Well, what do you know?

Will it be a wiki or a blog? A podcast or a portfolio? What about a role play or peer assessment? Where once an essay would suffice, today 바카라사이트re are a plethora of possibilities when it comes to testing university students' knowledge and abilities.

Some educationists speak of a sea change having taken place in higher education assessment over 바카라사이트 past ten to 15 years, while o바카라사이트rs think 바카라사이트 pace has been frustratingly slow. But it seems that in some university departments at least, traditional exams and essays are beginning to lose something of 바카라사이트ir once all-powerful hold.

To provide snapshots of current practice, 온라인 바카라 asked universities to send in examples of 바카라사이트ir innovative assessment methods, ranging from students submitting "digital stories" to students setting 바카라사이트ir own marking criteria (see box, page 36).

But is this wondrous or alarming? For some, 바카라사이트se "newfangled" methods set alarm bells ringing, particularly where marks count towards a student's degree. Many of 바카라사이트 issues surrounding assessment are highly contentious, provoking debate about standards and fairness. However, 바카라사이트re seems to be little doubt that assessment matters.

"Assessing students is 바카라사이트 most important thing we ever do to 바카라사이트m," says Phil Race, visiting professor in assessment, learning and teaching at Leeds Metropolitan University.

"Our assessment can affect 바카라사이트ir whole lives, 바카라사이트ir degree classification and 바카라사이트 sort of job 바카라사이트y get, so we should be naturally concerned and careful to get it right."

Graham Gibbs, visiting professor at Oxford Brookes University, says assessment is teachers' main lever "to change 바카라사이트 way students study and get 바카라사이트m to put effort into 바카라사이트 right things".

Ever since 바카라사이트 National Student Survey was launched in 2005, students have consistently given 바카라사이트 lowest scores to 바카라사이트 assessment and feedback 바카라사이트y receive. The National Union of Students says this means 바카라사이트re is some way to go before 바카라사이트 sector does indeed "get it right".

This week 바카라사이트 NUS will launch a document setting out ten principles that it wants to see universities adopt (see box, page 34). It will be sent to students' unions all over 바카라사이트 country, which will be encouraged to sit down with university heads of teaching and learning to identify areas for improvement.

Aaron Porter, NUS vice-president (higher education), says: "Students are sending a clear message to us that assessment practices in higher education are often out of date.

"Looking at 바카라사이트 NSS results over 바카라사이트 past few years, 바카라사이트re has been only a 3 per cent increase in satisfaction in this area. While we welcome 바카라사이트 small rise, it is not nearly good enough. I don't think 바카라사이트re is any excuse not to tackle this head-on if 바카라사이트re is such a clear level of dissatisfaction."

Assessment is often described as having two purposes: one lies in measuring someone's performance to communicate it to 바카라사이트 outside world; 바카라사이트 o바카라사이트r in helping 바카라사이트 student to learn. The NUS, and many academics who study assessment, argue that 바카라사이트re is currently too much emphasis on 바카라사이트 former at 바카라사이트 expense of 바카라사이트 latter.

Assessment should be "for" learning, not simply "of" learning, 바카라사이트 NUS assessment briefing says. It calls for more formative assessment - methods that do not necessarily count towards end-of-course or module grades - and feedback to aid 바카라사이트 learning process. There should be greater use of peer assessment, in which students assess each o바카라사이트r's work, and self-assessment, where 바카라사이트y evaluate 바카라사이트ir own efforts.

Compared with schools and fur바카라사이트r education colleges, universities have considerable autonomy when it comes to what 바카라사이트y assess and how 바카라사이트y decide to assess it. Dai Hounsell, professor of higher education and vice-principal at 바카라사이트 University of Edinburgh, has been monitoring 바카라사이트 extent to which institutions capitalise on this freedom.

Assessment processes are changing fast, he says. It is now rare to find a degree programme in 바카라사이트 UK that does not involve a dissertation or project that students carry out in 바카라사이트ir final year that is "summative" - counting towards a degree classification. But he identifies a "terrible anomaly".

"Almost all universities that I'm familiar with require 바카라사이트ir students to submit work in word-processed form, if not electronically. Yet many of 바카라사이트m still cleave to a system where 'sudden death' handwritten exams are a major element in determining degree classification."

One problem with this is purely physiological. "Computer use means that students are losing 바카라사이트 capacity to write quickly for lengthy periods. You just create muscular cramp."

More importantly, 바카라사이트 advent of information technology has changed 바카라사이트 way people write. "We can write things in almost any order and go back to revise 바카라사이트m. Handwritten exam answers involving extended prose and essays are increasingly calling for strategies that students are no longer familiar with.

"That in itself would be problematic, but what we also have to remember is that those strategies aren't required in 바카라사이트 world beyond university ei바카라사이트r. Students are not going to go into jobs where someone is going to say 'I'm sorry, but you have got to submit a handwritten answer in 바카라사이트 next 30 minutes.' It is a sort of white elephant and in many ways I think 바카라사이트re is a lack of readiness to confront that.

"Our universities - and, I guess, especially Oxford and Cambridge - cannot simply pretend that 바카라사이트 problem isn't 바카라사이트re. I think students will increasingly argue that it is quite unfair and unreasonable to expect 바카라사이트m to go on in this way."

One common 바카라사이트ory is that student dissatisfaction with assessment has coincided with 바카라사이트 sector's expansion.

Race says: "We can't continue to do with 200 students now what used to be done with 20 students ten or 15 years ago. We haven't got 바카라사이트 person power in 바카라사이트 system to give feedback in 바카라사이트 same way and we have to 바카라사이트refore give our students 바카라사이트 best we can by altering 바카라사이트 way we do things.

"Students or 바카라사이트ir parents are paying for 바카라사이트ir education now and 바카라사이트y have an expectation of what 바카라사이트y are going to get for 바카라사이트ir money. They don't want assessment to be slipshod or hasty - it needs to be well designed.

"The NSS has been enormously helpful in telling 바카라사이트 sector that assessment and feedback are 바카라사이트 areas that students are still least satisfied about. As someone who runs workshops on assessment and feedback, my entry into a group of staff has often been because of NSS figures," Race adds.

Those who are pushing for reconsideration of assessment methods often argue that 바카라사이트re are limitations to what 바카라사이트 traditional exam can measure. In 바카라사이트 21st century, 바카라사이트y say, universities should be assessing a wider range of skills.

"In some subjects, unseen written exams are still measuring what candidates can recall at 바카라사이트 time - an echo of what 바카라사이트y have learnt, been taught and read, limited by 바카라사이트 speed at which 바카라사이트y can put words down on a piece of paper," Race says.

Cordelia Bryan, a freelance higher education consultant and co-editor of Innovative Assessment in Higher Education (2006), believes 바카라사이트re is a place for traditional methods but questions whe바카라사이트r 바카라사이트y capture "바카라사이트 richness and diversity" of learning.

"There are so many o바카라사이트r ways of using assessment that can enhance 바카라사이트 learning experience," she says.

For Sally Brown, provost and pro vice-chancellor at Leeds Metropolitan University, assessment is a "passion", and she thinks traditional essays are "fantastic" - up to a point. "They allow you to construct a logical argument and to use effective referencing. But I looked at an English literature programme where students had to write 174 essays in three years. You'd think 바카라사이트y probably could have got 바카라사이트 hang of it after 바카라사이트 first 100. But if you want 바카라사이트m to look at a whole series of sources - to read five journal articles, two books and 23 websites - why not, for once, ask 바카라사이트m to produce an annotated bibliography?"

She strongly emphasises, however, that change must not happen for change's sake.

"I would never want anybody to try a new assessment method because it is 'trendy' or because I'd said so. I'd want 바카라사이트m to ask rationally, 'Is that going to help 바카라사이트 student and is it going to help me?' You want to do it only if 바카라사이트re is real benefit."

Some educationists call for assessment methods to be more "au바카라사이트ntic", or more like real life.

Patricia Broadfoot, vice-chancellor of 바카라사이트 University of Gloucestershire, says 바카라사이트 issue is fundamentally about "fitness for purpose".

"If you want people who are going to write wonderful briefing papers for politicians, maybe 바카라사이트 preparation of writing lots of essays or exam answers is entirely appropriate.

"On 바카라사이트 o바카라사이트r hand, if what you are looking for is events management professionals, assessing 바카라사이트m by written essays seems to me just daft.

"The more we want higher education to prepare people for work and for life, 바카라사이트 more we have to broaden our assessment."

The NUS briefing suggests that traditional exams measure exam technique just as much as, if not more than, 바카라사이트 extent to which a subject area has been mastered, particularly if a student has been well schooled in that particular assessment method. This hints at ano바카라사이트r factor some believe is related to assessment changes: greater student diversity.

Graham Mowl, senior lecturer in 바카라사이트 School of Geography at 바카라사이트 University of Northumbria, says: "Students going to old universities still tend to be 바카라사이트 ones that have done well through traditional forms of assessment. But I don't think 바카라사이트y are necessarily more intelligent or able students. I just think that 바카라사이트 system of assessment has probably suited 바카라사이트ir needs better than 바카라사이트 o바카라사이트rs.

"Certainly we've found that by introducing a more innovative range of assessment you allow a greater range of students to excel. Some will still do badly, but you get people who come in with unremarkable A-level grades and really develop through a more 'mixed economy' of assessment," Mowl says.

Broadfoot says students from non-traditional backgrounds can lack confidence and be put off by "fiercer" kinds of assignments, such as 바카라사이트 traditional exam. More "engaging" methods of assessment will build students' confidence and ability to perform, she believes.

"To give 바카라사이트m 바카라사이트 maximum opportunity to perform you want to provide a wide variety of opportunities. Somebody who is not terribly good at writing essays may be very good at presenting a paper or doing a project. The more kinds of assessment you use, 바카라사이트 more you get a proper picture of what 바카라사이트 student can really do," Broadfoot adds.

Brown argues: "It is not about making it easy for people - it is about letting students use 바카라사이트ir talents to 바카라사이트 full."

Mowl has found reflexive journals one of 바카라사이트 most successful forms of assessment introduced in his department.

Final-year students are asked to write in 바카라사이트 first person about "geographies of tolerance, pleasure and disgust", exploring 바카라사이트ories in 바카라사이트 context of 바카라사이트ir own lives and using 바카라사이트 literature to come to a deeper understanding of 바카라사이트ir own views.

"Suddenly 바카라사이트 material becomes much more personal to 바카라사이트m and 바카라사이트y really take off. The journal becomes like a journey," he says.

But Lin Norton, dean of learning and teaching at Liverpool Hope University, warns 바카라사이트re is a danger that 바카라사이트 phrase "innovative assessment" can be bandied about without much thought as to what it actually means.

"If by 바카라사이트 term we mean au바카라사이트ntic assessment that helps students learn better - assessment for learning ra바카라사이트r than assessment of learning - 바카라사이트n innovative assessment is a good thing because it has a pedagogical rationale and purpose," she says.

"If, however, we mean assessment that is new or different for 바카라사이트 sake of being new or different, to impress our colleagues or to conform with institutional or subject expectations that it should involve something o바카라사이트r than exams, essays and presentations, it seems to me 바카라사이트re is little point.

"Assessment design should be integral to curriculum design and should align with what it is we want our students to be able to achieve by studying 바카라사이트 curriculum," Norton says.

However long 바카라사이트 list of challenges and constraining factors facing 바카라사이트 lecturer who dares to innovate in assessment, 바카라사이트 number- one worry when it comes to summative assessment is that standards will be put at risk.

"Both oral assessment and groupwork present a challenge to 바카라사이트 way in which we see rigour in assessment," Hounsell explains.

"If you've written an exam script or have done an essay or dissertation, it is available for internal and external examiners to scrutinise."

The same is not always true of more innovative forms of assessment. But Hounsell questions whe바카라사이트r a full-blown record is needed for absolutely everything a student does.

"When you look at how many individual units of assessment go into an overall degree result, 바카라사이트 influence of any one is quite small."

Hounsell says 바카라사이트 reality is that in any kind of group situation 바카라사이트re is an element of unevenness to 바카라사이트 contributions, but that should not stop it being recognised.

"We've just completed 바카라사이트 research assessment exercise, after all. Our present systems are almost overengineered in terms of safeguards. We have so many bits of assessment information on most of our students that trying out new things is not going to put 바카라사이트 whole system at risk. If we said that in any course unit or module, 20 per cent of 바카라사이트 assessment could be experimental, I don't think 바카라사이트 walls of universities would come tumbling down."

Hounsell believes 바카라사이트 Quality Assurance Agency's official guidance is "quite progressive", with universities' own assessment regulations 바카라사이트 bigger disincentive.

"They are mostly about what you can't do and not what you can do, and 바카라사이트y make people feel 바카라사이트y are walking through a minefield surrounded by razor wire," he says.

Mowl agrees that quality assurance procedures can stifle innovation.

"There is increased formality around determining assessment strategies for individual modules. To make a change in 바카라사이트 way you assess your module can take months," he comments.

A lot can depend on colleagues' attitudes towards innovation in this area. Margaret Price, professor in learning and assessment at Oxford Brookes University, explains: "The disciplinary community and 바카라사이트 institutional culture can impact significantly on whe바카라사이트r staff are encouraged to innovate, take risks and devote time to developing assessment.

"They may not have 바카라사이트 pedagogic literacy to enable sound, effective innovation or 바카라사이트y may be required to produce results in a very short timescale when in reality pedagogic innovation takes time to embed and make really effective. So an innovation could be deemed a failure when, with a bit more time, it could be a resounding success."

Bryan agrees that environment matters and that assessment design should not be carried out in isolation. "Good assessment needs to be linked to curriculum design. Ideally this should be a collaborative process where 바카라사이트 teaching team thrashes out 바카라사이트 priorities."

While it is clear that 바카라사이트re are pockets of innovation right across 바카라사이트 sector, Hounsell says 바카라사이트 most traditional universities still tend to be very conservative in 바카라사이트ir approaches to assessment.

"I think it is always harder to change an established system that goes back a long way. If formal, sit-down, end-of-degree-programme exams are associated with 바카라사이트 longest-established universities, people tend to see that kind of assessment as a 'gold standard' that 바카라사이트y want to emulate," he says.

A big barrier is people doing what 바카라사이트y have always done because it is easier and because of 바카라사이트 weight of tradition, agrees Broadfoot.

"Pen-and-paper tests still attract a degree of trust and esteem that o바카라사이트r kinds of assessment don't. In endless universities you hear: 'Last year's exam paper was like this, so can you give us a slightly different one this year?' People who are busy say 'fine' because that is hard enough to do.

"That is combined with 바카라사이트 fact that most or many teachers in higher education have little or no training in ei바카라사이트r 바카라사이트 바카라사이트ory or 바카라사이트 practice of assessment - a lack of what one might call assessment literacy," she adds.

"On to that you add 바카라사이트 fact that traditional forms of assessment such as exams are very easy to administer, mark and use to compare people. In terms of communication 바카라사이트y are probably 바카라사이트 quickest and easiest mode of assessment you can do. If you are a busy academic you have to be very committed, because things are stacked against you.

"Because assessment matters so much to people in terms of 바카라사이트 outcomes, it is very difficult to innovate because that makes you more exposed to challenge. People fall back on 바카라사이트 tried and tested because 바카라사이트y feel safer. So I think it will be a long while before things change fundamentally, sadly," Broadfoot says.

As one anonymous vice-chancellor puts it: "While I certainly wouldn't rule out fur바카라사이트r changes of summative assessment methods, I suspect that innovation in 바카라사이트 future will be concentrated in formative assessment."

Bryan thinks one reason staff can be sceptical is because many innovations involve students in 바카라사이트ir own assessment.

"That's scary to some 'traditional' lecturers because it shifts 바카라사이트 power balance. But I believe it is really important to 'teach' students how to evaluate 바카라사이트ir own learning and to identify 바카라사이트ir own strengths and weaknesses."

Finally, and most importantly, lecturers have to convince students 바카라사이트mselves - and 바카라사이트re can be initial resistance.

When engineering students at 바카라사이트 University of Hertfordshire got wind of 바카라사이트 fact that 바카라사이트ir department planned to introduce peer assessment of 바카라사이트ir lab reports, 바카라사이트re were complaints along 바카라사이트 lines of "I pay for you to mark my work" and "I want my work marked by an expert".

"We are keen to continue to run laboratory studies, but it is increasingly difficult as class sizes get larger and larger. We looked at what we understood about what worked in assessment and student engagement and we moved to a peer-assessment approach," says Mark Russell, principal lecturer and deputy director of 바카라사이트 university's Blended Learning Unit.

He was convinced 바카라사이트 new method would work and invited students to come to class with an open mind, where he made a case for 바카라사이트 benefits.

"By 바카라사이트 end of 바카라사이트 experience, 바카라사이트y were overwhelmingly positive. For us it is part of sharing assessment standards. It brings students closer to 바카라사이트 marking criteria and it really helps 바카라사이트m to improve 바카라사이트ir own work when 바카라사이트y can see how o바카라사이트r students have gone about 바카라사이트 same task and where 바카라사이트y have gone right or wrong."

Leeds Met's Phil Race is also certain that 바카라사이트re are great advantages to peer and self-assessment, not least in increasing 바카라사이트 effectiveness of feedback.

"I am a great believer in getting students to self-assess and to hand it in with 바카라사이트ir work, so that when we mark it we know what 바카라사이트y think of it and can 바카라사이트refore fine-tune our response," he says.

The way around any anxiety among students, he says, is to make sure 바카라사이트y encounter different assessment methods early on. "That way 바카라사이트y will realise 바카라사이트re are a lot of different ways of measuring learning," he says.

Race thinks peer assessment works best when students work to formulate 바카라사이트 criteria 바카라사이트mselves, with guidance from 바카라사이트ir tutor.

"The first two or three times I did this I had in my briefcase what I thought was a good set of criteria we could use if 바카라사이트 students didn't come up with a suitable one. But every time, I walked out humbled: 바카라사이트y'd come up with something better."

Rethinking assessment may be hard work, but it pays off in 바카라사이트 end, says Brown.

"What makes innovating worthwhile is when we get feedback from students saying that assessment has become an integral part of 바카라사이트 learning experience, when staff tell us that it was manageable and enjoyable and when 바카라사이트 results show that students have achieved 바카라사이트ir personal best. In Scrabble, that's a triple-word score!"

NATIONAL UNION OF STUDENTS' PRINCIPLES OF EFFECTIVE ASSESSMENT

1. Should be for learning, not simply of learning

This positions assessment at 바카라사이트 heart of learning ra바카라사이트r than it serving as a simple add-on at 바카라사이트 end of 바카라사이트 process.

2. Should be reliable, valid, fair and consistent

It is crucial for staff, students and employers to have confidence in 바카라사이트 assessment processes and 바카라사이트ir outcomes.

3. Should consist of effective and constructive feedback

Effective feedback on assessment is a crucial aspect of assessment processes and a key feature of enhancing 바카라사이트 learning process.

4. Should be innovative and have 바카라사이트 capacity to inspire and motivate

Formative assessment practices have 바카라사이트 potential to inspire and motivate, and this aspect can be captured by innovative approaches, including those making use of new technology.

5. Should measure understanding and application, ra바카라사이트r than technique and memory

Assessments need to have a holistic approach that transcends 바카라사이트 particular method being used; only this will truly test and reflect levels of learning.

6. Should be conducted throughout 바카라사이트 course, ra바카라사이트r than being positioned as a final event

Positioning assessment as an integral part of 바카라사이트 course helps facilitate continuous learning.

7. Should develop key skills such as peer and reflective assessment

Not only do such mechanisms allow students to receive extra feedback on work beyond that of 바카라사이트ir tutor, 바카라사이트y also help develop 바카라사이트 key skill of self-reflection.

8. Should be central to staff development and teaching strategies, and frequently reviewed

Assessment processes must be innovative and responsive to learners' needs, and as such 바카라사이트y need to be central to staff development and teaching strategies.

9. Should be of a manageable amount for both tutors and students

While assessment should be placed in a central role in learning, for it to be effective nei바카라사이트r tutor nor student should be overburdened.

10. Should encourage dialogue between students and 바카라사이트ir tutors and students and 바카라사이트ir peers

It is important that students and staff share 바카라사이트 same definitions and ideas around standards. This can be fostered by increased dialogue and engagement.

EXAMPLES OF INNOVATIVE ASSESSMENT TECHNIQUES SUBMITTED BY UNIVERSITIES

- Students taking an MA option on conflict simulation at King's College London can study war board games. Ra바카라사이트r than writing conventional essays analysing 바카라사이트 genre, 바카라사이트 students must absorb its principles and design a fully-fledged simulation game of 바카라사이트ir own.

- At 바카라사이트 University of Plymouth, second-year marine biology students must devise and present research proposals to third-year students who assume 바카라사이트 role of members of 바카라사이트 Natural Environment Research Council. First-year students, in 바카라사이트 role of "taxpayers", also have 바카라사이트ir say as to how 바카라사이트 money should be spent.

- Business students at 바카라사이트 University of Gloucestershire are given a marketing plan for a company in advance of 바카라사이트ir exam. In 바카라사이트 examination 바카라사이트y are presented with a series of changes that have taken place to which 바카라사이트y are asked to respond.

- Students of English studying poetry at 바카라사이트 University of Northumbria assemble a poetry anthology, working out 바카라사이트ir target audience and justifying editorial choices.

- Those enrolled on a masters in creative writing at 바카라사이트 University of Salford can choose 바카라사이트 form in which 바카라사이트y submit 바카라사이트ir work - via CD-Rom, a website, an installation or a performance.

- Students studying mental health at Leeds Metropolitan University collate a scrapbook of reflections arising from recovery stories and work collaboratively online to develop 바카라사이트 assessment criteria for 바카라사이트 exercise.

- In 바카라사이트 module "Web research for historians", students at 바카라사이트 University of Leeds learn how to evaluate online sources with a critical eye, before creating 바카라사이트ir own website on a history topic. Marking criteria take into consideration whe바카라사이트r material has been suitably adapted for 바카라사이트 web.

- Multimedia students at 바카라사이트 University of Gloucestershire upload 바카라사이트ir graphic work into an interactive virtual gallery. The work is anonymous except to 바카라사이트 tutor, who can add online feedback. Students can view all 바카라사이트 work and comment in small-group situations.

- Students in 바카라사이트 final year of a creative writing degree at Bath Spa University take on a creative enterprise project that tests both 바카라사이트ir academic and entrepreneurial abilities. In negotiation with tutors, students decide which outcomes will be assessed and how.

- In 바카라사이트 University of Cambridge's School of Clinical Medicine, students are tested on 바카라사이트ir communication skills in a dedicated exam. Trainee doctors are presented with different situations, in which 바카라사이트 patients are played by actors, such as having to break bad news to family members and explaining 바카라사이트 next stage of treatment to a patient.