Assessment and Feedback Online
The information on this website is currently under review to ensure it aligns with plans for implementing the T&L Framework for 2021/22.
Moving Assessment Online
There is an expectation that assessment practices should wherever possible follow existing MDFs. Assessment may be adapted as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic where there is a valid pedagogical reason for doing so and where the current situation does not allow for the existing approach. For example, written assignments which can be submitted and uploaded via Blackboard in the usual way should not be changed, but unseen timed in-class tests that would normally have been conducted at a specific time and place under test conditions may require an alternative approach. Changes to assessment which do not impact on the MDF should be considered first. Please refrain from introducing participation or engagement marks unless this is already specified in the module description form (as outlined in Section 5.5 of the Assessment Handbook).
For 2020/21 all coursework should be submitted online, except in a small number of cases where online submission is technically not possible or is not consistent with the fair assessment of the work.
Guidance on how to convert physically submitted assignments or in-class tests to online submission
Whether adaptations to assessment are made or not, you are encouraged to consider designing in additional opportunities for student-student or student-tutor interactivity in order to provide students with opportunities for meaningful social interaction and foster their sense of belonging to a learning community.
Designing opportunities for student-student or student-tutor interactivity
In modules which involve group assessment, students will naturally engage in social interaction about their learning as they organise themselves, work collaboratively and co-construct their assessed work. Where students are individually assessed, they can also be provided with meaningful opportunities to engage in social interaction in scheduled interactive sessions and asynchronous peer-to-peer activities.
Interpreting assignment briefs
For example, when sharing assignment briefs with students, you can provide students with opportunities to interpret the brief in pairs and/or small groups and encourage them to ask questions and seek clarifications. Using synchronous tools for the groupwork aspect and asynchronous tools such as discussion boards to field the questions and provide answers is an excellent combination of approaches that results in a co-created assessment-related FAQs area that all can share.
Developing familiarity with assessment formats
Further useful opportunities for interaction can be used when students are dealing with unfamiliar assessment types. As part of their preparation for the assignment, you can provide opportunities for students to work in pairs or small groups to analyse and evaluate exemplars of the type in order to develop their understanding of its underlying structure, linguistic features and stylistic conventions with which to inform their own work.
A useful list of approaches to designing synchronous and asynchronous learning activities, some of which may also usefully be applied to assessment-related work can be found in Designing Learning Activities - Introduction.
Providing opportunities for collaborative formative assessment
Peer-to-peer activities can be an excellent form of formative assessment, providing students with opportunities to work together to negotiate their understanding of assessment requirements, gain insights into their own strengths and weaknesses and develop their assessment literacy overall.
Some suggestions are made below, but you are advised to consider the range of possibilities available in the online context. A list of activities that may provide opportunities for formative assessment can be found here: Designing learning activities – introduction.
Engaging with other students’ work
A common approach involves students working in pairs to assess and comment on work from previous cohorts using the same assessment criteria that will be used to assess them. This can take place synchronously or asynchronously, or in approaches that combine both. For instance, students might collaborate synchronously to assess the examples and then share their results and comments asynchronously for further asynchronous discussion and comment. Activities of this kind have been shown to develop students’ understanding and internalisation of assessment criteria, which they can then be applied to their own work.
Students can also use this kind of activity to engage with each other’s drafts, providing them with opportunities for useful formative feedback as well as developing their abilities to assess themselves. It may be useful to remind students of the differences between collaboration and collusion when undertaking this kind of activity.
Adapting assessments
Assessment may be adapted as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic where there is a valid pedagogical reason for doing so and where the current situation does not allow for the existing approach. In such cases, you will need to seek the necessary approval.
There are a range of assessment types that lend themselves well to the online context. A list of suggestions is provided here: Online alternatives to assessment tasks
The Academic Development and Enhancement team in CQSD will be happy to advise if you wish to discuss adapting your assessment: cqsd-ade@reading.ac.uk
Ensure learning outcomes and assessment are aligned
You should always begin with a consideration of how any revisions to assessment practices will provide students with the opportunity to evidence their achievement of the module learning outcomes.
The principle of constructive alignment, in which learning outcomes, teaching and assessment methods are inter-related and aligned is central to quality assurance and curriculum development practices in the UK higher education sector. Any adaptations to assessment must still align with the assessable learning outcomes of the module.
Inclusivity
No students should be disadvantaged because of adaptations made to assessments. You are encouraged to consider any additional challenges students might face resulting from change to the format of assessments and adopt inclusive approaches wherever possible. The Curriculum Framework pages on diversity and inclusivity provide a range of useful advice and guidance: Engaging Everyone and Diversifying Assessment.
Equally, to ensure parity, adapted assessment tasks should be the same for both campus-based and remote students, subject to the usual policy governing reasonable adjustments: Examination and assessment arrangements for students with specific needs.
Assessment criteria
Assessment criteria may need to be adapted to reflect changes made to the original assessment and/or changes to the assessment conditions. For example, the assessment criteria for an unseen in-class test might justifiably value students’ ability to recall facts or key theories and concepts; however, in a take home or open book exam, this criterion might be adapted to reflect the students’ ability to apply that knowledge, rather than simply restate it.
Bear in mind how you will support colleagues to ensure consistency of academic judgements, and support students to make sense of standards and criteria. Engaging colleagues in pre-marking calibration exercises in which a sample of student work is marked together can be very useful in constructing a shared understanding of levelness and expectations. Formative assessment activities in which students use the same assessment criteria with which they will be assessed are also recommended (see the section of Formative Assessment, above).
Assessment equivalence and workload
Any changes to assessment should take account of equivalence of effort on the part of the student. For example, if a module was previously assessed via a 3-hour unseen examination, what might be reasonably be considered the equivalent if it is now to be assessed by written assignment?
While some universities have developed guidance on assessment equivalency based on word limit (see below), this may be unreliable as an absolute indicator of equivalence as some shorter pieces may nevertheless require greater student effort than longer ones. Equally, not all assignments are as readily quantifiable as essays and reports in terms of word count and exams in terms of duration: how might an artwork or performance be quantified?
It is suggested that you estimate equivalence based on notional learning hours and estimated student effort, drawing on word counts and durations where useful, but otherwise relying on your academic judgement and experience. A useful rule of thumb is to assume that students should expect to spend around 25% of a typical module’s notional learning hours on assessment-related work (i.e., time spent interpreting and discussing the assignment brief, thinking, planning their approach, conducting research, drafting, revising and finishing, etc).
If adapting assessments, it is strongly recommended that programme teams take a shared view of assessment equivalence and workload to ensure parity and equity.
Further advice and information on approaches adopted at other institutions can be found here:
Academic integrity
Students who are used to completing written assignments for submission via Blackboard will be familiar with Turnitin and issues relating to originality. Students more accustomed to exams and similar approaches who now find themselves submitting coursework may be less familiar.
Developing familiarity with expectations
You are encouraged to ensure that students are fully aware of expectations relating to academic integrity and the use of Turnitin and other measures to determine academic misconduct. Full details of the University’s position on academic integrity are available in section 9 of the Assessment Handbook: Academic integrity and academic misconduct.
Further guidance for students and tutors can also be found in the Academic Integrity Toolkit.
Activities to develop understanding of academic integrity
Encouraging students to submit work via Turnitin prior to their deadline so they can access and interpret their similarity reports before final submission can be helpful. Exploring similarity reports in partnership with students as part of interactive sessions can also provide a useful opportunity for developing their understanding of how they use sources in their work.
Note that the option for producing similarity reports needs to be enabled when setting up the assignment.
For more information see here: Turnitin Similarity Report – Getting Started.
