1. PURPOSE OF ASSESSMENT
Before designing any assessment, you need to ensure that what you are planning will fulfill the demands that you wish to make
on it. This involves a thorough examination of your reasons for assessing: considerations may include the information that you
want to get out of the task, the uses that you will put that information to, how much time and efforts you are able to devote to it,
what info0rmation you wish yo convey to students and others. The rest of this section discusses some o the decisions that you
may wish to consider.
 Formative or summative
Formative assessment is meant to assist the learning process by providing feedback to the learner, which can be used to
highlight areas for further study and hence improve future performance. Self and diagnostic assessment are types of formative
assessment with specific purposes. Summative assessment is for progression and/or external purposes, given at the end of a
course and designed to judge the students' overall performance.
Advantages and disadvantages
Summative assessment is the most useful for those external to the educative process who wish to make decisions based on the
information gathered, for example employers, institutions offering further study, the courts (in the case of a driving test). It
generally provides a concise summary of a student's abilities which the general public can easily understand ewither as a
pass/fail (driving test) or a grade (A-E; 1-7; 1st-3rd etc). It is not however very useful for communicating complex data about a
student's individual abilities - are they strong in algebra but weak in calculus for example. Formative assessment on the other
hand allows the students and other interested parties to form a more detailed opinion of their abilities, which can then be used to
inform further study, concentrating students efforts on the more appropriate areas and hence improving overall performance.
Appropriate use
Formativge assessment is most appropriate where the results are to be used internally by those involved in the learning process
(students, lecturers, learning, learning support etc.), whilst summative assessment is most appropriate to succinctly
communicate students' abilities to external interested parties.
Formal or informal Formal assessments are where the students are aware that the task they are doing is for assessment
purposes. With informal assessment the judgements are integrated with other tasks.
Selecting methods of assessment
Adapted by Lee Dunn from: Morgan, Chris (1999) Southern Cross University, New South Wales, Australia. (Unpublished material for Southern
Cross University booklet 'Assessing Students')
There is a wealth of assessment methods used in higher education to assess students' achievements, but how to choose?
The primary goal is to choose a method which most effectively assesses the objectives of the unit of study. In addition, choice of assessment
methods should be aligned with the overall aims of the program, and may include the development of disciplinary skills (such as critical
evaluation or problem solving) and support the development of vocational competencies (such as particular communication or team skills.)
Hence, when choosing assessment items, it is useful to have one eye on the immediate task of assessing student learning in a particular unit
of study, and another eye on the broader aims of the program and the qualities of the graduating student. Ideally this is something you do with
your academic colleagues so there is a planned assessment strategy across a program.
When considering assessment methods, it is particularly useful to think first about what qualities or abilities you are seeking to engender in the
learners. Nightingale et al (1996) provide eight broad categories of learning outcomes which are listed below. Within each category some
suitable methods are suggested.

2. 1. Thinking critically and making judgements
(Developing arguments, reflecting, evaluating, assessing, judging)
 Essay  Present a case for an interest group  Write a newspaper article for a foreign
newspaper
 Report  Prepare a committee briefing paper for a
specific meeting  Comment on an article's theoretical
 Journal
perspective
 Book review (or article) for a particular
 Letter of Advice to .... (about policy,
journal
public health matters .....)
2. Solving problems and developing plans
(Identifying problems, posing problems, defining problems, analysing data, reviewing, designing experiments, planning, applying information)
 Problem scenario  Work-based problem  Draft a research
 Group Work  Prepare a committee of enquiry report
 bid to a realistic brief  Analyse a case
 Conference paper (or notes for a conference paper plus annotated bibliography)
3. Performing procedures and demonstrating techniques
(Computation, taking readings, using equipment, following laboratory procedures, following protocols, carrying out instructions)
 Demonstration  Produce a poster  Observation of real or simulated
professional practice
 Role Play  Lab report
 Make a video (write script and  Prepare an illustrated manual on using
produce/make a video) the equipment, for a particular audience
4. Managing and developing oneself
(Working co-operatively, working independently, learning independently, being self-directed, managing time, managing tasks, organising)
 Journal  Learning Contract
 Portfolio  Group work
5. Accessing and managing information
(Researching, investigating, interpreting, organising information, reviewing and paraphrasing information, collecting data, searching and
managing information sources, observing and interpreting)
 Annotated bibliography  Dissertation  Applied problem
 Project  Applied task

6. Demonstrating knowledge and understanding
(Recalling, describing, reporting, recounting, recognising, identifying, relating & interrelating)
 Written examination  Report  Produce an A - Z of ...
 Oral examination  Comment on the accuracy of a set of  Write an answer to a client's question
records
 Essay
 Devise an encyclopaedia entry

3.  Short answer questions: True/False/ or computer-aided-assessment)
Multiple Choice Questions (paper-based
7. Designing, creating, performing
(Imagining, visualising, designing, producing, creating, innovating, performing)
 Portfolio  Presentation  Projects
 Performance  Hypothetical
8. Communicating
(One and two-way communication; communication within a group, verbal, written and non-verbal communication. Arguing, describing,
advocating, interviewing, negotiating, presenting; using specific written forms)
 Written presentation (essay, report,  Group work  Presentation to camera
reflective paper etc.)
 Discussion/debate/role play  Observation of real or simulated
 Oral presentation professional practice
 Participate in a 'Court of Enquiry'
Variety in assessment
It is interesting to note that the eight learning outcomes listed above would be broadly expected of any graduating learner from a higher
education program. Yet, when choosing assessment items, we tend to stay with the known or the 'tried and true methods', because they seem
to have the ring of academic respectability, or possibly because it was the way we were assessed as undergraduates ourselves.
From learners' perspectives, however, it often seems as if we are turning them into 'essay producing machines' or 'examination junkies'. When
choosing methods it is important to offer variety to learners in the way they demonstrate their learning, and to help them to develop a well-
rounded set of abilities by the time they graduate.