L8 1 1

=Assessments are described in terms of course and programme objectives and requirements. =

Evidence
To be effective, assessment needs to be integrated throughout the teaching-learning process in visible but seamless ways.

Unless objectives are stated clearly and are fixed in the minds of both teachers and students, assessments are at best misleading; at worst, they are irrelevant, unfair, or uninformative (Mager 1997).

‘A learning objective must clearly communicate not only the content of the aim and the action to be taken, but also how what it describes can be assessed as having been achieved’ (Laurillard 2002, p. 182). Furthermore, ‘a well written objective will prescribe the form of the test items by which the objective can be assessed.’ (Mager 1997, p. 148)

The linkage of assessment to learning objectives is often too tenuous (Rust 2002). Where there are exams where a choice of questions is offered students may completely avoid some learning outcomes. Where final assessments are aggregated into one mark the learning objectives become even more untenable. Assessment systems dominate what students focus on when they learn. Often students will recognize that the assessment can be navigated merely by memorization, even when creativity and a range of learning objectives are encouraged.

Hill et al. (2004) state it is necessary for teaching staff to consider how to use a variety of assessment techniques that are tailored to the objectives of the course. These should go beyond multiple choice questions to include assessment that builds on the available online communication and collaboration tools.

Resources
Rust (2002) describes Biggs (1999) ‘constructive alignment’. This is the process whereby teachers identify learning outcomes (see L1), then design appropriate assessment to assess if the outcomes are met, and finally, design learning opportunities so that students are ready to face the assessments. This ensures that learning objectives are linked explicitly to learning activities.

The Ako Aotearoa project has useful case studies describing strong assessment practices in the university setting:

http://akoaotearoa.ac.nz/projects/enhancing-effectiveness-tertiary-teaching-and-learning-through-assessment

http://akoaotearoa.ac.nz/project/enhancing-effectiveness-tertiary-teaching-and-learning-through-assessment/resources/pages/s-0

The Joint Information Systems Committee (JISC) has several resources surrounding assessment practice and e-learning on its website:

http://www.jisc.ac.uk/assessment.html

http://www.elearning.ac.uk/subjects/assessmentfold/assessment/topic_view