised by:
•
•
•
•
Inquiry and scholarship
Critical thinking and analysis
Self and peer review
Intellectual and academic integrity
Embody high quality, timely feedback as an essential element that must have
value for students in improving their learning performance and developing their
capacity to self assess.
Meet expectations and standards of national and international stakeholders, where
appropriate.
Are the focus of quality assurance and quality enhancement management
processes to promote socially just student learning achievement that meets
national and international standards and expectations.
Require involvement of leaders and managers to achieve quality enhancement and
continuous improvement as evidenced through:
• Transparent, consistent, efficient and effective procedures;
• Provision of opportunities to enhance assessment literacy of all
stakeholders, at all levels of responsibility, so that they are well informed of
their rights and responsibilities and have reasonable expectations regarding
assessment process outcomes;
• Accountability and responsibility among staff and students are guided by
ethical assessment procedures;
• Moderation and peer review processes that have a dual focus, namely:
(i) assessment design
(ii) grading outputs;
• Regular and multi-level review cycles that inform institutional Quality
Assurance and Quality Enhancement processes
• Embedded quality processes to ensure adherence to institutional policy
frameworks, and attention to issues related to academic honesty; access,
equity, records management and intellectual property.
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Keywords
Assessment, Feedback, Grading, Grades, Examination
Date Approved
12 August 2008
Approval Authority
Academic Senate
Date of Commencement
Effective for any unit of study with a teaching start date of 1
January 2009 or later, with full implementation to be completed by
31 December 2009.
Amendment Dates
New
Date for Next Review
January 2010
Related Policies, Procedures
and Guidelines
Assessment Procedure
Assessment Policy – Code of Practice
Academic Honesty Policy (to be drafted)
Glossary
Exemplars
Policies Superseded by this
Policy
Rules impacted by the policy:
Foundation Certificate Rules 5
Bachelor Degree Rules 7, 11, 24
Diploma Rules 5(1), 7(1)
Certificate Rules 4, 5(1)
Graduate Diploma Rules 5, 6(1)
Graduate Certificate Rules 5, 6(1)
Master by Coursework Rules 6(1), 6(2), 7(1), 8
Postgraduate Diploma Rules 6(1), 6(2), 7(1), 8
Postgraduate Certificate Rules 6(1), 6(2), 7(1), 8
Diploma in Community Management Rules – this program has been
discontinued with no new students admitted to the program since
2004; there are no students in the program. The Diploma in
Community Management Rules should be repealed in their entirety.
Guidelines for Grading
Senate Resolution 75/155
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Assessment – Code of Practice
POLICY
Assessment – Code of Practice
Contact Officer
Chair, Learning and Teaching Committee
Purpose
To draw explicit attention to the full range of stakeholder responsibilities and rights in
relation to the conduct and management of assessment including feedback to students
regarding their learning achievements.
Overview
There are many stakeholders in the conduct and outcomes of assessment including
students, academic staff, academic and professional disciplines, the institution,
Governments and the community. Assessment is a high stakes activity in the
educational process and a public and critical concern for Macquarie University as the
institution is accountable for the credentials it bestows on its graduates.
Scope
All staff and students of the University involved in any part of assessment.
The Policy
Responsibilities of the University
The University, through the Vice Chancellor and the Academic Senate, will ensure
that assessment and feedback practices are:
explicit, fair, transparent, inclusive and consistent across the institution
well managed and moderated at faculty level
supported by resources that provide all staff with access to information and
opportunities to increase their assessment literacy and their capability in the practice
of assessment and feedback
underpinned by a shared and explicit understanding of what is entailed in academic
integrity in assessment and consistent application of the procedures and consequences
of academic dishonesty
supported by consistently applied policies and procedures to inform and manage
requirements for students with disabilities and/or special consideration, in the case of
illness and misadventure
supported by appeal mechanisms that are widely publicised and consistently applied.
The University, through the Vice-Chancellor and the Academic Senate, requires:
1.
2.
3.
faculty and department leaders, teachers, tutors, managers and students will
ensure that they are familiar with the implications of the assessment policy
and related documents
faculty and department leaders will establish mechanisms and procedures to
enable the implementation of the Assessment Policy
faculty and department staff will make every effort to ensure that they have
established sound connections with their related professional and accrediting
bodies and employer groups to establish a clear and shared understanding of
the standards of achievement implied in graduates’ credentials they receive
from the University
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4. students will comply with the systems, rules and expectations for academic
honesty in all matters to do with assessment products and performances.
Responsibilities of the Departments and Faculties
Staff in faculties and departments have the responsibility to ensure that:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
assessment and feedback principles, values and procedures are adhered to
assessment and feedback information, resources and procedures are available
and publicised for both students and staff so that all are aware of their rights
and responsibilities
there is a shared understanding of standards and expectations in regard to
assessment of learning
national and international standards occurs with relevant professional and
academic discipline organisations and other relevant stakeholders
assessment tasks are aligned with curriculum aims and objectives and the
authentic intentions of the degree program
a diverse range of assessment tasks are incorporated into each degree program
in order to provide opportunities for students to acquire and further develop
the espoused Macquarie University Graduate Capabilities
assessment task design and requirements are monitored in terms of
authenticity and workload
students receive formative assessments and feedback and gain adequate
information in a timely fashion in order to learn from past activities and
become effective in self assessment
a consistent approach is adopted towards developing students’ understanding
of integrity in academic practice
a consistent interpretation of incidents of academic misconduct and a
consistent application of the procedures and consequences for academic
honesty
grading criteria and standards are applied accurately, fairly and consistently
examinations are managed according to the accepted policy and procedures
accurate records of student performances are kept and maintained
all examination papers, scripts, records and academic judgments are stored
and managed efficiently and securely and kept for the mandated period
only the student number is disclosed in any public reporting of results (not the
student identity) except where the student has given consent
Responsibilities of Academic Staff
Individual members of academic staff have responsibilities to:
1. be familiar with the University and faculty requirements for best practice in
assessment design, communication, grading and feedback
2. ensure that all assessment design and practice is congruent with the objectives
of the related unit of study and degree program and will enable the
development of Macquarie University Graduate Capabilities
3. communicate assessment expectations clearly and in a timely fashion to
students to enable them to be well informed and gain access to required
resources
4. assess assumptions of students’ entering knowledge, skills and capabilities,
including their access to technology and skills to use it
5. ensure students are familiar with the requirements for academic integrity in
the discipline
6. review and give timely and useful detailed feedback on work submitted
7. keep and maintain adequate paper-based or electronic records of student
achievement for the mandated period
8. ensure records and reports on student learning are based only on relevant
evidence
9. maintain confidentiality regarding student results, disclosing them only to
those with a legitimate right of access
10. critically review assessment activities in order to anticipate any negative
unintended consequences
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11. evaluate own performance as an assessor against the principles, values and
practices outlined in this policy and seek peer feedback
12. seek external expert moderation of assessment design and grading practices to
gain feedback on the academic and disciplinary standards they entail
13. ensure any potential or actual conflict of interest in relation to assessment is
resolved in line with the Staff Code of Conduct
Rights of Academic Staff
Academic staff require:
1.
students to be focused on learning rather than merely the achievement of
grades
2. students to make the effort to be informed of the rules and requirements for
progression in their degree program
3. students to be aware of, and abide by, the assessment policies including
academic honesty and the consequences for acts of dishonesty that include
cheating, collusion, plagiarism and fraud
4. students to seek assistance from the department, faculty and/or institution if
they so require it
5. students to behave ethically and responsibly in their conduct of assessment
tasks
6. students to use assessment to engage in critical self evaluation in terms of
their progress towards the espoused learning expectations
7. students to submit work on time that is their own except when shared
ownership is part of the task
8. notification from the student as soon as possible if difficulties arise with
timing, online access, availability of resources or other requirements of the
task
9. notification from the student as soon as possible if difficulties arise in terms
of substantial absences and submission of a Special Consideration application
with the appropriate medical and/or other certificates
10. students to utilise the mechanisms for appeal if the need arises
Rights and Responsibilities of Students
Students have the responsibility to:
1.
be aware that the major objective of assessment is to aid learning rather than
the achievement of grades
2. be informed of the rules and requirements for progression in the degree
program, ensuring that they are fully aware of the advice implications of
discontinuation or withdrawal from a unit of study
3. be aware of, and abide by, the assessment policies including academic
honesty and the consequences for acts of dishonesty that include cheating,
collusion, plagiarism and fraud
4. be aware of the means for seeking assistance in the department, faculty and
institution
5. behave ethically and responsibly in their conduct of assessment tasks and
avoid any action that would unfairly disadvantage or advantage another
student
6. use assessment to engage in critical self evaluation in terms of their progress
towards the espoused learning expectations
7. submit work on time, ensuring that it is their own except when shared
ownership is part of the task
8. notify staff as soon as possible if difficulties arise with timing, online access,
availability of resources or other requirements of the task
9. notify staff as soon as possible if difficulties arise in terms of substantial
absences and submit an application for Special Consideration with the
appropriate medical and/or other certificates
10. be aware of mechanisms for appeal
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Students have a right to:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
be informed about all aspects of assessment policy and practices in each unit
of study including criteria, standards and procedures to be met and penalties
for breaches
consistent application of policies, procedures and penalties
timely return of results with feedback to enable improved performance
information that allows them to calibrate their own performance against the
expected performance standards
review their examination scripts and other forms of summative assessment
(except in the case of reuse) for the duration of the mandated script retention
period
have access to their student file and other documents related to their
assessment
be informed of the mechanisms for appeal
appeal against academic decisions in accordance with the University’s appeal
policy and procedures
Rights and Responsibilities of Professional and Accrediting Associations and
Employer Groups
These external stakeholders have the right to:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
have access to information that will provide a clear explanation of the
procedure and standards used to assess students capabilities
have their opinion respected in University contexts related to discussion of
desirable graduate capabilities
engage in peer to peer negotiations with related University academic areas in
any process used to identify desirable graduate capabilities and in articulating
the standards against which student performances are judged
be assured of the accuracy, consistency and representativeness regarding
student achievement contained in documentation produced by the University
and released to them by students and graduates
experience some measure of mutual benefit when they provide opportunities
for students to work in their organisations in order to learn
These external stakeholders have a responsibility to:
1.
2.
3.
4.
Keywords
recognise and respect the pedagogical dimension of disciplinary expertise
held by academic staff, namely how a particular subject area is learned
contribute to the University process for developing shared comprehensive and
validated conceptions of desirable graduate capabilities and how they are
recognised in the workplace, profession and/or community
provide opportunities for students to carry out some part of their University
study program in real world contexts as learners, not just observers or unpaid
workers
provide meaningful feedback to assist students to improve their performance
when they are placed and assessed in their respective organisations
Assessment, Rights, Responsibilities, Code of Practice
Date Approved
12 August 2008
Approval Authority
Academic Senate
Date of Commencement
Effective for any unit of study with a teaching start date of 1
January 2009 or later, with full implementation to be completed by
31 December 2009.
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Amendment Dates
New
Date for Next Review
August 2011
Related Policies, Procedures
and Guidelines
Academic Honesty Policy (to be drafted)
Assessment Policy
Assessment Procedure
Examinations Policy (to be drafted)
Plagiarism Policy
Staff Code of Conduct
Policies Superseded by this
Policy
New
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Assessment Procedure
ASSESSMENT
Contact Officer
Chair, Learning and Teaching Committee
Purpose
To identify the rights and responsibilities of stakeholders, namely students,
University academics and administration, disciplinary, professional and
accrediting bodies, in the implementation of the Assessment Policy for all
coursework units.
PROCEDURE
To outline expected ethical and efficient management of students’ learning
artefacts and maintenance of academic integrity for all stakeholders in the
assessment process.
Procedure
Academic Senate
1.
COMPLETION OF A UNIT
Determine the criteria to be used to determine whether a student has
completed an undergraduate coursework unit or an enabling unit for an
undergraduate program, satisfactorily. The criteria will include:
− participation in unit activities
− completion and satisfactory level of achievement in written work,
exercises, practical work, tests and/or examinations
− satisfactory outcomes of formal examinations
Dean of Faculty
Determine the required academic work for satisfactory completion of a
postgraduate coursework unit or an enabling unit for a postgraduate program.
Recommend the final results for all undergraduate coursework units and all
enabling units for undergraduate programs to Academic Senate.
2.
QUALITY ASSURANCE AND MANAGEMENT OF
ASSESSMENT
Assessment Literacy
Provide all stakeholders (leaders, teachers, students, academic managers and
related external regulatory and employing organisations) with opportunities to
develop a level of assessment literacy that ensures they have a clear
understanding of the interrelatedness of the various elements of assessment
and an appreciation of how changes to any element impacts on the overall
outcomes.
For leaders and managers
Ensure learning and teaching leaders and managers have an informed
understanding of the practice and procedural implications of the institution’s
assessment policy, procedures and guidelines.
For staff
Put quality assurance processes in place to ensure that new and continuing
staff are familiar with the Assessment Policy, its related procedures and
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guidelines, and all future updates.
Ensure new staff are routinely inducted into institutional assessment
expectations.
For students
Ensure that all units provide educational opportunities regarding assessment
rules, academic conventions and Code of Practice, including Assessment
Rights and Responsibilities for all students and especially for students
returning to study after a substantial time gap or students who have not
previously studied in Australia.
Student
3.
ELIGIBILITY FOR FINAL EXAMINATION
To attend all required classes and submit all required assessment tasks,
otherwise the Dean of the Faculty or delegated authority has the power to
refuse permission to attend the final examination, if held, for the relevant unit.
Dean of Faculty
(or delegated
authority)
4.
APPROVAL OF ASSESSMENT REQUIREMENTS
Have regard to the relationship between the assessment methods and the
learning outcomes expected for the unit and the workload for staff and
students.
Ensure assessment designs for all units meet the following minimum
requirements:
− there must be at least three assessment tasks that require more than one
mode of performance and that address higher order thinking capability
(or if the assessment is a large task, it should be disaggregated into
stages for assessment)
− inclusion of an early, low risk diagnostic task to provide feedback for
students and teachers to address likely learning challenges
− description of the assessment requirements, their relative weightings
and the methods for grading
− description of the type and timing of feedback that will be provided
− if participation is to be assessed, a description of how it will be
determined and how it is justified in relation to learning objectives
− how the workload for the assessment requirements is calculated based
on the amount of time required to master both the assessment mode
and the content.
5.
CHANGES TO UNIT ASSESSMENTS
Receive, consider and determine requests for changes to unit assessment
requirements for future offerings of the unit, taking into account whether the
revised assessment requirements are consistent with the original, approved
assessment requirements in relation to learning outcomes and its overall
workload demands on students.
Variations during a unit offering
Where a Unit Convenor recommends a variation to the assessment
requirements after a unit has commenced, consider the implications of the
recommended change(s) on both the students and staff members involved.
Make a recommendation to the Dean of the Faculty or delegated authority,
who may in exceptional circumstances approve a variation of detail in the
assessment requirements of a unit. The requested changes must maintain the
relationship between the assessment methods and the expected learning
outcomes.
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6.
VARIATIONS TO ASSESSMENT REQUIREMENTS
Receive, consider and determine requests for variations to the assessment
requirements of a unit after it has commenced.
In giving approval for the change, be satisfied that students are not
disadvantaged by the change or the timing of the variation.
Unit Convenor
7.
ADVICE TO STUDENTS
Unit Outlines must:
− include unit learning objectives and expected learning outcomes
− include details of the assessment tasks students must undertake to
achieve and demonstrate their learning, noting that:
• assessment tasks must be aligned with unit objectives and learning
outcomes
• criteria and standards against which individual assessment tasks are
judged must be provided (or negotiated with students) and subject
to moderation at Faculty level by the Dean or delegated authority
• relative weightings of each task must be provided
• due dates of assessment tasks and submission modes must be
provided
• penalties for late submission and documentation required in support
of an extension request
• relevant characteristics, such as length of written tasks or duration
of examinations, must be indicated
• form and timing of feedback that students will receive must be
made explicit
• ways in which judgments of individual assessment tasks will be
combined to give an overall grade are made explicit
− be available in either printed or electronic form no later than the first
officially scheduled class, or in the case of students studying online or
externally, the date of commencement of the unit, whichever is the
earlier
− include information about all requirements in respect of the style of
academic referencing and acknowledgements such as footnotes and
bibliographies in assignments
Where the Unit Outline is provided to students via the University’s web site,
the Unit Convenor must ensure that all officially enrolled students are advised
of, and able to access, the exact location of the Unit Outline at the
commencement of the Unit.
In the event of a change to the information contained in the original Unit
Outline, the Unit Convenor must ensure all officially enrolled students have
been informed.
8.
ASSESSEMENT DESIGN
The key criterion for choice of assessment methods must be curriculum
alignment, in which assessment tasks relate, in mode and substance, to unit
learning objectives.
Assessment methods must be diverse and not reliant on a single form or
single task.
No student is to be disadvantaged or unduly advantaged when assessment
tasks entail the use of specific materials, software programs or internet
resources.
Training and support must be provided to ensure equitable access to, and use
of, resources and tools.
Assessment tasks must include authentic challenges and connect learning and
learning outcomes with real world tasks, problems, skills and performances.
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To foster student engagement through learner managed learning, students
may be offered a choice of assessment tasks provided the forms are consistent
with the unit objectives, in which case, the learning outcomes and the
expected standards of achievement must be clearly specified to ensure parity
and validity.
Assessment design must be developmental, and promote increased
complexity in problem solving; increased sophistication in the understanding,
analysis and application of theoretical frameworks; increased capacity to
synthesise and critique concepts; increased expectations for creativity and
originality in the generation of a hypotheses; and increased independence and
responsibility in engagement and directions setting learning objectives.
Assessment design must balance opportunities for practice when learning new
skills with task diversity.
The complexity and challenge in assessment tasks must reflect the level of the
unit.
− First year assessment must provide low risk opportunities for students
to learn and develop the necessary academic performance, knowledge
and capabilities.
− Final year assessment must provide some opportunity for synthesis of
knowledge, opinion formation and development of a portfolio of
evidence of capabilities developed.
9.
EXAMINATIONS
Unit Convenors must provide an appropriate educational rationale for
adopting examinations as an assessment process.
Final examinations are not to constitute more than 60 % of the total
assessment in a unit, unless approval is granted by the Dean of Faculty (or
delegated authority).
All examinations must comply with the examination moderation procedures.
10. GRADUATE CAPABILITIES
Macquarie University Graduate Capabilities must be mapped across each unit
in each program to ensure that all are included.
Ensure there are sufficient opportunities for students to develop, self assess
and enhance their capabilities and generate evidence to demonstrate their
achievements.
11. QUALITY ASSURANCE
Ensure that assessment requirements for a unit are discussed and understood
by all members of staff involved in the teaching and assessment, including
sessional teachers, to ensure cohesion between teaching strategies, expected
learning outcomes and assessment requirements.
12. TEACHING RESEARCH NEXUS
Research is a core element of University practice. Assessment can enhance
the nexus between learning and research, therefore, assessment requirements
must ensure that all students gain opportunities to:
− experience critical exposure to the research of academic teachers and
graduate, higher degree students
− engage in research inspired learning and develop the capacity to
conceptualise and conduct research
− provide an opportunity to understand and evaluate the contribution of
research to knowledge in their field of study.
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13. WORK INTEGRATED LEARNING / CLINICAL
ASSESSMENT
Where assessment occurs in the workplace or in clinical settings where there
may be competing interests such as those of clients, the student and their
learning can no longer be the central and sole focus of concern.
Some capabilities in professional education must be performed accurately and
fully mastered. Such learning must be assessed against specified criteria and
recorded as non-graded pass, “work required”, or mastery learning.
In all cases University Supervisors and Unit Convenors are responsible for
moderation of workplace learning and assessment, and for determining and
reporting the student’s final grades. While Workplace Learning Supervisors
may have an active role in the assessment process, their assessment of a
student’s capability has the status of advice for consideration by Unit
Convenor.
14. GROUP ASSESSMENT
Group assessment tasks must have a purpose that is authentic to the learning
objectives of the unit.
When group work is involved, Unit Convenors must be aware of, and
anticipate the challenges in assessing individual contributions to group work
and be familiar with approaches which can be used to address them.
The Unit Convenor must ensure that students are adequately prepared for
group assessment tasks and possess the skills necessary to complete them
successfully.
The process for grading must ensure that the grade accurately reflects each
student’s achievements as they align with the stated learning outcomes.
Work prepared and presented as a single entity and in which contributions of
individual students cannot be identified should:
1. be graded only on a pass/fail basis; and
2. count for not more than 30% of the total assessment if the grading of the
unit is still to be on a graded basis (unless the prior approval of Academic
Program Committee has been given).
15. ONLINE ASSESSMENT
Technology dimensions of assessment such as access, security, records
management and the knowledge and skill to use the technology must be
explicitly managed in the development and provision of online assessment.
Clear guidelines and procedures must be provided to students on the
processes surrounding online submission of assignments including the
submission site, timeframe, acknowledgement of submission, feedback
arrangements, as well as contingency arrangements in case of systems failure.
Security and confidentiality must be assured if assessment tasks are hosted
outside the password protected area of online units or on publicly accessible
sites (e.g. blogs or wikis).
16. FORMATIVE ASSESSMENT
Unit assessment designs must provide an explicit formative function, in
which the extent to which students have progressed towards the desired
learning outcomes is indicated to both students and teachers. Both formative
and summative functions may be accomplished in the execution of the same
task.
Unambiguous, timely and useful feedback on learning products or
performances must be provided to all students through a variety of written
and verbal formats to assist students improve and enhance their performance
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and to become personally effective in self assessment.
Students must be provided with opportunities to learn to self assess the
quality of their own work.
Students must be provided with opportunities to peer assess in order to equip
them to function as discerning professionals with a commitment to life-long
learning.
17. RESPONSIBILITY FOR ASSESSMENT TASKS
Where there is an inability to locate an assessment item and the Unit
Convenor is provided with evidence to believe the item was submitted in
accordance with the requirements stated in the Unit Outline, the Unit
Convenor should take appropriate remedial action that complies with the
Procedures for Missing Assessment Tasks.
The Dean of the Faculty, the Chair of the Faculty Learning and Teaching
Committee and the Unit Convenor are to discuss and agree an appropriate
course of action.
18. FRAMES OF REFERENCE
Assessment of student learning achievement must be measured against
externally verified and validated standards rather than norm referenced.
Standards of performance required for the award of a particular grade on an
individual task must be clearly communicated to students to indicate not only
what should be demonstrated in the product or performance, but how well.
The standards for learner success must be made clear.
19. JUDGMENTS OF STUDENT LEARNING OUTCOMES
There will be no pre-determined or ideal distribution of grades across a
student cohort (i.e. norm referencing). In order to maintain established
standards, the distribution of grades from year to year must vary to reflect the
way in which each cohort varies in its ability to meet the established learning
performance standards.
Judgments of student attainment in the form of grades must be based on
evidence provided by students in the form of learning products or
performances.
Judgments must be justifiable as a measure of the extent to which the student
has achieved the specified learning outcomes.
It is accepted that assessments will be informed by academic professional
judgment, which is academic professional expertise, accumulated over time,
through experience. No matter how respected, however, this expertise must
be periodically subjected to personal review, peer scrutiny and benchmarking
in regard to accepted disciplinary and professional standards, including,
where appropriate, standards in other institutions, nationally and
internationally.
20. INCLUSIVE PRACTICE
Assessment must abide by Macquarie University statements about equity and
inclusiveness. They must reflect a positive value related to diversity among
students in relation to process and content.
Certain modes of assessment may privilege some students and disadvantage
others. Every attempt must be made to identify and rectify any unintended
negative consequences in the assessment design and processes.
Reasonable adjustment in teaching and assessment methods must be made to
accommodate students with an officially recognised disability, impairment or
medical condition.
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21. CHANGES TO UNIT ASSESSMENT REQUIREMENTS
Proposals to alter the assessment requirements of a unit must be made by the
Unit Convenor who will next be responsible for the unit by lodging a revised
Unit Outline to the Dean of Faculty well in advance of the next scheduled
offering of the unit.
Notification of the change to the assessment requirements must be provided
to students in written and/or electronic form.
22. EXTENSION OF TIME TO COMPLETE AN ASSESSMENT
TASK
Determine and publish in the Unit Outline whether or not an extension is
available for each assessment task, other than examinations, if students are
unable to submit the work on time due to serious and unavoidable
circumstances.
23. RESUBMISSION
Resubmission will be available where the Unit Convenor deems it important
to support student learning and progress and where it does not unduly
disadvantage other students.
The Unit Convener must determine whether the resubmission will have
access to the full range of marks or receive no more than a pass.
Students must be informed of the grading implications by the Unit Convener
upon the agreement to accept a resubmission.
24. MODERATION OF ASSESSMENT METHODS
Unit Convenors must seek regular peer review of their overall assessment
plans. This includes external benchmarking to ensure that there are
opportunities for graduates to meet national and international disciplinary and
professional standards.
Unit Convenors must ensure moderation of final examination scripts.
25. MODERATION OF RESULTS
Moderation processes (including external moderation) of the grading process
and outcomes are required to assure and improve the validity and reliability of
the assessment process. Every effort must be made to ensure that assessments
of student learning outcomes are accurate, consistent and representative of
each student’s capability (valid and reliable) recognising that human
judgment (academics professional judgment) is a significant element in the
process.
Student
26. FORMATIVE ASSESSMENT
Be an active participant in the feedback process, act upon the advice given
and provide evidence of having done so.
27. ACADEMIC HONESTY
Comply with the University’s rules on academic honesty.
28. RESPONSIBILITY FOR ASSESSMENT ITEMS
Keep a copy of all assignment items they are required to be lodged for
assessment, regardless of whether or not they will be graded.
29. INCLUSIVE PRACTICE
Submit a request for reasonable adjustment, with the necessary supporting
documentation, to the Equity (Disability) Support Unit as soon as practicable
27
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after enrolment in the unit. Any such reasonable adjustments must be agreed
in writing between the student and the Unit Convenor.
30. EXTENSION OF TIME TO COMPLETE AN
ASSESSMENT TASK
Submit an application for extension to the Unit Convenor in the manner
specified in the Unit Outline.
Consider applying for Special Consideration where the ability to complete the
assessable task continues to be affected by protracted illness or unavoidable
disruption.
31. SPECIAL CONSIDERATION
Apply for Special Consideration if prevented through unavoidable disruption
from undertaking any of the work required to complete a unit.
Dean of Faculty
(or delegated
authority)
Dean of Faculty
32. ELIGIBILITY FOR FINAL GRADE
Determine whether a student has permission to sit the final examination for a
unit on the basis of whether they have participated in all required classes and
complied with all assessment requirements at the time the decision is required
to be taken.
33. APPROVAL OF FINAL GRADE – POSTGRADUATE
COURSEWORK UNITS
Determine the final grade for all postgraduate coursework units on the basis
of recommendations from Unit Convenors.
34. APPROVAL OF FINAL GRADE – ENABLING UNITS FOR
POSTGRADUATE PROGRAMS
Determine the final grade for all enabling units for postgraduate programs on
the basis of recommendations from Unit Convenors.
Academic
Program
Committee
Academic Senate
35. GROUP ASSESSMENT
Receive, consider and determine requests from Unit Convenors for group
assessments to be worth more than 30% of the final grade where the unit is
graded other than Pass/Fail.
36. APPROVAL OF FINAL GRADE – UNDERGRADUATE
COURSEWORK UNITS
Receive, consider, review and approve, as appropriate, the final results for all
undergraduate coursework units, based on recommendations from the Deans
of Faculty.
37. APPROVAL OF FINAL GRADE – ENABLING UNITS FOR
UNDERGRADUATE PROGRAMS
Receive, consider, review and approve, as appropriate, the final results for all
enabling units for undergraduate programs, based on recommendations from
the Deans of Faculty.
Head of
Department
38. RESPONSIBILITY FOR ASSESSMENT TASKS
Comply with University Policy relating to confidentiality, privacy, academic
integrity and information and records management for all assessment tasks
and to all student performances.
Ensure all staff exercise due diligence in handling assessment tasks to ensure
they are not lost or damaged.
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Ensure that when assessment tasks are lodged through an online or physical
collection system, they are stamped to indicate the date and time of receipt.
The record of the lodgement of a particular assignment must have the means
for query and confirmation by the relevant staff and student.
39. DISPOSAL OF ASSESSMENT MATERIAL
Retain all uncollected assessment tasks including essays, assignments,
examination booklets, web-based (online) assessment tasks or records and
any other assessment materials for a minimum of six months from the date of
the official release of the unit results.
At the completion of the six-month period, dispose of all materials via
confidential waste, except material related to an appeal that is not resolved.
Retain materials related to an appeal for six months after the date the final
outcome of the appeal is determined.
Keywords
Assessment, Unit Outline, Assignment
Date Approved
12 August 2008
Approval Authority
Academic Senate
Date of Commencement
Effective for any unit of study with a teaching start date of 1 January 2009 or
later, with full implementation to be completed by 31 December 2009.
Amendment Dates
New
Date for Next Review
January 2010
Related Policies,
Procedures and
Guidelines
Assessment Policy
Assessment Policy: Code of Practice
Academic Honesty Policy (to be drafted)
Disability Action Plan
Disability Policy
Examinations Policy / Procedures / Guidelines (to be drafted)
Procedures for Missing Assessment Tasks (to be drafted)
Special Consideration Policy / Procedures / Guidelines
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Institutional leadership of Assessment
Leading and Managing Assessment
Senior academic leadership in learning and
teaching at Macquarie University is vested in the
Provost, the University Learning and Teaching
Committee and the Senate. To enhance
assessment, the senior leadership have taken the
initiative to establish this new assessment
framework which includes:
 An Assessment Philosophy and Principles
Policy
 A Code of Practice Policy
 A Glossary of Terms
 An Assessment Procedures Document
The philosophy of the new assessment policy
emphasizes that the significant role of leadership
and management is its requirement for
involvement of leaders and managers to achieve
quality enhancement and continuous improvement.
These aspirations are validated by Yorke8 and
colleagues at the UK Higher Education Academy
who construe leadership in terms of two main
features – the envisioning of possibilities and the
acquisition of sufficient support to bring about
envisioned change.
He argues that the leader needs to go beyond
ensuring routine compliance with external and
internal regulatory frameworks to identify ways in
which assessment practices might be developed. He
argues that it is the leadership of the university
that is responsible for ‘how well’ assessment
works in the institution in terms of balancing
competing needs and attention to institutional
and national agendas:
The management of the assessment system
requires partnership. Few can hold the detail of a
whole system in their heads, and success in
managing the system is likely to depend on the
extent to which those with responsibilities in
respect of parts of the assessment process work
constructively together. Whilst it is relatively easy
to specify the components of an assessment system,
and to ensure that in each the relevant precepts
and expectations are taken into account, the need
is for a ‘metasystem’ that ensures – often through
8
EXCERPT FROM CODE OF PRACTICE
Responsibilities of the University
The University, through the Vice Chancellor and
the Academic Senate, will ensure that assessment
and feedback practices are:
explicit, fair, transparent, inclusive and consistent
across the institution
well managed and moderated at faculty level
supported by resources that provide all staff with
access to information and opportunities to increase
their assessment literacy and their capability in the
practice of assessment and feedback
underpinned by a shared and explicit
understanding of what is entailed in academic
integrity in assessment and consistent application
of the procedures and consequences of academic
dishonesty
supported by consistently applied policies and
procedures to inform and manage requirements for
students with disabilities and/or special
consideration, in the case of illness and
misadventure
supported by appeal mechanisms that are widely
publicised and consistently applied.
The University, through the Vice-Chancellor and
the Academic Senate, requires:
1. faculty and department leaders, teachers,
tutors, managers and students will ensure
that they are familiar with the implications
of the assessment policy and related
documents
2. faculty and department leaders will
establish mechanisms and procedures to
enable the implementation of the
Assessment Policy
3. faculty and department staff will make
every effort to ensure that they have
established sound connections with their
related professional and accrediting bodies
and employer groups to establish a clear
and shared understanding of the standards
of achievement implied in graduates’
credentials they receive from the
University
4. students will comply with the systems,
rules and expectations for academic
honesty in all matters to do with
assessment products and performances.
Yorke, M. (2001). An assessment guide for senior managers. LTSN Generic Centre Assessment Series No 1. Page 3.
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working practices rather than through formally-written constitutions – that the various components work
in harmony. Teamwork is more difficult to achieve in reality than in rhetoric. … The effective operation
of the system requires that local autonomy does not compromise the system as a whole.9
In taking an active role in the quality of institutional assessment practices Yorke argues that at senior
level in an institution, leadership in the field of assessment is concerned with the construction of
responses to a number of strategic questions. He includes:
 Does the institutional policy or mission imply that its general approach to assessment should be
changed? And, if so, in what way(s)?
 Are there any general institutional weaknesses in assessment (such as might have emerged from
subject reviews or from internal reflection on practices and procedures) which need to be
tackled?
 Since assessment is, by general consent, the least well understood and enacted aspect of
curricula, what developmental activity needs to be instigated?
 In dealing with the preceding questions, is best use being made of existing expertise, both ‘inhouse’ and from outside? And if not, why not?
 What, if anything, needs to be done to make the institutional system that surrounds assessment
function effectively and be compliant with external expectations?
 How does the institution keep abreast of developments in assessment both nationally and
internationally?
 How does the institution learn from its diverse experiences regarding assessment, and develop?
 Are the duties of examination (committees) clearly delineated, and do they interlock (without
‘gaps’, unnecessary duplication or complications)?
 Is the flow of assessment information accurate, timely and appropriate to the task in hand?
(This includes information to student, staff and to examination boards, including information
regarding guidance regarding plagiarism and arrangements for students with disabilities.)
 Does the system for student complaints and appeals regarding assessment function properly?
Yorke also points out that leaders and managers of assessment need to be mindful of pressures on staff
and institutions such as inclusiveness and the need of students with disabilities, international students
and indigenous students and interests. Employability of graduates is another major issues that requires
management oversight and its intersection with, and disciplinary translation of, institution selected
graduate capabilities. These are all major issues in themselves and cannot be left to the personal
inclinations of individual academics and disciplines.
Often there can be concern from academics when the senior leadership take such an active interest in
assessment. However, high level creative leadership of assessment is essential to ensure that the
resource hungry, high stakes activity of assessment can be adequately attended to in terms of policy
and resources. Academic freedom is not under threat, as that is about protecting research agendas
and curriculum content from ideological, political and economic interference. Leadership of
assessment is about assuring the students and society of the quality of the education it sponsors and
consumes.
9
Yorke, M. (2001). An assessment guide for senior managers. LTSN Generic Centre Assessment Series No 1. Page 7
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Leadership Procedures
The Chair of Senate and Academic Senate itself have a number of specific responsibilities which are
set out in the procedures document accompanying the assessment policy. They are:
Procedures Item 1: COMPLETION OF A UNIT
The Chair of Academic Senate will determine the criteria to be used to determine whether a student has
completed an undergraduate coursework unit or an enabling unit for an undergraduate program,
satisfactorily. The criteria will include:
− participation in unit activities
− completion and satisfactory level of achievement in written work, exercises, practical work, tests and/or
examinations
− satisfactory outcomes of formal examinations
Procedures Item 35: GROUP ASSESSMENT
Academic Senate Responsibilities
Receive, consider and determine requests from Unit Convenors for group assessments to be worth more than
30% of the final grade where the unit is graded other than Pass/Fail.
Procedures Item 36: APPROVAL OF FINAL GRADE – UNDERGRADUATE COURSEWORK UNITS
Receive, consider, review and approve, as appropriate, the final results for all undergraduate coursework units,
based on recommendations from the Deans of Faculty.
Procedures Item 37: APPROVAL OF FINAL GRADE – ENABLING UNITS FOR UNDERGRADUATE
PROGRAMS
Receive, consider, review and approve, as appropriate, the final results for all enabling units for undergraduate
programs, based on recommendations from the Deans of Faculty.
Further leadership responsibilities are identified and explicated in the procedures document for
Faculty Deans and Associate Deans Learning and Teaching. These have been addressed in the
management section of this booklet.
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About Students’ Rights and Responsibilities
Student Engagement in Assessment
Students should not be passive actors in the
assessment process. They need to know just
what is expected of them in the process, not
just about what they must demonstrate having
learned, but they need to know about their
rights and responsibilities in the process
overall. Students have passed many measures to
gain entry to university but too many are
struggling once there. Students are surprised
to find that coursework demands so much
more of them than high school and sometimes
TAFE. Students expect to complete tasks, but
often are surprised to find they are expected to
think deeply, write extensively, evidence and
document assertions, solve non-routine
problems and apply previously learned
concepts to novel contexts.10 At the same time
students experience feedback on their learning
products and performances as cryptic and
coded critique of their work which gives them
little idea of how they might improve their
learning.
Academic teachers and tutors also feel
frustrated that students either consult with
them too late regarding misperceptions of
expectations or do not approach them at all
when experiencing difficulties that might be
easily fixed. This lack of student literacy about
how to go about assessment, what is expected
of them as students in the learning and
teaching process and what support they might
reasonably expect of tutors and administrators
can lead to unnecessary attritions which is
costly for the individual student and the
institution.
along with teaching the theory and values
behind academic honesty. The learning
objective is for students’ performances to be
ultimately grounded in an understanding of
the ethical intentions behind academic
EXCERPT FROM CODE OF PRACTICE
Responsibilities of Students
Students have the responsibility to:
1. be aware that the major objective of
assessment is to aid learning rather than the
achievement of grades
2. be informed of the rules and requirements
for progression in the degree program,
ensuring that they are fully aware of the
advice implications of discontinuation or
withdrawal from a unit of study
3. be aware of, and abide by, the assessment
policies including academic honesty and
the consequences for acts of dishonesty
that include cheating, collusion, plagiarism
and fraud
4. be aware of the means for seeking
assistance in the department, faculty and
institution
5. behave ethically and responsibly in their
conduct of assessment tasks and avoid any
action that would unfairly disadvantage or
advantage another student
6. use assessment to engage in critical self
evaluation in terms of their progress
towards the espoused learning expectations
7. submit work on time, ensuring that it is
their own except when shared ownership is
part of the task
It is important, therefore, to ensure that
students are knowledgeable about the
assessment process, the expectations and their
rights. Communicating these to students
needs to be a very explicit process and one that
is repeated often. Student assessment literacy
requires an explicit place in the curriculum
8. notify staff as soon as possible if
difficulties arise with timing, online access,
availability of resources or other
requirements of the task
(Conley, D. T. (2001). Rethinking the Senior Year. NASSP Bulletin,
Volume 85, Number 625. Page 26. Available at
http://bul.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstract/85/625/26 (accessed
September 2008)
10. be aware of mechanisms for appeal
10
9. notify staff as soon as possible if
difficulties arise in terms of substantial
absences and submit an application for
Special Consideration with the appropriate
medical and/or other certificates
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GUIDE TO IMPLEMENTATION OF ASSESSMENT POLICIES, MACQUARIE UNIVERSITY, SEPTEMBER 2008 |
honesty rather than to be merely compliant
with the rules of citation.
The Assessment Procedures Document states
that students can expect unit conveners to
communicate the following at the beginning
of each teaching period.
 learning objectives and expected learning
outcomes
 details of the assessment tasks students
must undertake to achieve and
demonstrate their learning
 the criteria and standards against which
individual assessment tasks are (or
negotiated with students
 relative weightings of each task
 due dates of assessment tasks and
submission modes
 penalties for late submission and
documentation required in support of an
extension request
 relevant characteristics, such as length of
written tasks or duration of examinations
 form and timing of feedback that
students will receive
 ways in which judgments of individual
assessment tasks will be combined to
give an overall grade
 information about all requirements in
respect of the style of academic
referencing and acknowledgements such
as footnotes and bibliographies in
assignments
Where the Unit Outline is provided to
students via the University’s web site, the Unit
Convener must ensure that all officially
enrolled students are advised of, and able to
access, the exact location of the Unit Outline
at the commencement of the Unit. In the
event of a change to the information contained
in the original Unit Outline, the Unit
Convenor must ensure all officially enrolled
students have been informed.
EXCERPT FROM CODE OF PRACTICE
Rights of Students
Students have a right to:
1. be informed about all aspects of assessment
policy and practices in each unit of study
including criteria, standards and procedures
to be met and penalties for breaches
2. consistent application of policies,
procedures and penalties
3. timely return of results with feedback to
enable improved performance
4. information that allows them to calibrate
their own performance against the expected
performance standards
5. review their examination scripts and other
forms of summative assessment (except in
the case of reuse) for the duration of the
mandated script retention period
6. have access to their student file and other
documents related to their assessment
7. be informed of the mechanisms for appeal
8. appeal against academic decisions in
accordance with the University’s appeal
policy and procedures
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Procedures pertaining to students
There are some prescribed procedures which students are required to adhere to. They are:
Procedures Item 3: ELIGIBILITY FOR FINAL EXAMINATIONS
Appreciate that to be eligible to sit for final exams students must attend all required classes and submit all
required assessment tasks, otherwise the Dean of the Faculty or delegated authority has the power to refuse
permission to attend the final examination, if held, for the relevant unit.
Procedures Item 26: FORMATIVE ASSESSMENT
Be an active participant in the feedback process, act upon the advice given and provide evidence of having
done so.
Procedures Item 27: ACADEMIC HONESTY
Comply with the University’s rules on academic honesty.
Procedures Item 28: RESPONSIBILITY FOR ASSESSMENT ITEMS
Keep a copy of all assignment items they are required to be lodged for assessment, regardless of whether or
not they will be graded.
Procedures Item 29: INCLUSIVE PRACTICE
Submit a request for reasonable adjustment, with the necessary supporting documentation, to the Equity
(Disability) Support Unit as soon as practicable after enrolment in the unit. Any such reasonable adjustments
must be agreed in writing between the student and the Unit Convenor.
Procedures Item 30: EXTENSION OF TIME TO COMPLETE AN ASSESSMENT TASK
Submit an application for extension to the Unit Convenor in the manner specified in the Unit Outline.
Consider applying for Special Consideration where the ability to complete the assessable task continues to be
affected by protracted illness or unavoidable disruption.
Procedures Item 31: SPECIAL CONSIDERATION
Apply for Special Consideration if prevented through unavoidable disruption from undertaking any of the
work required to complete a unit.
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For Unit Convenors and Individual Academics
Designing assessment is a
very broad task that
emcompasses a number of
dimensions:11
Why assess?
 How will the
information be used?
What to assess?
 What learning
outcomes are sought?
How to assess?
 What activities will
support and
encourage the
intended learning
outcomes?
 How to interpret and
grade the learning
products and
performances?
 Who will assess?
(tutor, external expert,
peers, self?
 What grading
schemes, notations
and process will be
used?
What responses will be
made?
 What feedback and
reporting is required?
This section of this guide
will attend to these issues in
four sections.
Designing assessment
Managing assessment
Interpreting & grading
Giving feedback
(Rowntree, D. (1996) Assessing students:
How shall we know them? Harper & Row,
London.
11
EXCERPT FROM CODE OF PRACTICE
Responsibilities of Academic Staff
Individual members of academic staff have responsibilities to:
1. be familiar with the University and faculty requirements for best practice
in assessment design, communication, grading and feedback
2. ensure that all assessment design and practice is congruent with the
objectives of the related unit of study and degree program and will enable
the development of Macquarie University Graduate Capabilities
3. communicate assessment expectations clearly and in a timely fashion to
students to enable them to be well informed and gain access to required
resources
4. assess assumptions of students’ entering knowledge, skills and
capabilities, including their access to technology and skills to use it
5. ensure students are familiar with the requirements for academic integrity
in the discipline
6. review and give timely and useful detailed feedback on work submitted
7. keep and maintain adequate paper-based or electronic records of student
achievement for the mandated period
8. ensure records and reports on student learning are based only on relevant
evidence
9. maintain confidentiality regarding student results, disclosing them only to
those with a legitimate right of access
10. critically review assessment activities in order to anticipate any negative
unintended consequences
11. evaluate own performance as an assessor against the principles, values
and practices outlined in this policy and seek peer feedback
12. seek external expert moderation of assessment design and grading
practices to gain feedback on the academic and disciplinary standards
they entail
13. ensure any potential or actual conflict of interest in relation to assessment
is resolved in line with the Staff Code of Conduct
Rights of Academic Staff
Academic staff have the right to require:
1.
students to be focused on learning rather than merely the achievement of
grades
2. students to make the effort to be informed of the rules and requirements
for progression in their degree program
3. students to be aware of, and abide by, the assessment policies including
academic honesty and the consequences for acts of dishonesty that
include cheating, collusion, plagiarism and fraud
4. students to seek assistance from the department, faculty and/or institution
if they so require it
5. students to behave ethically and responsibly in their conduct of
assessment tasks
6. students to use assessment to engage in critical self evaluation in terms of
their progress towards the espoused learning expectations
7. students to submit work on time that is their own except when shared
ownership is part of the task
8. notification from the student as soon as possible if difficulties arise with
timing, online access, availability of resources or other requirements of
the task
9. notification from the student as soon as possible if difficulties arise in
terms of substantial absences and submission of a Special Consideration
application with the appropriate medical and/or other certificates
10. students to utilise the mechanisms for appeal if the need arises
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Designing assessment
As outlined earlier in this guide, for many academics the impact of the new policy may be to affirm
their existing practices and perhaps to encourage them to share their effective and innovative
assessment practices with others. For others it may mean a major shift in the design of assessment and
their approach to providing feedback and grades.
Assessment is like mapping learning for the curriculum
The figure on the right identifies the different types of learning
that will be found in any curriculum. There is a need for
students to acquire a body of knowledge and associated skills
for using and extending that knowledge. All knowledge has
associated values, ethics and principles that influence the
application of the knowledge and skills in predictable and non
predictable, novel contexts. These diverse aspects of a
curriculum require quite different learning outcomes statements
and attention in assessment, but ultimately they should come
together in a sophisticated holistic contextualized performance.
Good practice in assessment begins with the design and
includes:
 Clear descriptions of grading criteria & grade related performance standards
 Timely feedback that is linked to the assessment criteria
 Appropriate tasks that encourage learning
 Decision-making guided by explicit and public criteria and standards when grading
 Connectedness to real world problems, issues and required capacities
 Opportunities for student to student conversation.
Reviewing assessment designs
In reviewing the existing assessment designs, it is useful to begin with some goals. The following are
five critical goals to have in mind.
Efficiency: Is the work of tutors and students on the assessment task the best use of
time and effort or just helping to spin out a grade?
Effectiveness: Does the assessment process account for the diverse ways in which
learning occurs and produce the best most enduring learning:
 Assessment of learning? (postscript)
 Assessment as learning? (pivot)
Educational Integrity:
Is there curriculum alignment?
Equity: Is success possible for all students?
Ethical practice: Are students educated about academic integrity and does the design
minimize opportunities for plagiarism, cheating collusion or academic
fraud?
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Procedures for unit covenors in designing assessment
Unit convenors must ensure that their design of assessment within units meets a number of
requirements, as they are outlined in the Assessment Procedures Document. Some resources
designed to assist unit convenors can be found in the Toolkit in the final section of this guide. These
resources are part of a series of short, focused resources on learning and teaching being developed by
the Learning and Teaching Centre. Additionally, some web addresses are provided as sources of
relevant information or further ideas about learning and teaching strategies.
find more at this URL
see Assessment Toolkit
Procedures Item 8: ASSESSMENT DESIGN
The key criterion for choice of assessment methods must be curriculum alignment, in which assessment tasks
relate, in mode and substance, to unit learning objectives.
Designing for assessment: an overview
Writing learning outcomes
Assessment methods must be diverse and not reliant on a single form or single task.
Designing for assessment: an overview
No student is to be disadvantaged or unduly advantaged when assessment tasks entail the use of specific
materials, software programs or internet resources.
Training and support must be provided to students to ensure equitable access to, and use of, resources and
tools.
Designing for assessment: an overview
http://www.mq.edu.au/learningandteachingcentre/mqas/index.htm
http://www.mq.edu.au/learningandteachingcentre/for_staff/programs_resources/
web_resources.htm
Assessment tasks must include authentic challenges and connect learning and learning outcomes with real
world tasks, problems, skills and performances.
Authentic assessment
To foster student engagement through learner managed learning, students may be offered a choice of
assessment tasks provided the forms are consistent with the unit objectives, in which case, the learning
outcomes and the expected standards of achievement must be clearly specified to ensure parity and validity.
Assessment design must be developmental, and promote increased complexity in problem solving; increased
sophistication in the understanding, analysis and application of theoretical frameworks; increased capacity to
synthesise and critique concepts; increased expectations for creativity and originality in the generation of a
hypotheses; and increased independence and responsibility in engagement and directions setting learning
objectives.
Assessment design must balance opportunities for practice when learning new skills with task diversity.
Designing for assessment: an overview
Writing learning outcomes
The complexity and challenge in assessment tasks must reflect the level of the unit.
First year assessment must provide low risk opportunities for students to learn and develop the necessary
academic performance, knowledge and capabilities.
Assessing first year students
Final year assessment must provide some opportunity for synthesis of knowledge, opinion formation and
development of a portfolio of evidence of capabilities developed.
Assessing final year students: capstone units
In addition, Unit Conveners are accountable to Academic Managers such as Heads of Departments and
Associate Deans (Learning and Teaching) to assure that their assessment design meets minimum standards.
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Procedures Item 4: APPROVAL OF ASSESSMENT REQUIREMENTS
Minimum standards of assessment design will be managed by the Associate Dean (Learning and Teaching),
but unit convenors need to be aware of what they are. The following minimum requirements for assessment
designs for all units are:
− there must be at least three assessment tasks that require more than one mode of performance and that
address higher order thinking capability (or if the assessment is a large task, it should be disaggregated
into stages for assessment)
− inclusion of an early, low risk diagnostic task to provide feedback for students and teachers to address
likely learning challenges
− description of the assessment requirements, their relative weightings and the methods for grading
− description of the type and timing of feedback that will be provided
− if participation is to be assessed, a description of how it will be determined and how it is justified in relation
to learning objectives
− how the workload for the assessment requirements is calculated based on the amount of time required to
master both the assessment mode and the content.
Procedures Item 9: EXAMINATIONS
Unit Convenors must provide an appropriate educational rationale for adopting examinations as an
assessment process.
Designing for assessment: an overview
Final examinations are not to constitute more than 60 % of the total assessment in a unit, unless approval is
granted by the Dean of Faculty (or delegated authority).
All examinations must comply with the examination moderation procedures.
Procedures Item 10: GRADUATE CAPABILITIES
Macquarie University Graduate Capabilities must be mapped across each unit in each program to ensure that
all are included.
Ensure there are sufficient opportunities for students to develop, self assess and enhance their capabilities and
generate evidence to demonstrate their achievements.
Designing for assessment: an overview
Writing learning outcomes
Procedures Item 12: TEACHING RESEARCH NEXUS
Research is a core element of University practice. Assessment can enhance the nexus between learning and
research, therefore, assessment requirements must ensure that all students gain opportunities to:
− experience critical exposure to the research of academic teachers and graduate, higher degree students
− engage in research inspired learning and develop the capacity to conceptualise and conduct research
− provide an opportunity to understand and evaluate the contribution of research to knowledge in their
field of study.
Procedures Item 14: GROUP ASSESSMENT
Group assessment tasks must have a purpose that is authentic to the learning objectives of the unit.
When group work is involved, Unit Convenors must be aware of, and anticipate the challenges in assessing
individual contributions to group work and be familiar with approaches which can be used to address them.
The Unit Convenor must ensure that students are adequately prepared for group assessment tasks and
possess the skills necessary to complete them successfully.
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GUIDE TO IMPLEMENTATION OF ASSESSMENT POLICIES, MACQUARIE UNIVERSITY, SEPTEMBER 2008 |
possess the skills necessary to complete them successfully.
The process for grading must ensure that the grade accurately reflects each student’s achievements as they
align with the stated learning outcomes.
Work prepared and presented as a single entity and in which contributions of individual students cannot be
identified should:
− be graded only on a pass/fail basis; and
− count for not more than 30% of the total assessment if the grading of the unit is still to be on a graded
basis (unless the prior approval of Academic Program Committee has been given).
Assessing groupwork
Procedures Item 15: ONLINE ASSESSMENT
Technology dimensions of assessment such as access, security, records management and the knowledge and
skill to use the technology must be explicitly managed in the development and provision of online
assessment.
Clear guidelines and procedures must be provided to students on the processes surrounding online
submission of assignments including the submission site, timeframe, acknowledgement of submission,
feedback arrangements, as well as contingency arrangements in case of systems failure.
Security and confidentiality must be assured if assessment tasks are hosted outside the password protected
area of online units or on publicly accessible sites (e.g. blogs or wikis).
Using technologies to support assessment
Procedures Item 16: FORMATIVE ASSESSMENT
Unit assessment designs must provide an explicit formative function, in which the extent to which students
have progressed towards the desired learning outcomes is indicated to both students and teachers. Both
formative and summative functions may be accomplished in the execution of the same task.
Unambiguous, timely and useful feedback on learning products or performances must be provided to all
students through a variety of written and verbal formats to assist students improve and enhance their
performance and to become personally effective in self assessment.
Students must be provided with opportunities to learn to self assess the quality of their own work.
Students must be provided with opportunities to peer assess in order to equip them to function as discerning
professionals with a commitment to life-long learning.
Designing for assessment: an overview
Assessing first year students
Giving assessment feedback
Procedures Item 20: INCLUSIVE PRACTICE
Assessment must abide by Macquarie University statements about equity and inclusiveness. They must reflect
a positive value related to diversity among students in relation to process and content.
Certain modes of assessment may privilege some students and disadvantage others. Every attempt must be
made to identify and rectify any unintended negative consequences in the assessment design and processes.
Reasonable adjustment in teaching and assessment methods must be made to accommodate students with
an officially recognised disability, impairment or medical condition.
Designing for assessment: an overview
http://www.mq.edu.au/learningandteachingcentre/mqas/index.htm
http://www.mq.edu.au/learningandteachingcentre/for_staff/programs_resources/
web_resources.htm
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Managing Assessment
Procedures for unit convenors in managing assessment
As well as specific responsibilities for designing assessment the Assessment Procedures Document
assigns specific management tasks to Unit Convenors.
Procedures Item 7: ADVICE TO STUDENTS
Unit Outline must:
− include unit learning objectives and expected learning outcomes
− include details of the assessment tasks students must undertake to achieve and demonstrate their
learning, noting that:
o
assessment tasks must be aligned with unit objectives and learning outcomes
o
criteria and standards against which individual assessment tasks are judged must be provided (or
negotiated with students) and subject to moderation at Faculty level by the Dean or delegated
authority
o
relative weightings of each task must be provided
o
due dates of assessment tasks and submission modes must be provided
o
penalties for late submission and documentation required in support of an extension request
o
relevant characteristics, such as length of written tasks or duration of examinations, must be indicated
o
form and timing of feedback that students will receive must be made explicit
o
ways in which judgments of individual assessment tasks will be combined to give an overall grade
are made explicit
− be available in either printed or electronic form no later than the first officially scheduled class, or in the
case of students studying online or externally, the date of commencement of the unit, whichever is the
earlier
− include information about all requirements in respect of the style of academic referencing and
acknowledgements such as footnotes and bibliographies in assignments
Where the Unit Outline is provided to students via the University’s web site, the Unit Convener must ensure
that all officially enrolled students are advised of, and able to access, the exact location of the Unit Outline at
the commencement of the Unit.
In the event of a change to the information contained in the original Unit Outline, the Unit Convenor must
ensure all officially enrolled students have been informed.
Procedures Item 11: QUALITY ASSURANCE
Ensure that assessment requirements for a unit are discussed and understood by all members of staff involved
in the teaching and assessment, including sessional teachers, to ensure cohesion between teaching strategies,
expected learning outcomes and assessment requirements.
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Procedures Item 21: QUALITY ASSURANCE
Ensure that assessment requirements for a unit are discussed and understood by all members of staff involved
in the teaching and assessment, including sessional teachers, to ensure cohesion between teaching strategies,
expected learning outcomes and assessment requirements.
Proposals to alter the assessment requirements of a unit must be made by the Unit Convenor who will next
be responsible for the unit by lodging a revised Unit Outline to the Dean of Faculty well in advance of the next
scheduled offering of the unit.
Variations during a unit offering (from Procedures Item 5)
Where a Unit Convenor recommends a variation to the assessment requirements after a unit has commenced,
consider the implications of the recommended change(s) on both the students and staff members involved.
Make a recommendation to the Dean of the Faculty or delegated authority, who may in exceptional
circumstances approve a variation of detail in the assessment requirements of a unit. The requested changes
must maintain the relationship between the assessment methods and the expected learning outcomes.
Procedures Item 22: EXTENSION OF TIME TO COMPLETE AN ASSESSMENT TASK
Determine and publish in the Unit Outline whether or not an extension is available for each assessment task,
other than examinations, if students are unable to submit the work on time due to serious and unavoidable
circumstances.
Procedures Item 23: RESUBMISSION
Resubmission will be available where the Unit Convenor deems it important to support student learning and
progress and where it does not unduly disadvantage other students.
The Unit Convener must determine whether the resubmission will have access to the full range of marks or
receive no more than a pass.
Students must be informed of the grading implications by the Unit Convener upon the agreement to accept a
resubmission.
Procedures Item 24: MODERATION OF ASSESSMENT METHODS
Unit Convenors must seek regular peer review of their overall assessment plans. This includes external
benchmarking to ensure that there are opportunities for graduates to meet national and international
disciplinary and professional standards.
Unit Convenors must ensure moderation of final examination scripts.
Procedures Item 17: RESPONSIBILITY FOR ASSESSMENT TASKS
Where there is an inability to locate an assessment item and the Unit Convenor is provided with evidence to
believe the item was submitted in accordance with the requirements stated in the Unit Outline, the Unit
Convenor should take appropriate remedial action that complies with the Procedures for Missing Assessment
Tasks.
The Dean of the Faculty, the Chair of the Faculty Learning and Teaching Committee and the Unit Convenor
are to discuss and agree an appropriate course of action.
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Interpreting and Grading
The design of assessment also includes the design for interpreting and grading students’ learning
products and performances. This is an aspect of assessment practice that is surrounded by
uncertainty.12 Academics design tasks, award grades and provide feedback that they feel comfortable
with, they believe the student will feel is fair, and can withstand robust scrutiny by colleagues. They
make decisions that lead to preferred and expected outcomes using their experience to predict the best
and worst outcomes!
Grading is a high risk activity for students and staff alike. Students are defined by their grades.
Academics often feel that their worth may be measured by their capacity to grade to the satisfaction of
their colleagues. Institutions depend on assessment outcomes to assure the quality of programmes and
graduates. Professions and society use them as code when recruiting new staff.
The Purpose of Grading
A grade is supposed to provide an accurate indicator of a student's mastery of learning standards. It is
important to note that:
 A grade is not a reward, motivation or behavioural contract system.
 A grade is distorted by weaving in a student's personal behaviour, character, and work habits
 A grade cannot provide feedback, document progress or inform instructional decisions
Interestingly, research has identified there are a number of factors that do not relate directly to
student learning that have a profound and unintended, undesirable and distorting influence on the
grades that are given.
 Quality of other student’s work: If the same piece of work is preceded by poor work from other
students it will get a much higher grade than if it were preceded by good work from other
students.
 Assessors’ personality: Some assessors proudly regard themselves as tough markers, others
perceive themselves as encouragers and motivators of their students and avoid giving low grades.
 Assessors’ experiences and beliefs: Wisdom of experience influences what assessors notice in
student’s learning performance. Experienced assessors are holistic and look for learning, novice
assessors look for atomistic inclusions and add them up.
 Knowledge of the student and classroom events.
Other influences, while relating to the student’s learning product, emphasise surface qualities rather
than deep and high level learning. These influences include:
 The quality of the introductory paragraph
 Presentation factors such as legibility, neatness, structure
This is not to say that these surface features are not important, merely that they have often greater
and more tacit influence on the grade than more important aspects of university learning such as
mastery of concept and ideas, analysis, wise questioning, appropriate application of key concepts to
new contexts, generation of hypotheses and creativity.
Assessment theorists argue for:
 Disclosure of performance interpretation
 Clear communication of expected standards
Allen, G. (1998). Risk and uncertainty in assessment: Exploring the contribution of economics to identifying and analyzing the social dynamic in grading,
Assessment and Evaluation in Higher Education, 23 (3).
12
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 Articulation of a grading plan13
 Meaning of grade symbols & how they fit with the institutional scheme
 Explanation of what a failure means
 What elements are incorporated into the grade and what weights are given
 Whether ‘borderline’ cases will be reviewed
 Whether there is an overall grade distribution goal (absolute scale or relative scale?)
 Public moderation of interpretation and grades
These demands are difficult to meet if relying on measuring a student’s performance against that of
other students or rely on ‘knowing a good one when you see one’.
Grading Rubrics
One way to focus students’ and
Grading rubrics standards
assessors’ attention on what is important
is to develop grading rubrics. The figure
Level
Biggs
Perry
Qualities
below outlines four levels of
1 Developing Uni-structural
Dualistic
Limited
achievement: Developing, Functional,
knowledge
Proficient and Advanced. Developing is
2 Functional Multi-structural Multiplistic
Knowledge no
below the minimum standard required
structure
to pass, Functional represents a pass,
3 Proficient
Relational
Relative
Analysis and
Proficient represents a credit and
commitment application
Advanced represents Distinction and
4 Advanced Extended
Limited
Metacognitive
High Distinction. These are grounded
Abstract
commitment and abstract
14
in Biggs’ levels of cognitive attainment
(1992) and Perry’s taxonomy of ethical
moral reasoning15 (1999). An elaborated version describing learning behaviours is in the resource
section at the back of this guide.
There are also a number of websites that will assist you in developing your own rubrics. These grading
rubrics are very useful for ensuring that the students and tutors gain a deep and shared insight into the
intentions of the Unit Convenor in the assessment tasks.
Procedures for unit convenors in interpreting and grading
The Assessment Procedures Document outlines some specific conditions for ensuring valid and
reliable grading practices. These are:
Procedures Item 18: FRAMES OF REFERENCE
Assessment of student learning achievement must be measured against externally verified and validated
standards rather than norm referenced.
Standards of performance required for the award of a particular grade on an individual task must be clearly
communicated to students to indicate not only what should be demonstrated in the product or performance,
but how well. The standards for learner success must be made clear.
Designing for assessment: an overview
Interpreting and grading student learning
Using assessment rubrics
(Frisbie, D. A. &. Waltman K. K. 1992. Developing a personal grading plan. Educational Measurement: Issues and Practice, Fall 1992. Available at
http://depts.washington.edu/grading/plan/frisbie1.htm (accessed September 2008).
14 Biggs, J. B. (1992). A qualitative approach to grading students. HERDSA News, Vol. 14, No. 3, pp 3-6.
15 Perry, W. (1999). Forms of ethical and intellectual development in the college years, Jossey Bass.
13
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Procedures Item 19: JUDGEMENTS OF STUDENT LEARNING OUTCOMES
There will be no pre-determined or ideal distribution of grades across a student cohort (i.e. norm referencing).
In order to maintain established standards, the distribution of grades from year to year must vary to reflect the
way in which each cohort varies in its ability to meet the established learning performance standards.
Judgments of student attainment in the form of grades must be based on evidence provided by students in
the form of learning products or performances.
Judgments must be justifiable as a measure of the extent to which the student has achieved the specified
learning outcomes.
It is accepted that assessments will be informed by academic professional judgment, which is academic
professional expertise, accumulated over time, through experience. No matter how respected, however, this
expertise must be periodically subjected to personal review, peer scrutiny and benchmarking in regard to
accepted disciplinary and professional standards, including, where appropriate, standards in other institutions,
nationally and internationally.
Interpreting and grading student learning
Procedures Item 25: MODERATION OF RESULTS
Moderation processes (including external moderation) of the grading process and outcomes are required to
assure and improve the validity and reliability of the assessment process. Every effort must be made to ensure
that assessments of student learning outcomes are accurate, consistent and representative of each student’s
capability (valid and reliable) recognising that human judgment (academics professional judgment) is a
significant element in the process.
Interpreting and grading student learning
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Giving Feedback
The role of feedback
Unit designs need to be predicated on the assumption that there is a very strong relationship between
assessment, feedback and learning
Feedback, or the ‘knowledge of results’, is the life-blood of learning.16
Information derived from assessment should be the basis of improved student learning. Assessment,
however, is routinely discussed as ‘marking’ or ‘grading’ or ‘correcting’. This way of discussing
assessment adopts a postscript view of assessment in relation to teaching and learning. A postscript
view construes interpreting and grading as an ‘add on’ to teaching and learning responsibilities.
Added to this, the expectation that students might undertake some responsive action based on the
feedback they have been given is largely treated as optional. Students’ apparent failure to reflect
critically and act on feedback to improve their own learning is not necessarily a student motivation
problem, but rather, could be seen as a product of an omission in educational design. Rarely are
students required to redo and resubmit assignments in the light of feedback. This of course is largely
based on a practical consideration about workload. But there are strategies that can mitigate this
problem.
Educational design that promotes critical reflection and action based on feedback, locates assessment
as a pivotal aspect of the teaching and learning process. Learning objectives and outcomes are more
likely to be achieved if assessment is conceived of, and conducted as, an integral component of the
teaching process. Laurillard17 describes the ideal teacher/student interaction as an iterative,
transformative dialogue of feedback as each conceptualises, and then reconceptualizes in the light of
feedback from the other. This she argues is at the core of quality university teaching.
The model18 illustrates the
pivotal role of assessment and
feedback in the learning process.
In the planning stages, teaching
objectives form the basis for
profiling the learning outcomes
of assessment tasks and the
design of the tasks themselves.
In the interactive phases,
assessment objectives are
consistent with, and supported
by, teaching and feedback
practices and curriculum
content. In the transformative phase, the judging and grading of student learning products must be
consistent with the learning objectives, and mindful of classroom conditions and events. This process
also enables both students and teachers to derive adequate descriptive feedback for a critical evaluation
of their own performances, and be guided in future teaching, learning and assessment processes.
If assessment is to have meaning and not be merely a postscript to teaching, then the teaching,
learning and assessment process needs to be linked by deliberate and considered feedback strategies.
Rowntree, D. (1977) Assessing students: How shall we know them? Harper & Row, London. Page 24.
Laurillard, D. (1993). Rethinking University Teaching A Conversational Framework for the Effective Use of Learning Technologies. Routledge, London.
18 Orrell, J. (1996). Assessment in Higher Education: An examination of academics’ thinking-in-assessment, beliefs-about-assessment and a comparison of
assessment behaviours and beliefs. (Unpublished thesis, Flinders University)
16
17
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The effect of feedback on the quality of learning
Feedback for developing self-critical learning
Feedback should be such that, ultimately, students themselves will be capable of assessing the quality
of their own work. Without this goal, the learner’s dependence on the teacher is maintained. Sadler19
argues that self-monitoring in learning is not acquired automatically. Teachers must make explicit
provision for students’ acquisition of intelligent self-monitoring so that eventually students become
proficient assessors of their own work.
Feedback for enhancing motivation
The nature, quality and extent of feedback on students’ assessment performances has considerable
motivational impact on student learning. Feedback plays a major role in developing students’
identities as learners. It contributes to building self-efficacy through enhancing student self-esteem
about themselves as learners and writers. 20
The benefits of self-efficacy in future learning have been well documented. Dweck21 claims that
students who have a theory of their own intelligence and view themselves as capable learners are more
likely to persist in the face of difficulties than students who do not have such a robust sense of selfefficacy. Dweck claims that the power of one’s own theory of intelligence is so strong that students
with low self-efficacy will withdraw from solving a problem, even where they possess the knowledge
and skills to complete the task.
Norton’s22 research on essay writing indicated that tutors needed to improve the quality of the
feedback they gave first year students in order to maintain the students’ motivation. In her study, she
found that students genuinely felt they were receiving inadequate feedback on the content and
structure of their essays, and that tutors could spend as little as ten minutes assessing a single paper,
which seemed insufficient for providing adequate feedback on substantive ideas, given the degree of
effort the paper had required of the students.
Feedback as co-learning
Properly conceived and conducted, feedback to students can be a vehicle for further domain learning
through a dialogue about ideas. Students are able to develop as autonomous learners when teachers
assume a co-learning role, entering into dialogue with students about the ideas they have expressed.
Sadler, D. R. (1989). Formative assessment and the design of dnstructional systems, Instructional Science, Vol. 18, pages 119-144.
Crooks, T. J. (1988). The impact of classroom evaluation practices on students, Review of Educational Research, No. 58, pages 438-481.
21 Dweck, C. (1988). Motivational processes affecting learning. American Psychologist, Vol. 41, No. 10, pages 1040-1048.
22 Norton, L. S. (1990). Essay writing: what really counts? Higher Education, Vol. 20, pages 411-442.
19
20
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Procedures for unit convenors about giving feedback
Procedures Item 16: FORMATIVE ASSESSMENT
Unit assessment designs must provide an explicit formative function, in which the extent to which students
have progressed towards the desired learning outcomes is indicated to both students and teachers. Both
formative and summative functions may be accomplished in the execution of the same task.
Unambiguous, timely and useful feedback on learning products or performances must be provided to all
students through a variety of written and verbal formats to assist students improve and enhance their
performance and to become personally effective in self assessment.
Students must be provided with opportunities to learn to self assess the quality of their own work.
Students must be provided with opportunities to peer assess in order to equip them to function as discerning
professionals with a commitment to life-long learning.
Designing for assessment: an overview
Assessing first year students
Giving assessment feedback
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For Academic Leaders and
Managers
It is important that teaching teams and
departments use the assessment policy and
procedures to review their practices in terms of:
Efficiency: The best use is made of
student and staff time to focus
on and achieve learning
outcomes.
Effectiveness: Assessment tasks promote the
espoused learning outcomes.
Educational Assessment processes are
Integrity: grounded in knowledge of
how learning is promoted
Equity: Assessment process makes
success possible for all
students and caters for
diversity of learning styles and
preferences, minimising any
potentially negative
consequences.
Ethics: Assessment process develops
and enhances students’
understanding of academic
honesty, with teachers acting
as models ethical academic
practice.
Note that in all instances, change is discussed in
this guide as a task of teaching teams and
departments. This stance is grounded in the
belief that individuals trying to make changes on
their own cannot achieve a full and lasting
impact.
Students need to develop habits of mind in
relation to assessment. For this to occur those
habits need to be commonly upheld by all their
teachers and assessors in all their units of study.
Conducting an audit of assessment practices in
relation to the assessment policy is a good place
to start. This way you can identify, recognise
and even reward the best practices and these can
then be up-scaled to other units. You also can
identify gaps, and counter-productive practices
and establish priorities for supporting changes.
EXCERPT FROM CODE OF PRACTICE
Responsibilities of the Department and
Faculties
Staff in faculties and departments have the
responsibility to ensure that:
1. assessment and feedback principles, values
and procedures are adhered to
2. assessment and feedback information,
resources and procedures are available and
publicised for both students and staff so
that all are aware of their rights and
responsibilities
3. there is a shared understanding of standards
and expectations in regard to assessment of
learning
4. national and international standards occurs
with relevant professional and academic
discipline organisations and other relevant
stakeholders
5. assessment tasks are aligned with
curriculum aims and objectives and the
authentic intentions of the degree program
6. a diverse range of assessment tasks are
incorporated into each degree program in
order to provide opportunities for students
to acquire and further develop the espoused
Macquarie University Graduate
Capabilities
7. assessment task design and requirements
are monitored in terms of authenticity and
workload
8. students receive formative assessments and
feedback and gain adequate information in
a timely fashion in order to learn from past
activities and become effective in self
assessment
9. a consistent approach is adopted towards
developing students’ understanding of
integrity in academic practice
10. a consistent interpretation of incidents of
academic misconduct and a consistent
application of the procedures and
consequences for academic honesty
11. grading criteria and standards are applied
accurately, fairly and consistently
12. examinations are managed according to the
accepted policy and procedures
13. accurate records of student performances
are kept and maintained
14. all examination papers, scripts, records and
academic judgments are stored and
managed efficiently and securely and kept
for the mandated period
15. only the student number is disclosed in any
public reporting of results (not the student
identity) except where the student has
given consent
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How well is your Department/Faculty doing in assessment?
What kinds of questions might your teaching team or department ask when conducting an audit of
assessment practices in your units and department? Here are a few very basic questions your teaching
team and department might ask.
1. Overall range of assessment
a.
b.
c.
How diverse is the range of assessment tasks over all units?
In a sample of units, do the assessment regimes follow a common pattern, for
example, 2,000 word essay, class participation and end of term exam? If they
do then changes are needed.
Does the pattern of assessment processes change in complexity over the course
of a students study?
2. Authenticity of tasks
a.
b.
c.
d.
To what extent are essays used at the expense of other more authentic tasks?
Where essays are used, is it clear how essay can be used to demonstrate
student’s mastery of the learning outcomes?
To what extent do assessment tasks privilege one group of students at the
expense of others?
To what extent do the assessment tasks motivate, enthuse and engage students in
their learning?
3. Class participation
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
Are participation or attendance marks given as coercive measures?
Where class participation is assessed, is it clear just what learning outcomes
they are meeting?
Are participation marks apparently awarded to students simply for turning up?
If participation is defined as requiring students to speak in class, are marks
awarded just for speaking irrespective of the quality of their contribution?
Will participation marks not be awarded to students if they do not speak, even if
they are clearly engaged in learning and maybe contributing in other ways?
4. Examinations
a.
b.
c.
d.
Are they adequately designed to test depth of knowledge as well as breadth?
Is it possible for students to demonstrate the standard of cognitive complexity in
their learning in an exam?
Do the exams minimize opportunities for cheating and encourage last minute
study and mere guessing?
Do colleagues peer review examinations for readability, clarity and scope?
5. Academic integrity
a.
Do tasks minimize opportunities for cheating, collusion, plagiarism and fraud?
6. What forms of feedback are used?
a.
b.
Are they efficient so that students receive timely advice in order to improve
their next performance?
Is the feedback consequential? That is do students have to do anything
following on from the feedback?
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Setting goals and targets for change
Once you have established a base line of information about your assessment practices, what kind of
goals might you establish? Remember that change is more likely to be achieved if it is simple,
incremental, strongly felt in terms of need by those involved, and commonly agreed upon as a
desirable course of action. When establishing your goals, consider what kind of target you would set.
Then when you are evaluating your progress in achieving these goals, you can monitor your
incremental achievement of these targets.
Here are some suggestions for goals and targets:
1. Enhance staff and student awareness of policy (Target, 100%)
2. Improve quality of examinations (Target 50% in first year)
3. Pilot and establish a comprehensive system of peer review and moderation
processes (Target 25%)
4. Increase diversity and authenticity of assessment tasks (Target 20%)
5. Redesign coercive assessment elements to be more explicitly linked to learning
outcomes and to be motivational and engaging (Target 50%)
6. Facilitate efficient feedback processes that deliver high quality information that
students are required to act upon (Target 20%).
7. Increase the uptake of Computer Aided Assessment (CAA) and Information
Technology in the assessment process (Target 10%).
8. Develop rubrics to establish publicly available performance standards and to
clarify expectations in terms of what will be learned and how well for achieving
specific grades. (Target 10%)
9. Improve the coherence of capability development and the potential for adopting a
developmental approach to assessment design across a program of study levels.
(Target 50%)
10. Enhance work integrated learning assessment (Target 10%)
11. Improve the participation and success rate of students with special
requirements.(Target 10%)
12. Design and implement a learning enhancement (extension) system for talented
and gifted students (Target 10%).
13. Redesign assessment to decrease student and staff work load and increase
educational effectiveness and integrity (Target 50%).
14. Design and trial an academic honesty tutorial program for students and staff
(Target 25%)
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Procedures for Faculty Deans
Procedures Item 2: QUALITY ASSURANCE AND MANAGEMENT OF ASSESSMENT
Determine the required academic work for satisfactory completion of a postgraduate coursework unit or an
enabling unit for a postgraduate program.
Recommend the final results for all undergraduate coursework units and all enabling units for undergraduate
programs to Academic Senate.
Assessment Literacy
Provide all stakeholders (leaders, teachers, students, academic managers and related external regulatory and
employing organisations) with opportunities to develop a level of assessment literacy that ensures they have a
clear understanding of the interrelatedness of the various elements of assessment and an appreciation of how
changes to any element impacts on the overall outcomes.
For leaders and managers
Ensure learning and teaching leaders and managers have an informed understanding of the practice and
procedural implications of the institution’s assessment policy, procedures and guidelines.
For staff
Put quality assurance processes in place to ensure that new and continuing staff are familiar with the
Assessment Policy, its related procedures and guidelines, and all future updates.
Ensure new staff are routinely inducted into institutional assessment expectations.
For students
Ensure that all units provide educational opportunities regarding assessment rules, academic conventions
and Code of Practice, including Assessment Rights and Responsibilities for all students and especially for
students returning to study after a substantial time gap or students who have not previously studied in
Australia.
Procedures for Associate Deans Learning and Teaching
Procedures Item 4: APPROVAL OF ASSESSMENT REQUIREMENTS
Have regard to the relationship between the assessment methods and the learning outcomes expected for
the unit and the workload for staff and students.
Ensure assessment designs for all units meet the following minimum requirements:
1. there must be at least three assessment tasks that require more than one mode of performance and
that address higher order thinking capability (or if the assessment is a large task, it should be
disaggregated into stages for assessment)
2. inclusion of an early, low risk diagnostic task to provide feedback for students and teachers to address
likely learning challenges
3. description of the assessment requirements, their relative weightings and the methods for grading
4. description of the type and timing of feedback that will be provided
5. if participation is to be assessed, a description of how it will be determined and how it is justified in
relation to learning objectives
6. how the workload for the assessment requirements is calculated based on the amount of time required
to master both the assessment mode and the content.
Procedures Item 6: VARIATIONS TO ASSESSMENT REQUIREMENTS
Receive, consider and determine requests for variations to the assessment requirements of a unit after it has
commenced.
In giving approval for the change, be satisfied that students are not disadvantaged by the change or the
timing of the variation.
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Procedures Item 32: ELIGIBILITY FOR FINAL GRADE
Determine whether a student has permission to sit the final examination for a unit on the basis of whether
they have participated in all required classes and complied with all assessment requirements at the time the
decision is required to be taken.
Procedures Item 33: APPROVAL OF FINAL GRADE – POSTGRADUATE COURSEWORK UNITS
Determine the final grade for all postgraduate coursework units on the basis of recommendations from Unit
Convenors.
Procedures Item 34: APPROVAL OF FINAL GRADE – ENABLING UNITS FOR POSTGRADUATE
PROGRAMS
Determine the final grade for all enabling units for postgraduate programs on the basis of recommendations
from Unit Convenors.
Procedures for the Head of Department
Procedures Item 38: RESPONSIBILTY FOR ASSESSMENT TASKS
Comply with University Policy relating to confidentiality, privacy, academic integrity and information and
records management for all assessment tasks and to all student performances.
Ensure all staff exercise due diligence in handling assessment tasks to ensure they are not lost or damaged.
Ensure that when assessment tasks are lodged through an online or physical collection system, they are
stamped to indicate the date and time of receipt. The record of the lodgement of a particular assignment
must have the means for query and confirmation by the relevant staff and student.
Procedures Item 39: DISPOSAL OF ASSESSMENT MATERIAL
Retain all uncollected assessment tasks including essays, assignments, examination booklets, web-based
(online) assessment tasks or records and any other assessment materials for a minimum of six months from
the date of the official release of the unit results. At the completion of the six-month period, dispose of all
materials via confidential waste, except material related to an appeal that is not resolved. Retain materials
related to an appeal for six months after the date the final outcome of the appeal is determined.
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About Working with External Groups
Assessing students in collaboration
with external groups
Many university courses have a close relationship
with employer groups and professional bodies.
Some courses are required for accreditation for
professional practice and are governed by an
agreed set of rules and conditions about student
learning. This close alliance between the
university education programme and the
profession of field of employment can be both a
bonus and a constraint.
Some graduates who are leaders in the
employment field seek to perpetuate their own
experience of university education as what they
regard as a sound basis for a beginning
professional. Others want the course to assess
students’ capabilities via pragmatic immediate
task completion demands. Still others are very
interested in what students can bring to their
work place in placement programmes and seek
authentic collaborative relationships with
university departments.
It is important in entrepreneurship to make the
most of this desire for collaboration through
engaging with industry or professional bodies on
research AND on innovation in curriculum
design and development. Such a close
stakeholder relationship has mutual benefits for
all parties.
Employers’ perceptions of assessment
A recent study from the USA23 found that
employers are satisfied that the majority of
graduates who apply for positions at their companies
possess a range of skills that prepare them for success
in entry-level positions, but they are notably less
confident that graduates are prepared for
advancement or promotion. They also reported
that while graduates demonstrate competence in
the areas of teamwork, ethical judgment, and
intercultural skills, employers are less convinced of
EXCERPT FROM CODE OF PRACTICE
Rights and Responsibilities of Professional and
Accrediting Associations and Employer Groups
These external stakeholders have the right to:
1. have access to information that will
provide a clear explanation of the
procedure and standards used to assess
students’ capabilities
2. have their opinion respected in University
contexts related to discussion of desirable
graduate capabilities
3. engage in peer to peer negotiations with
related University academic areas in any
process used to identify desirable graduate
capabilities and in articulating the
standards against which student
performances are judged
4. be assured of the accuracy, consistency and
representativeness regarding student
achievement contained in documentation
produced by the University and released to
them by students and graduates
5. experience some measure of mutual benefit
when they provide opportunities for
students to work in their organisations in
order to learn
These external stakeholders have a responsibility
to:
1. recognise and respect the pedagogical
dimension of disciplinary expertise held by
academic staff, namely how a particular
subject is learned
2. contribute to the University process for
developing shared comprehensive and
validated conceptions of desirable graduate
capabilities and how they are recognised in
the workplace, profession and/or
community
3. provide opportunities for students to carry
out some part of their University study
program in real world contexts as learners,
not just observers or unpaid workers
4. provide meaningful feedback to assist
students to improve their performance when
they are placed and assessed in their
respective organisations
Hart,P. D. (2008). How should colleges assess and improve student learning? Employers’ views on the accountability challenge: A survey of employers
conducted on behalf of the Association of American Colleges and Universities. Available at
http://www.aacu.org/LEAP/documents/2008_Business_Leader_Poll.pdf (accessed September 2008)
23
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their preparedness in terms of global knowledge, self-direction, and writing.
Hart found when it came to the assessment practices that employers trust, they dismissed tests of
general content knowledge in favor of assessments of real-world and applied-learning approaches. Multiplechoice tests specifically are seen as ineffective. Assessments that employers hold in high regard include
evaluations of supervised internships, community-based projects, and comprehensive senior projects.
Employers' emphasis on integrative, applied learning is reflected in their recommendations to colleges
and universities: for them, multiple-choice testing ranks lowest among the assessment options and
faculty-evaluated internships and community-learning experiences emerge on top. Hart’s study
revealed that employers also endorse individual student essay tests, electronic portfolios of student work, and
comprehensive senior projects as valuable tools both for students to enhance their knowledge and develop
important real-world skills, as well as for employers to evaluate graduates' readiness for the workplace.
Importantly, though, this study endorses the unequivocal responsibility of the University in
determining students’ grades, even when workplace supervisors provide reports on students’ capability
in the workplace. This responsibility is captured in the Assessment Procedures for Unit Convenors.
Procedures Item 13: WORK INTEGRATED LEARNING / CLINICAL ASSESSMENT
Where assessment occurs in the workplace or in clinical settings where there may be competing interests
such as those of clients, the student and their learning can no longer be the central and sole focus of concern.
Some capabilities in professional education must be performed accurately and fully mastered. Such learning
must be assessed against specified criteria and recorded as non-graded pass, “work required”, or maste ry
learning.
In all cases University Supervisors and Unit Convenors are responsible for moderation of workplace learning
and assessment, and for determining and reporting the student’s final grades. While Workplace Learning
Supervisors may have an active role in the assessment process, their assessment of a student’s capability has
the status of advice for consideration by Unit Convenor.
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