B - Assessment
Goldsmiths understands that the term 'assessment' covers a broad spectrum of activities and that the appropriateness of any particular form of assessment is influenced by disciplinary concerns and the type of learning being assessed. We recognises that 'assessment' is a broader term than 'measurement'.
Goldsmiths is currently conducting a Review of Assessment - the context and background to the review are described here.
B1 We are committed to taking an holistic view of assessment which recognises:
- that assessment is integral to the learning and teaching process, and that it has a major impact on the ways students learn and what they learn [some examples of current research literature on assessment].
- it assists both students and staff to monitor and improve learning, provides accounts of student achievement and is the principal means by which standards are measured;
- that assessment is a generic term which covers separate, yet complementary activities including:
- Diagnostic assessment which is used to show a learner's preparedness for a unit or programme of study and identifies any potential gaps in knowledge;
- Formative assessment which is designed to help learners learn more effectively through giving them feedback on their performance indicating how it can be improved;
- Summative assessment is used to indicate the extent of a learner's success in meeting the intended learning outcomes of a course or of a programme (in most cases assessment which are summative will 'count' in terms of whether a student has passed or failed a course or programme) [for further information see this paper by Peter Knight on key concepts in formative and summative assessment]; NB. whilst the above terms have currency within the sector and indeed derive from QAA guidelines, in practice they describe variations of assessment within a continuum. It is understood that no form of assessment is purely summative or formative. However formative assessment, alternatively known as 'assessment for learning' is primarily characterised as continuous and iterative with the prime purpose of helping students improve, whereas summative assessment or 'assessment of learning' is concerned with making evaluative judgements.
- that an implicit element of any form of assessment is feedback to the learner regarding their learning;
- that forms of assessment will be subject to disciplinary differences and the type of learning to be assessed
- that the scheduling of assessments should be underpinned by a pedagogic rationale.
B2 We are committed to the development of assessment methods which further develop a student-centred approach to learning and teaching, and which recognise the precedents being established within the school, further and higher education sectors in the increasing employment of technologies in assessment and feedback.
B3 We will devise assessment activities that are valid and therefore will:
- be fit for purpose i.e. assess what they are intended to assess through an alignment with intended learning outcomes at either course or programme level, and with the learning and teaching activities;
- allow all learners the opportunity to demonstrate their achievement of intended learning outcomes;
- allow opportunities for feedback to be provided to the learner which detail progression through the levels associated with their programmes of study;
- be appropriate in terms of volume and range in relation to the learning outcomes of the unit of study and/or the programme.
B4 We will devise assessment activities that are reliable and therefore will:
- be accurate, consistent and trustworthy (it is recognised that some forms of assessment, particularly formative assessment which is designed to give feedback on the attainment of more 'complex achievements' may be less reliable than forms of summative assessment designed to measure more determinate outcomes but may still be valid [for further information see Peter Knight on potential conflicts between reliability and validity])
- be subject to trustworthy and consistent marking processes that are criterion-based rather than norm-based;
- discourage and, as far as is practicable, minimise opportunities for plagiarism, encourage intellectual honesty and transparency and 'ownership', and in so doing develop and implement an institution-wide plan for combating plagiarism in ways that do not require the increased use of unseen written papers.
B5 We will devise assessment activities that are explicit and, therefore, will ensure:
- that assessment tasks, processes and procedures are accessible, clearly explained to, and understood by, all stakeholders including staff, students and potential employers, and in particular that the criteria for judging performance in any assessment is clearly articulated and available to staff and students. [See general assessment information for staff; programme regulations for students.]
- that it provides an appropriate quality and quantity of information on assessment to the relevant stakeholder groups in a timely and accessible manner;
- that assessment information (including regulations and results) is transparent to all stakeholders and that its production and dissemination is efficient and effective. [See programme regulations; formula for calculating undergraduate degrees].
- that feedback to learners is timely, effective and assists them. [See paper on feedback by Simon Cohn, part of the institutional review of assessment.]
B6 Goldsmiths is committed to the view that not all learning and development can reliably be assessed summatively within the resources reasonably available to HEIs nor should count for classification purposes.
Furthermore it is often the complex attributes, skills and achievements, which we seek to foster, that fall into this category [see Peter Knight on assessment and complex achievement]. We will therefore:- not always assess summatively or count for classification purposes all areas of student learning and development but will incorporate types of formative assessment within assessment strategies at programme level, to allow students to gauge their attainment of more complex attributes and transferable skills;
- provide students through Personal Development Planning (known as 3D Graduate) with the opportunity to makes claims and provide evidence of the attainment of complex attributes and transferable skills.
B7 Goldsmiths believes assessment must be an integral part of programme design, and departments will be required to develop assessment strategies at the level of the programme rather than the course.
Printable version of assessment [pdf]
Printable version of complete Strategy [pdf]