Improving student assessment

The issue Effective assessment has greater bearing on successful learning than almost any other factor. Increasing student numbers are adding to marking workloads for staff and students express more dissatisfaction with assessment and feedback than with any other aspect of their learning experience, according to the National Student Survey (2011). How technology can help Technology can enable different, new and more immediate methods of assessment, helping to reduce staff workloads whilst improving the quality of assessment and feedback for students. Resources Looking ahead Our new Assessment and Feedback programme, which runs to August 2014, is focusing on large-scale changes in assessment practice supported by technology, with a view to delivering information on tangible benefits and transferable practice.

‎tlp.excellencegateway.org.uk/tlp/xcurricula/el/assets/documents/al_O.pdf Tackling assessment and feedback issues with technology-enhanced solutions Assessment and feedback are vital components of any successful learning programme. But they can also be sources of dissatisfaction, as shown by the National Student Survey which consistently returns lower satisfaction scores for these areas than any other aspect of the learning experience. Through our assessment and feedback programme, we have been in discussion with people who are dealing with assessment and feedback issues on a daily basis. Not only has it helped everyone to get a clearer understanding of what might be going wrong, the institutions involved have started to develop processes and practices, enhanced by technology, which could be applied across the sector to benefit learners and teachers. Starting at the top Issue When looking into the way institutions manage assessment and feedback, we found that rarely were there strategic drivers in place to steer these processes. Solution A shared understanding of what ‘good’ practice looks like is the best starting point for change.