The first Staff Development session on Learning, Teaching and Assessment in November at Bishop Grosseteste University was delivered by Ashley Compton, one of our senior lecturers in Primary and Early Years Team. The session focused on new publications in the area of Excellence in Assessment and Feedback, it also considered issues raised by BGU staff of using Assessment Criteria.

1. Assessment of Students
4th November 2015

2. Assessment
Make a mind map of your
beliefs about assessment.
What helps or hinders you
realising these beliefs?

3. Constructive Alignment
 where a programme is designed so that the
intended learning outcomes, the teaching approach
and the assessment strategy all work together to a
common goal (Biggs and Tang, 2007)

4. Assessment
As learning
For learning
Motivator for
learning
Of learning

5. QAA – The purpose of assessment
(Chapter B6)
 Assessment is a complex topic since it involves two distinct
aspects. First, it forms an essential element of the learning
process. Students learn both from assessment activities and
from their interaction with staff about their performance in
those activities. This interaction has two elements: a focus
on their learning and the extent to which that has been
demonstrated in the assessment, and a focus on furthering
their learning, which may itself subsequently be assessed.
The latter element is often referred to as 'feedforward'.
 Second, it is the means by which academic staff form
judgements as to what extent students have achieved the
intended learning outcomes of a programme, or of an
element of a programme. (QAA, 2013, pp.4,5)
 QAA (2013). UK Quality Code for Higher Education – Chapter B6: Assessment of students and the
recognition of prior learning. Retrieved from: http://www.qaa.ac.uk/assuring-standards-and-quality/the-
quality-code/quality-code-part-b

6. QAA Sound practice
 With a partner go through the indicators of sound
practice. Which ones relate to your role? Are they
sound?

7. FHEQ Levels
• Read the FHEQ levels 4, 5, 6 & 7.
• How would you characterise each level?
What are the key differences?
• Make a list of words that students might
have difficulty understanding (e.g.
critical)
• See if you can come to an agreed
definition for them

8. NNS 2015 BGU
BAPE
All HEIs
Sector
Avg
2015
Assessment and feedback 77 85 73
5. The criteria used in marking have been clear in advance 79 89 77
6. Assessment arrangements and marking have been fair 72 71 78
7. Feedback on my work has been prompt 83 95 70
8. I have received detailed comments on my work 80 86 72
9. Feedback on my work has helped me clarify things I did not
understand 69 84 68

9. Looking for
Patterns
PE121
PE123
PE125
PE126Pres
PE221Pres
PE221Disc
PE223LitRev
PE223Pres
PE225
PE226
PE311Exam
PE311Policy
max
78 75 75 90 73 75 77 78 77 82 75 78
min
37 35 35 54 58 53 45 45 38 45 51 45
range
41 40 40 36 15 22 32 33 39 37 24 33
mean
58.3 57.9 59.0 67.9 66.6 65.7 63.3 64.5 62.3 63.6 63.9 63.4
mode
56 55 60 60 65 64 65 72 64 65 65 70
median
58 58 60 65 65 65 64 65 63 64 64 64
Year 1 marks
lower. Why?
Oral
assignments
have higher
mean.
Marks
consistent
across Years 2
& 3.
Failure more
common in Year 1. Marks >80 rare.

10. External Examiner Praise (BAPE 2014/15)
 The best marking gives excellent advice at both academic and practical
levels giving the picture of lecturers being well informed, makes
suggestions to the students about how to improve (effective modelling)
and refers to progress against previous targets.
 Tutors demonstrate their understanding of a range of study skills and
feedback given to students regarding this area is a strength
 Students directed to resources and wider issues to develop their
learning
 Consistent marking standards
 Specific assignment criteria aligned
 Assessment grids match marks / used well to highlight how criteria
contributes to overall mark
 Consistency in markers’ comments relating to the development of
academic writing and synthesis of reading
 Wide range of assessment practices that all demonstrate academic
rigour

11. External Examiner Areas for
Improvement (BAPE 2014/15)
 Need greater consistency in quantity of feedback
(including on scripts)
 All students to identify / work on previous targets
 Be more specific in targets (e.g. not ‘proof read’)
 Develop feedback of 70+ assignments at Level 6
for Level 7

12. Research on Feedback
 Grade or comment?
 How the criteria were met or how to improve?
 What do the comments mean?
 What did the criteria mean?
“Of the 29 first assignments that were not picked up by
students, the majority were of poor quality, indicating
that students who need the help of feedback are the
least likely to receive it” (Sopina & McNeill, 2015, p.678)

13. Feedback loop
Student
responds
to
feedback
Tutor
monitors
progress
Tutor
gives
feedback

14. Sustainable assessment & active learners
 Learners orientated to the purposes of feedback
 Learners participate in activities promoting self-regulation
 Learner disposition for seeking feedback is developed
 Opportunities provided for production of work
 Calibration mechanisms
 Incremental challenge of tasks
 Nested tasks to allow for ‘feed forward’
 Learner as ‘seeker and provider’
(Boud & Molloy, 2015, p.707)

15. Communication Issues
 How much to correct?
 Academic language
 How many targets?
Hawe’s (2007) study
demonstrated that feedback
which focused on surface
features, such as presentation,
rather than substantive issues,
resulted in a more superficial
approach to subsequent
assignments.

16. Target Issues
 Being specific
 Providing strategies
 How many targets?
 Spread of targets?
 Targets for 70+
 Clear vocabulary

17. Codes of Practice
 CofP Assessment of Students
 CofP on Academic Misconduct
 CofP for Students with Access Needs
 CofP for Academic Appeals
 CofP Extenuating Circumstances
 Guidance on Marking and Moderation

18. Assessment Reform Group (1999) Assessment for Learning: Beyond the black box, Cambridge: University of Cambridge
School of Education.
Biggs, J. and Tang, C. (2007). Teaching for quality learning at university, 3rd edition. Maidenhead: Open University Press.
Bloxham, S. and Boyd, P. (2007). Developing effective assessment in higher education. Maidenhead: Open University
Press.
Boud, D. and Falchikov, N. (2007) Assessment for the longer term, in D. Boud & N. Falchikov (Eds). Rethinking
assessment in higher education: learning for the longer term. Abingdon: Routledge.
Boud, D. & Molloy, E. (2013). Rethinking models of feedback for learning: the challenge of design, Assessment &
Evaluation in Higher Education, 38(6), 698-712, DOI: 10.1080/02602938.2012.691462
Dochy, F., Seegers, M., Gijbels, D. and Struyven, K. (2007). Breaking down barriers between teaching and learning and
assessment, in D. Boud & N. Falchikov (Eds). Rethinking assessment in higher education: learning for the longer term.
Abingdon: Routledge.
Hawe, E. (2007). Student teachers’ discourse on assessment: form and substance, Teaching in Higher Education, 12(3),
323-335.
Irons, A. (2008). Enhancing learning through formative assessment and feedback. Abingdon: Routledge.
Moon, J. (2002). The module and programme development handbook. London: Kogan Page.
Pickford, R. and Brown, S. (2006). Assessing skills and practice. Abingdon: Routledge.
Price, M., Handley, K., Millar, J. & O'Donovan, B. (2010). Feedback : all that effort, but what is the effect?, Assessment &
Evaluation in Higher Education, 35(3), 277-289, DOI:10.1080/02602930903541007
Prowse, S., Duncan, N., Hughes, J. and Burke, D. (2007). ‘…do that and I’ll raise your grade’ Innovative module design
and recursive feedback, Teaching in Higher Education, 12(4), 437-445.
QAA (2013). UK Quality Code for Higher Education – Chapter B6: Assessment of students and the recognition of prior
learning. Retrieved from: http://www.qaa.ac.uk/assuring-standards-and-quality/the-quality-code/quality-code-part-b
Sopina, E. & McNeill, R. (2015). Investigating the relationship between quality, format and delivery of feedback for written
assignments in higher education, Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education, 40(5), 666-680,
DOI:10.1080/02602938.2014.945072