Comparative Judgement (CJ) is an increasingly widely investigated method in assessment for creating a scale, for example of the quality of essays. One area that has attracted attention in CJ studies is the optimisation of the selection of pairs of objects for judgement. One approach is known as adaptive comparative judgement (ACJ). It has been…

This case study critically evaluates benefits and challenges of a form of assessment included in a final year undergraduate Religious Studies Open University module, which combines a written essay task with a digital audio recording of a short oral presentation. Based on the analysis of student and tutor feedback and sample assignments, this study…

Effective writing is to some degree characterised by the ability to use complex grammatical structures. However, grammatical complexity is poorly defined in linguistics and related disciplines such as literacy. This empirical study examined the notion of grammatical complexity and its relevance to literacy. Complexity is multifaceted, so for…

More than 400 students from four universities in America and Britain completed measures of learning style preference, general knowledge (as a proxy for intelligence), and preference for examination method. Learning style was consistently associated with preferences: surface learners preferred multiple choice and group work options, and viewed…

In recent years academics have commonly bemoaned the lack of essay-writing ability exhibited by their students. Whether or not the halcyon era in which undergraduates routinely knew how to construct a persuasive essay ever truly existed, it is certainly the case that contemporary students can benefit from advice on preparation of a long-format…

This paper reports the results of a study into the quality of peer feedback provided by students within a computerised peer-assessment environment. The study looks at the creation of a "feedback index" that represents the quality of an essay based upon the feedback provided during a peer-marking process and identifies a significant…

Background: Recent changes in higher education in the UK have led to much discussion about the performance of men and women students with different methods of assessment. Aim: To see whether or not there were differences between the marks awarded to men and women final-year psychology students as a function of the modes of assessment used. Method:…

Within large scale educational assessment agencies in the UK, there has been a shift towards assessors marking digitally scanned copies rather than the original paper scripts that were traditionally used. This project uses extended essay examination scripts to consider whether the mode in which an essay is read potentially influences the…

Multiple choice questions (MCQs) are becoming more common in UK psychology departments and the need to assess their reliability is apparent. Having examined the reliability of MCQs in our department we faced many questions from colleagues about why we were examining reliability, what it was that we were doing, and what should be reported when…

Discusses the dearth of material concerning how A-level boards assess British students' economics essays. Describes the practices of the Joint Matriculation Board (JMB) in grading papers on various subjects. Reveals how the London Board grades advanced level economics papers. Includes a chart showing London Board grading criteria. (SG)

For many degree programmes, including those within the School of Agriculture, Policy and Development (SAPD) at the University of Reading, modularisation has resulted in increased flexibility of degree programmes and a wider choice of modules offered to students. An important consequence of this is that module co-ordinators and programme directors…

This paper reports on a case study that evaluates the validity of assessing students via a computerized peer-marking process, rather than on their production of an essay in a particular subject area. The study assesses the higher-order skills shown by a student in marking and providing consistent feedback on an essay. In order to evaluate the…