Choice of Assessment

Connected to the concept of varied assessment is that of choice of assessment. By providing students with more control over the choice of assessment, students are better able to demonstrate how they have met the programme learning outcomes. This approach is more inclusive, and can benefit all students.

When offering students a choice of assessment, it is important to ensure that the learning outcomes can still be demonstrated regardless of the choice made.

In order to effectively offer students choice of assessment, it is necessary to:

• Plan the choice that will be offered in detail.
• Articulate the choices to students so they can understand the options available to them. This should be done as early as possible so as to allow students time to make an informed decision.
• Make the choice of assessment as diverse as possible to maximise the benefits of offering a choice of assessment. Assessments that are too similar will not offer students a real alternative.
• Where possible, provide students with exemplars of different types of assessment, so that they can better understand what is required of them to meet the learning outcomes if they choose an assessment method with which they are not yet familiar.

Choice of assessment does have the potential to be confusing for students and staff, so it is important to be aware of the assessment literacy of both students and staff.