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Browse assessment methods

This is not an exhaustive list. This resource is based on the A - Z of Assessment Methods in 'Engage in Assessment', University of Reading and reproduced here with permission. Supplemental information, links and content were produced by Kate Mawson at the University of Warwick, as well as information from Nightingale et al. (1996).
H (no definitions) K (no definitions)
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A

Abstract

Written

Students are required to write an abstract of a research paper or article within a specified word limit, e.g. 300-500 words.

This method test critical reading skills, written communication and helps students focus on presenting content effectively within an authentic setting.

The Institute for Advanced Teaching & Learning (IATL) provides guidance on writing an abstract for a conference.

Annotated bibliography

Written

Students produce a list of texts, primary sources and internet sites on specified or agreed topics to a particular referencing convention. They annotate these sources with a commentary, which could include an evaluation of what they have read. This allows the marker to see how well the student has engaged with literature, what they have understood and where the student sees links between sources. This method supports the development of referencing skills, critical reading, information retrieval, written presentation and organisational skills and can take place over a short period of time (open book assessment) or cover the duration of the module (read while you learn).

The University of New England provides guidance on writing an annotated bibliography.

Articles for different audiences

Written

Students are asked to write on a particular topic to an agreed length in a specific style, e.g. journal, newspaper or magazine. Students may also be asked to present a topic for more than one medium, to reflect on the change that makes to how a concept or construct may be understood or perceived.

Assessment stations

Practical/Written

Developed in medicine, students move around a series of testing stations being assessed on a number of learning outcomes, each for a fixed period of time. Useful to assess a wide range of skills and knowledge, especially if there should need to be a complex number of examiners and/or observers involved. The advantage is that many students can be tested in a reletively short period of time and that results can be generated relatively speedily.

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B

Bid

Written

Students are asked to draft a research or contract bid to a given brief or related to a case study. This method allows staff to test whether learners have understood concepts and their relevance and can separate this from detail and less relevant material. Bids can be used in isolation or as a starting exercise for a later project. The form is less time consuming than the essay and tends to be easier to mark, as long as clear assessment criteria have been set in advance.

Blog or wiki

Written/Oral

Students are required to keep an individual blog, for instance to record their progress on a project, or a wiki which is a collaborative approach. A wiki could be used as part of a group project exercise and be presented in a variety of forms, such as video, website, or journal.

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C

Case study or care plan

Written/Oral/Problem-based/Practical

Students are required to work through a case study/care plan to identify the problem(s) and to offer potential solutions; useful for assessing students’ understanding and for encouraging students to see links between theory and practice.

Case studies could also be provided in advance of a time-constrained assessment so that a learner can study relevant theory and other (similar) case studies before sitting an exam where specific aspects are tested. The approach encouraged critical thinking, information retrieval skills and creative independent problem solving.

Committee briefing paper

Written

Students are required to write a briefing paper for a committee meeting. Parameters can be set by departments, with timing and structures following a real-world scenario.

The approach helps students to organise information effectively and focus on different points of view when introducing a topic or an issue. Learners are also required to offer different solutions (recommendations) or make evident why a particular line of recommendations is proposed. Beyond grasping the topic at some dept, the form requires students to develop strong written and argumentation skills.

Concept maps

Written/Oral

Students map out their understanding of a particular concept. This is a useful (and potentially quick) exercise to provide feedback to staff on students’ understanding. The form is particular attractive for students for whom written communication is a challenge and can ease marking pressures on staff.

This research article for BMC Medical Education explores providing feedback on students' concept maps.

Conference

Written/Oral

Students are asked to create a conference paper for presentation or discussion. The conference form could be used as an introdcution of a set of themes or topics to ensure students engage with self study. It is also often used to allow students to present a summary of their learning at the end of a module or year.

Conference approaches may link with IATL undergraduate research and may or may not be discipline based.

Critical incident account

Written

Critical incident analysis is a concept from Social Sciences whereby an event that has particular relevance is evaluated in detail to towards a better level of understanding. Students are asked to write about a critical incident in terms of context, what happened, outcomes or longer term effects, how theoretical knowledge relates to the incident (or the way it was resolved) and how a similar incident might be avoided/ dealt with in future.

This form tests reflection, critical consideration of theory, application of theory and ability to formulate independent thought.

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D

Designing learning materials

Written/Oral

Students prepare a learning package for a particular audience e.g. members of the public, school children etc. on a specified or agreed topic. This form ensures students have not just understood the concepts or facts they are covering in the materials they develop, but they will also be developing their ability to make knowledge accessible to others.

Dissertation

Written

A well known form of assessment of some size and challenge. Potential for sampling a wide range of practical, analytical and interpretative skills and to assess a broad application of knowledge, understanding and skills to other situations.

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E

Essay

Written

Students are required to write an essay on specified or agreed topics within given parameters e.g. word count, use of different literature sources etc. Essays are relatively easy to set but attention to setting clear assessment criteria will be needed. A wide range of ability is tested, including the capacity to draw on a wide range of knowledge, to synthesise and identify recurrent themes.

Marking for feedback is relatively time consuming. Marking for grading is relatively fast, providing the assessment criteria are well thought out and allow for clear discrimination between marks.

Hounsell, D. (1995) Marking and Commenting on Essays. In F. Forster, D. Hounsell. and S. Thompson (eds.) Tutoring and Demonstrating: A Handbook. Sheffield: HESDA - a useful practical guide on marking essays for tutors.

Essay plans

Written

Instead of writing a full essay, students produce an essay plan to demonstrate their preparation, planning and reading on a set or agreed topic.

Hounsell, D. (1995) Marking and Commenting on Essays. In F. Forster, D. Hounsell. and S. Thompson (eds.) Tutoring and Demonstrating: A Handbook. Sheffield: HESDA - a useful practical guide on marking essays for tutors.

Exam 'by doing'

Written

An exam which requires students to do something, like read an article, analyse and interpret data, etc.

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F

Field report

Written/Oral

Students are required to produce a written/oral report relating to a field/site visit. The visit or trip may be a completely independent activity for individual or groups of students. Questions to help explore the experience may be set in advance, or be provided after the visit, as is deemed appropriate. It is not uncommon that no questions are set and students are asked to relate their findings to theory independently. In any case, it will be important to set clear assessment criteria to ensure students understand what is expected of them.

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G

Grant application

Written

Students are required to use real/adapted versions of different grant application forms to plan a research project. This could be assessed using the published criteria as a basis for the marking criteria. (See also under 'Bid' above)

Group project

Group projects are good for all-round ability testing and have the advantage of teaching team and project working skills in the process. Group projects can test a wide range of practical, analytical and interpretative skills, as well as a wider application of knowledge, understanding and skills to real/simulated situations. Learning gains can be high particularly if reflective learning is part of the criteria.

Marking can be time-consuming and poses particular challenges, particular if group memebrs disagree about the level of individual contributions made. Some markers allow students to mark each other for the size of contribution made. This would lead to a limited percentage of the overall mark being awarded by Felow students. Marking can be reduced through peer and self-assessment and presentations.

Carnegie Mellon University provides an inventory of useful group project tools.

The Higher Education Academy is one of many organisations that provides guidance https://www.heacademy.ac.uk/system/files/assessing_group_work.pdf on marking group work.

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I

Instant report

Written

Students are required to submit a report as they leave their lab or at the end of nother experience. The formould be used with a predesigned pro-forma to speed-up marking and feedback provision to students.

This approach allows a quick testing of practical understanding and facts. Regular use of this method can ensure students practise the use of discipline specific notations often and with the benefit of getting feedback.

Interview (simulated)

Oral

Useful for assessing oral communication skills and for developing ways of giving and receiving feedback on performance. Video-recorded sessions take more time but are more useful for feedback and assessment. Peer and self assessment can be used. Sensitive verbal feedback on performance is advisable. Assessment by simple rating schedule or checklist is potentially reliable if assessors, including students, are trained.

In-tray exercises

Written/Oral

Students are provided with an initial dossier of papers to read, prioritise and work on, with a variety of tasks and new information given at intervals throughout the period of assessment. This simulates real practice where unknown elements and irrelevancies are often encountered.

Highly practical in nature, this form of assessment is often relatively easy to mark depending on the tasks added to the in-tray.

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J

Journal

Written

Students are required to reflect on their learning throughout the course. This type of assessment can have a criterion based mark scheme or can be a reflective piece assessed as a final product allowing the student to assess themselves or be assessed in an ipsative manner throughout.

Journals can be combined with Critical Incident Analysis assessments when reflection on personal learning, or professional behaviour is to be tested.

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L

Laboratory books

Practical/Written

Students are required to write a report for all (or a designated sample of) practicals in a single lab book. A sample of lab books may be collected each week to mark any reports of labs done in previous weeks; this encourages students to keep their lab books up to date. Each student should be sampled the same number of times throughout the module with a designated number contributing to the assessment mark.

Hegarty-Hazel, E. (ed.) The student laboratory and the science curriculum. London: Routledge - a useful collection of readings on teaching and assessing laboratory work.

Learning logs

Written/Practical/Work Placement

These are lists of activities and outcomes which students check off during a period of practice or placement. Wide variety of formats ranging from an unstructured account of each day to a structured form based on tasks. Some training in reflection may be needed. The form is time-consuming for students and requires a high level of trust between assessors and students. Alternatively, a supervisor or mentor signs off activities completed. It may have high validity if the structure of the checked activities matches the learning outcomes.

Letter of advice

Written

Letter of advice to interest group advising of new developments or possible alternative approaches.

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M

Make or design something

Practical/Written

Students are required to make or design something, e.g. radio broadcast, video clip, web page, product, artefact or anything that would require students to engage actively with the intended learning. This form is particularly suited to the assessment of creative abilities and skills.

Manual or handbook

Written

Students prepare an illustrated manual for a piece of equipment or process.

Media profile

Written/Oral/Performance/Problem-based

Students are asked to use pictures or headlines from newspapers and magazines to illustrate the public perception/profile of a particular aspect of your subject area; useful as a group work exercise.

Mini-practical

Practical/Written

This involves a series of mini practical sessions conducted under timed conditions which creates potential for assessing a wide range of practical, analytical and interpretative skills. A series of mini-practicals undertaken under timed conditions. Potential for sampling wide range of practical, analytical and interpretative skills. Initial design is time-consuming. Some if not all of the marking can be done on the spot so it is fast. Feedback to students is fast. Reliable but training of assessors is necessary.

Multiple choice questions (MCQs)

Written

Can be useful for diagnostic, formative assessment, in addition to summative assessment. Well designed questions can assess more than factual recall of information, but do take time to design.

Gronlund, N.E. (1988). How to Construct Achievement tests. Englewood Cliffs: Prentice Hall - a comprehensive text on designing assessments that focuses upon MCQ’s and allied methods.

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O

Observation

Practical/Oral/Performance

Students are observed whilst undertaking some form of ‘performance’. This is commonly used in teaching classroom practice and laboratory work but has many other applications.

Students need to be clear on what learning is intended to be evidenced and what the assessment criteria are, for the form to work effectively. Observation is often used in combination with reflection on the observed behaviour/ activity.

Online discussion board

Written

Students are assessed on the basis of their contributions to an online discussion for example, with their peers; this could be hosted on a virtual learning environment (VLE). Questions could be posed at intervals to allow sufficient time for each topic to be discussed and students to make their contributions.

Open book exams

Written

Students have the opportunity to use any or specified resources to help them answer set questions under time constraints. This method removes the over-reliance on memory and recall and models the way that professionals manage information. This fom requires an adjustment of exam questions towards applied questions or a questioning of more in depth understanding or evaluation of points of view or interpretations.

The 24 hr open book exam mirrors the kind of task graduates might encounter in employment. Collaboration with others is possible, as is information searching online or in a library or even from experts.The assessment criteria should reflect this and be more demanding than a regular form of examination might expect.

Oral presentations

Oral/Written

Students are asked to give an oral presentation on a particular topic for a specified length of time and could also be asked to prepare associated handout(s). Can usefully be combined with self- and peer-assessment. Tests preparation, understanding, knowledge, capacity to structure, information and oral communication skills. Feedback potential: from tutor, self and peers. Marking for grading based on simple criteria is fast and potentially reliable. Measures of ability to respond to questions and manage discussion could be included.

This article in the Journal of Learning Design explores teaching oral communication in undergraduate science.

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P

Part-written practical report

Practical/Written

Lab sheets given to students provide some of the write-up in full but leave sections such as error analysis, theoretical explanation etc. for the students to complete.

Patchwork text

Written/Problem-based

Students write a number of small pieces of work (‘patches’), which they then have to later ‘stitch’ together in a reflective commentary. The patches and the tasks upon which they are based are discrete and complete entities in their own right, but they can help contribute to a holistic understanding of the module content.

Performance

Practical/Oral/Written

Students are required to give some form of performance, e.g. concert, play, dance, etc.

Portfolio / e-portfolio

Written/Work Placement

Students provide evidence for their achievement of learning outcomes; these commonly are problem-based and incorporate a reflective commentary. The content of a portfolio is likely to be a variety of work undertaken by the student, well indexed and mapped agaisnt criteria provided.

LTSN Generic Centre provides a A Briefing on Assessment of Portfolios.

Posters

Practical/Written/Oral

Students are asked to produce a poster (either ‘real size or as a PowerPoint file) on a particular topic. Can be used individually or in groups to assess a range of activities.

The Institute for Advanced Teaching & Learning (IATL) provides guidance on creating a poster for a conference.

Practical report

Written

The practical report is an often used method. It can be used to measure knowledge of experimental procedures, analysis and interpretation of results. It also tests how practical skills are used but not the skills themselves.

Marking for grading using impressions or simple structured forms is relatively fast. Marking for feedback with simple structured forms is faster than without these. The marking forms should then mirror the stated assessment criteria. Variations between markers, without structured forms, can be high. The method can be over-used resulting in extensive student workload and assessment workload, hence a range of different forms of assessment for different experiments are recommended.

Problem sheet

Written

Students complete problem sheets, e.g. on a weekly basis. This can be a useful way of providing students with regular formative feedback on their work and/or involving elements of self- and peer assessment.

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Q

Question banks

Written

The assessment is made up from a set of stored questions which are (randomly or otherwise) generated to produce a test, Students are assessed on their ability to produce a certain number of questions on a topic. This helps students to recognise what they do and don't (yet) understand about a topic and is a useful way for staff to collate a question bank that could be used for quick formative quizzes throughout the module.

Question banks can also be used to ensure a minimum level of knowledge has been reached before students can progress. In that case, students can take a generated test on multiple occasions, until they pass. The quality of such an approach will depend on the quality of question and test design.

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R

Reflective diary

Written/Work Placement

Students record their learning over a period of time, interspersing narrative with a practical reflective commentary which could support the development of an action plan. This form of assessment measures capacity to analyse and evaluate experience in the light of theories and research evidence. It is a relatively easy form of assessment to create. Feedback can be given by peers, self or tutors. Marking for feedback can be teim consuming and is possibly better suited to summative criterion based assessment. Marking for grading is about the same for essays.

Reflective diaries are time consuming for students but are a positive form of learning as well as an assessment. Diaries are often used in learning for professional purposes and alongside placements or study abroad.

Research project

Written/Practical/Oral

Research projects can be major (dissertations) or more minor, when designed as part of a module. They have great potential for sampling wide range of practical, analytical and interpretative skills and can assess a wide application of knowledge, understanding and skills. Research projects may be build around set research questions but this may equally be left to students themselves. The latter makes the task considerably harder. Clear criteria need to be set to ensure the research undertaken is of a sufficient standard, but also to ensure there is a clear sense of when a sufficient level of work has been done.

Review of book, website, journal article or programme

Written/Oral

Students write an account or present an oral presentation on designated articles or other programmes e.g. TV/radio. Often the material to be reviewed is from a selection that markers are familiar with. These often include an evaluative element to demonstrate depth of reading and level of understanding in concise formats. The form allows students to engage with literature with a good level of focus and attention whilst considering critically what is being presented to them.

Role play

Written/Oral/Performance

Students write or give a presentation taking on a particular role, e.g. a journal reviewer/ editor, consultant, art critic etc. This type of assignment could effectively be paired up with a grant application exercise or reflective journalling. The experience of role play may help to bring a challenging subject to life, or have students engage with points of view they are less comfortable with.

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S

Seen exam

Written

Students are provided with a set of questions to be answered in a time-constrained context in advance of taking the exam. Alternatively, the examination topics may be released in advance but the precise questions are unseen until the exam.

The advantage of this approach is that students are encouraged to engage in substantial depth with given topics, perhpas discuss their thinking with others and critically review their thinking before being tested. This allows a more thorough level of assessment in a manner that is more akin to the ways we present our knwoledge outside education.

Selective report / Sampling report

Practical/Written

Students are asked to either write up only particular sections of a report each week, e.g. methods section or results section. Alternatively students are required to write practical reports in full but they are told in advance that only a percentage of the reports will be assessed.

This methods lightens the marking load whilst keeping students focused on thei work. A downside may be the assessment driven approach to learning which may not lead to deeper understanding of the material offered.

Short-answer questions

Written

A fast 'quiz' without mutliple choice answers. This can be useful to assess a wide range of knowledge/skills across a module. The form allows a lightening of the marking load and informs teaching staff whether students have sufficiently understood the material covered 'so far'.

Simulations

Practical/Written/Oral/Problem-based

Text or vitual computer-based simulations are provided for students who are then required to answer questions, resolve problems, perform tasks and take actions etc. according to changing circumstances within the simulation. In advanced cases, students can manipulate the simulation to study how their actions create impact. This form can be useful for assessing a wide range of skills, knowledge and competencies. Simulations can save pressure on learning environments in case of lab based learning, workplace learning and field work, but this may need to be weighed against the time required to develop simulations.

This article in the International Journal of Management Education explores how educators assess student learning from simulations,

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V

Viva voce

Oral

Often used for assessing ‘borderline’ degree classifications but also useful to explore students’ understanding of a wide range of topics. Depending on class size however, they can be time consuming for staff. It is essential that assessment criteria are clearly established in advance and that examiners are trained or supported to avoid bias.

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W

Work-based assessments

Practical/Written/Oral/Problem-based

Variety of methods possible including learning logs, portfolios, projects, structured reports from supervisors or mentors. Important to provide supervisors and mentors training in the use of criteria. Work experiences can be variable so reliability can be low. Validity, as usual, is dependent upon clear learning outcomes.

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The assessment methods referenced here have been compiled from the following sources:

  • Brown, G (2001). Assessment: A Guide for Lecturers. Assessment Series, LTSN, York.
  • Brown, S., Rust, C., Gibbs, G. (1994) Strategies for Diversifying Assessment Oxford Centre for Staff Development, UK.
  • Brown, S. & Smith, B (1997). Getting to Grips with Assessment. SEDA, Birmingham.
  • Gibbs, G. (1992). Assessing More Students. The Teaching More Students Project. Oxonion Rewley Press, Oxford.
  • Habeshaw, S., Gibbs, G. & Habeshaw, T. (1993). 53 Interesting Ways to Assess your Students. Cromwell Press Ltd, Trowbridge.
  • HEA Centre for Bioscience Assessment Briefing (2009). Link here.
  • Knight, P (2001). A Briefing on Key Concepts. Assessment Series, LTSN, York.
  • Engage in Assessment | www.reading.ac.uk/engageinassessment
  • Nightingale, P., Te Wiata, I. T., Toohey, S., Ryan, G., Hughes, C., Magin, D. (1996) Assessing Learning in Universities Professional Development Centre, University of New South Wales, Australia.