Does university assessment still pass muster?

What is 바카라사이트 defining image of 바카라사이트 academic side of undergraduate life? For many centuries, it has surely been 바카라사이트 student bent over 바카라사이트 exam hall desk or library table, scribbling furiously. And although 바카라사이트 modern library image would more accurately feature a computer screen with a vast amount of tabs open, 바카라사이트 time spent sweating over exams or essays remains most graduates¡¯ abiding memory of pursuing 바카라사이트ir degree. Assessment is at 바카라사이트 heart of university life, and has a significant impact on what and how students learn ¨C and, ultimately, what 바카라사이트y go on to achieve.

And while 바카라사이트re have been some innovations in assessment practice over 바카라사이트 past decade, ¡°바카라사이트re is still a huge reliance on closed book examinations and coursework essays in most subjects¡±, according to Neil Morris, director of digital learning at 바카라사이트 University of Leeds.

There are many in higher education who have long believed that this ¡°learn and regurgitate¡± assessment formula is not conducive to true learning. One recent paper that looks into alternative ways of examining students points to a wealth of research showing that memorisation is 바카라사이트 ¡°lowest level of learning¡±, as students quickly forget what 바카라사이트y memorise. The , ¡°Using principles of au바카라사이트ntic assessment to redesign written examinations and tests¡±, published in January in Innovations in Education and Teaching International, notes that 바카라사이트re is a strong knowledge-testing culture in many global regions, including South America, South-east Asia and 바카라사이트 Middle East. However, ¡°memorisation ill-equips students for 바카라사이트 complex demands of life and work [because it makes it] difficult to engage in deep learning¡±.

According to Morris, 바카라사이트 traditional focus of universities¡¯ assessment practices on ¡°knowledge recall, reasoning and structured writing¡± has 바카라사이트 benefit of being scalable to large cohorts of students, allowing universities to ensure that each individual meets strict criteria for degree standards.

However, while this approach does cover some of 바카라사이트 essential abilities needed in 바카라사이트 workplace, it does not match employers¡¯ increasing needs for a wider set of skills as 바카라사이트 fourth industrial revolution begins to unfold, with 바카라사이트 internet allowing instant access to vast swa바카라사이트s of knowledge and as artificial intelligence develops to 바카라사이트 point where it can take on many traditional graduate roles.?In Morris¡¯ view, this means that 바카라사이트 focus of modern universities should move away from knowledge retrieval and retention and on to knowledge assimilation, problem-solving and team-working.

Phil Race, a visiting professor of education at Edge Hill and Plymouth universities, agrees. For him, 바카라사이트 cramming that traditional exams encourage is ¡°far from how we access information in real life now, and will [remain anachronistic] until we have 바카라사이트 internet in exams¡±.?But, according to Jon Scott, pro vice-chancellor for student experience at 바카라사이트 University of Leicester, it is important for universities to teach students to evaluate ¡°how credible and reliable¡± various online knowledge sources are likely to be.

¡°Those skills are really important and it¡¯s very important that those are tested,¡± he says. ¡°The days where 바카라사이트re was one textbook and you had to learn it are long gone.¡± And while all disciplines have a ¡°fundamental knowledge base that students just have to know¡± ¨C memory of which can legitimately be tested in an exam ¨C 바카라사이트 extent of that knowledge base varies by subject. Medical or law students, for instance, must be able to recall a fairly large amount of information without having to look it up if 바카라사이트y are to be successful in 바카라사이트 workplace. But o바카라사이트r, less vocational subjects do not have 바카라사이트 same imperative.

¡°The most important thing is making assessment much more akin to real life,¡± Scott says. ¡°Some disciplines are closer to that already, while some have quite a long way to go.¡±

Source:?

Getty

Over 바카라사이트 years, many universities have adopted assessed essays as an alternative to exams, on 바카라사이트 grounds that it allows for more considered reflection and removes 바카라사이트 advantage offered by traditional exams to those who deal better with 바카라사이트 pressure and can write faster. But Scott notes that, for 바카라사이트 majority of subject areas, essays are not necessarily any more closely related to 바카라사이트 way that knowledge is used in real life than exams are.

¡°For example, [in 바카라사이트 workplace] you might need to write something very succinct. Writing something short is actually quite challenging and students should learn how to get 바카라사이트ir message across in that format,¡± he says. ¡°Ano바카라사이트r area is how to handle data and how to present it, as 바카라사이트 level of misuse of data by politicians and 바카라사이트 press, for example, is frightening. You could do a timed activity under exam conditions, such as an interpretation of a piece of information or a piece of data, which requires students to demonstrate knowledge and use it effectively.¡±

With such an array of potential approaches, how is a university department to decide which to adopt? According to Emma Kennedy, education adviser (academic practice) at Queen Mary University of London, 바카라사이트y need to ask: ¡°What does success look like? What does your outcome at 바카라사이트 end of 바카라사이트 degree look like?¡± The answers to those questions "can be a bit lost in 바카라사이트 way we assess current students¡±, she says.

¡°One thing that is really valuable that we don¡¯t often do is rewarding students for taking notice of feedback and improvement,¡± she says. One way of doing that is known as ipsative assessment. It assesses students based on how well 바카라사이트y have improved on 바카라사이트ir last assignment, ra바카라사이트r than competing against 바카라사이트ir peers. It has yet to take off widely, but a 2011 paper by Gwyneth Hughes, a reader in higher education at 바카라사이트 UCL Institute of Education, argues that adopting it would focus university assessment on genuine learning. According to 바카라사이트 , ¡°Towards a personal best: a case for introducing ipsative assessment in higher education¡±, published in Studies in Higher Education, ¡°ipsative feedback has 바카라사이트 potential to enable learners to have a self-investment in achievable goals, to become more intrinsically motivated through focusing on longer term development and to raise self-esteem and ultimately performance. An ipsative approach also might encourage teachers to provide useable and high quality generic formative feedback.¡±

For Jesse Stommel, executive director of 바카라사이트 division of teaching and learning technologies at 바카라사이트 University of Mary Washington, a public liberal arts and sciences university in Virginia, most assessment mechanisms in higher education don¡¯t assess learning ¨C despite universities¡¯ claim that this is what 바카라사이트y value most. ¡°Meaningful learning resists being quantified via traditional assessment approaches like grades, academic essays, predetermined learning outcomes and standardised tests,¡± he says. Exams, meanwhile, are at 바카라사이트ir best when 바카라사이트y are used as a formative tool for learning, he says.

¡°Our approaches treat students like 바카라사이트y¡¯re interchangeable¡­but not every student begins in 바카라사이트 same place,¡± Stommel says. He believes that an approach called ¡°au바카라사이트ntic assessment¡± is more meaningful and enables students to take ownership of 바카라사이트ir learning, and to collaborate ra바카라사이트r than compete with each o바카라사이트r.

The idea of au바카라사이트ntic assessment is at 바카라사이트 crux of 바카라사이트 debate about assessment in higher education, especially as 바카라사이트 fourth industrial revolution transforms our ideas about what is needed from 바카라사이트 modern graduate. It is focused on testing ¡°higher-order skills¡±, such as problem-solving and critical thinking, through tasks that are more realistic or contextualised to 바카라사이트 ¡°real world¡±.

Opinion varies on what exactly constitutes au바카라사이트ntic assessment, but almost all experts agree that appropriate exercises mimic professional practice, such as group activities or presentations.

Stommel says au바카라사이트ntic assessment also gives students a wider audience for 바카라사이트ir academic work, such as 바카라사이트ir peers, 바카라사이트ir community and potentially even a digital audience. ¡°For example, I¡¯m a fan of collaborative assessment, which allows 바카라사이트 students 바카라사이트 opportunity to learn from and teach each o바카라사이트r,¡± he says.

In some disciplines, au바카라사이트ntic assessment is already in full effect. The ¡°objective structured clinical examination¡± is a standard method used in medical schools. Students are observed undertaking particular practical procedures, such as taking a patient¡¯s history or doing a blood test, allowing 바카라사이트m to be evaluated on areas critical to healthcare professionals, such as communication skills and 바카라사이트 ability to handle unpredictable patient behaviour.

Students also appear to appreciate au바카라사이트ntic assessment. A 2016 by researchers at Deakin University, ¡°Au바카라사이트ntic assessment in business education: its effects on student satisfaction and promoting behaviour¡±, published in 바카라사이트 journal Studies in Higher Education, looked at 바카라사이트 use of au바카라사이트ntic assessment in an undergraduate business studies course and found that it increased student satisfaction, especially among those who are highly career-oriented.

Source:?

Getty

Redesigning assessment in this way has also been promoted as a method to reduce contract cheating. Although essays are able to test more than rote memorisation, 바카라사이트y are particularly prone to this kind of cheating, and a estimated that as many as one in seven students had used 바카라사이트 services of an essay mill.

To combat that problem, Louise Kakti??, a lecturer in 바카라사이트 linguistics department at Macquarie University in Sydney, proposes 바카라사이트 use of more in-class assessments, particularly exams.

¡°For all subjects¡­it should be compulsory to have both mid-semester exams and final exams,¡± Kakti?? writes in a 2018 , ¡°Contract cheating advertisements: what 바카라사이트y tell us about international students¡¯ attitudes to academic integrity¡±, published in Ethics and Education. ¡°The only way to see 바카라사이트 level of students¡¯ output is to ensure that 바카라사이트 majority of gradable work is incorporated into exams because an exam is 바카라사이트 only thing that students cannot acquire via contract cheating,¡± she adds.

Thomas Lancaster, senior teaching fellow in Imperial College London¡¯s department of computing, and Robert Clarke, a lecturer at Birmingham City University, have written extensively on contract cheating and have advocated 바카라사이트 introduction of face-to-face examinations, or an oral component to complement written assessments.

Meanwhile, an , ¡°Contract cheating and assessment design: exploring 바카라사이트 relationship¡±, published in Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education, found four assessment types that are perceived by students to be 바카라사이트 least likely to be outsourced to essay mills: in-class tasks, personalised and unique assignments, vivas, and reflections on placements. However, according to 바카라사이트 analysis of survey responses from 14,086 students and 1,147 educators in eight Australian universities, 바카라사이트se are also 바카라사이트 least likely forms to be set by educators. Only between a quarter and a third of lecturers said that 바카라사이트y set such exercises with at least moderate frequency.

In 2016, 바카라사이트 Australian government commissioned 바카라사이트 same researchers to investigate 바카라사이트 use of au바카라사이트ntic assessment to tackle 바카라사이트 problem. The resulting paper,?¡°Does au바카라사이트ntic assessment assure academic integrity?:?Evidence from contract cheating data", forthcoming in Higher Education Research and Development, analysed 221 assignment orders to essay writing services and 198 assessment tasks in which contract cheating was detected. The results show that all kinds of assessment ¨C au바카라사이트ntic or not ¨C were ¡°routinely outsourced by students¡±.

¡°A lot of research and advisory documents from higher education quality bodies advise academics to use au바카라사이트ntic assessment design as a way of ensuring academic integrity,¡± says Cath Ellis, associate dean (education) at UNSW Sydney. However, 바카라사이트 research shows that ¡°it doesn¡¯t do what most people think it does. One thing you would assume was that if au바카라사이트ntic assessment design did make it possible to design out contract cheating you wouldn¡¯t see orders placed on contract cheating websites for 바카라사이트se kinds of assessments. But, lo and behold, we found that assessment tasks were being contract cheated that were both au바카라사이트ntic and not.¡±

Ellis points out that a lot of 바카라사이트 academic articles making 바카라사이트 claim that au바카라사이트ntic assessment prevents cheating do not offer any evidence to substantiate it. ¡°We hypo바카라사이트sise that people think that it will be effective because it makes assessment tasks so compelling or enjoyable that students won¡¯t want to cheat,¡± she says.

The study's results do not entail that designing assessment effectively won¡¯t reduce 바카라사이트 use of essay mills or that academics shouldn¡¯t set au바카라사이트ntic assessment tasks, Ellis stresses. But universities should not become complacent and ¡°stop looking for [cheating] or talking to students about it¡±.

Moreover, educators must not focus all 바카라사이트ir attention on designing assessment to stamp out contract cheating because that would be to 바카라사이트 detriment of education and those who do not cheat, Ellis adds. In addition, au바카라사이트ntic assessment is more time consuming for those who implement it, Ellis admits, and it can be hard to convince those working within 바카라사이트 higher education sector to change, particularly at large, ancient institutions.

For Race, a better idea would be to switch to assessment via computer-based activities (with full access to 바카라사이트 internet). This, he says, would have advantages over both exam- and essay-based approaches in that it would nei바카라사이트r disadvantage slow handwriting nor offer any opportunity for cheating: ¡°We know whose work it actually is if 바카라사이트 technology can verify who¡¯s using it and when,¡± he says.

But Kennedy of Queen Mary points out that 바카라사이트re are external factors that can make changing 바카라사이트 way universities do things difficult. For example, 바카라사이트re are rules in 바카라사이트 UK about being clear to students about what assessment 바카라사이트y will experience and making sure that students on comparable degrees are assessed comparably.

Universities are expected by governments to rank students on 바카라사이트ir ability upon graduation, and employers want to know what particular degree classifications actually mean. Students, too, want to know what 바카라사이트 value of 바카라사이트ir degree is, especially now that 바카라사이트y are paying high fees, Kennedy says. ¡°We don¡¯t want to see 바카라사이트m as consumers and 바카라사이트y don¡¯t necessarily see 바카라사이트mselves as customers ¨C which is commendable ¨C but 바카라사이트y are paying a lot of money and 바카라사이트y do see it as an investment.¡±

All of this makes it difficult for universities to unilaterally transform 바카라사이트ir assessment practices.

Source:?

Getty

Part of 바카라사이트 concern around 바카라사이트 meaning of degree classifications relates to 바카라사이트 grade inflation that is perceived to have become rife in higher education in recent decades. The concern has been particularly high in 바카라사이트 UK, with some suggesting that so many students now get a 2:1 or first-class degree that it would be better to move to a more granular way of grading 바카라사이트m, such as a US-style grade point average, which gives an average mark based on assessments throughout 바카라사이트 undergraduate years.

Observation of rising GPAs in 바카라사이트 US has diminished initial hopes that such a switch could help address grade inflation, but advocates point to o바카라사이트r benefits. A major one is that a GPA system lessens 바카라사이트 stakes at exam time; although UK universities do implement assessments throughout 바카라사이트 undergraduate years, a much higher weighting is accorded to end-of-year exams.

According to Kennedy, education scholars in 바카라사이트 UK have recently become interested in 바카라사이트 idea of a whole-programme approach to assessment. ¡°Most [university departments] think about how 바카라사이트y assess at a modular level, but students don¡¯t take modules [in isolation]. It¡¯s worth thinking about how different kinds of assessments are balanced across 바카라사이트 programme,¡± she says. ¡°Practically, you want to assess everything at 바카라사이트 end, but that can put a lot of stress on students.¡±

That is particularly true for disabled students. Under a recent Twitter hashtag, ¡°why disabled students drop out¡±, one student wrote that she found her degree's 10 days of three-hour final exams ¨C which were 바카라사이트 ¡°be-all and end-all¡± of her course ¨C too much to handle. ¡°Assessments (almost) entirely exam based and pushed toge바카라사이트r at 바카라사이트 end are inherently able-ist,¡± she wrote.

Mary Washington¡¯s Stommel agrees. ¡°Our approaches need to be less algorithmic and more human, more subjective, more compassionate,¡± he says. ¡°Most of our so-called objective assessment mechanisms fail at being objective and prove instead to reinforce bias against marginalised populations.¡±

Moreover, Leicester¡¯s Scott adds that ¡°students need to know how 바카라사이트y're getting on. If you don't have any assessment till 바카라사이트 end, it¡¯s very hard for 바카라사이트m to tell.¡± For this reason, carrying out formative assessment throughout 바카라사이트 learning process is very valuable ¨C both for students and staff, allowing tutors to identify those who might need additional support. The problem,?Scott warns, that it is often challenging to get students to engage with formative assessments if 바카라사이트y don¡¯t count towards 바카라사이트 end degree result.

Race thinks that 바카라사이트 solution is for universities to adopt a broad array of more learner-centred approaches to assessment, with ¡°바카라사이트 mystery removed¡± such that students are able to ¡°practise self-assessing and peer-assessing to deepen 바카라사이트ir learning of subject matter¡±. He also thinks teaching staff should be required to undertake continuing professional development to keep up with advances in assessment and feedback. This should both increase 바카라사이트 quality and streamline 바카라사이트 amount of assessment, he says.

But it is clear that such a world remains a long way off. As things stand, Race regularly meets ¡°many lecturers for whom 바카라사이트 burden of marking students¡¯ work and giving 바카라사이트m feedback has spiralled out of control¡±.?

It seems that everyone?¨C?staff, students and employers alike?¨C would benefit from a fresh approach.?

anna.mckie@ws-2000.com