Assessment is an area to make learning and education more inclusive.
- Also an area to address the awarding/ attainment gap
- How does or can an assessment process contribute to the awarding gap?
“…Equitable assessment for learning, with the aim of eliminating awarding differentials”
Assessment can be a way to decolonise education, empower students and place students’ needs and experiences at the centre
It is important to design a process that supports students in developing sustainable feedback literacy and be critically reflective of their work
Assessment should support student learning and attainment and ensure that the practices are fair and inclusive
Why focus on assessment?
- Well documented impact of feedback on student achievement
- Gives students an opportunity to act on and learn from feedback
- Support a decolonising pedagogy which empowers students
- Question hierarchies of knowledge at all stages of the assessment process (assessment design, briefs, summative assessment practices)
- Establish an assessment culture that supports students to take control of their own learning.
Key role in addressing awarding differentials: having a good support system for students who need it most
Essential starting point: a holistic review of the student journey through assessment
How can we check that students are applying the feedback they are getting to the work? How can we follow up?
What happens is students are not opening their written feedback > if they aren’t opening it, how can they understand it > how can they use it to learn and improve?
Causes for awarding gap:
Institutional factors:
- implicit bias
- inequitable assessment and support practices
- Dominance of a certain canon in the curriculum
Course assessment review and planning
- Focuses on student journey through the course and assessment experience
- With the aim to develop students ability to take charge of their own learning
- How do different groups of students access and benefit from formative assessment?
- What strategies are there to support students who need it most?
Inclusive assessment
- Focusses on inclusivity of the brief, approaches to feedback
- How are students identified for support and what support is provided to them?
- Peer assessment and self assessment – how can this be developed
- Putting in place interventions such as ‘Make the grade’ and reducing referrals and resubmissions
Summative assessment practice
- Benchmarking, parity reviews
- marking against learning outcomes and applying assessment criteria
- writing feedback
- moderating
Bibliogrpahy
Dr Salines, E. et al. (no date) “Enhancing assessment for equity .” London: AEM and Attainment Team, University of the Arts London. Available at: https://www.arts.ac.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0020/223418/AEM3_AssessmentEquity.pdf