We argue that assessment and feedback practices in higher education need to be transformed to better address three purposes: "promoting" learning, "assuring" assessment rigour, and "communicating" students' employability. To address shortcomings in the current assessment and feedback culture, we propose programmatic…

In the UK, all doctoral programmes are expected to include some form of periodic progression assessment, with individual institutions having autonomy to design and implement their own structures. Yet, despite the potential significance of this assessment to individual doctoral journeys, the design of progression assessment processes has previously…

Despite their widespread adoption and recognised benefits, rubrics have been critiqued for their potential misalignment with student needs. The voices of international students, who constitute a substantial portion of the higher education population, remain underrepresented. This study examines the perspectives of international undergraduate…

Anonymous marking, as a means to mitigate bias in grading, involves evaluating student work with their identities withheld. Anonymous marking is explored in this self-study to mitigate implicit bias, which negated a practitioner-researcher's educational values. The mixed methods action research findings show withholding student identities during…

The recent increase in the number of higher education institutions adopting block teaching has prompted questions about the appropriateness of assessment methods that were commonly used in a semesterised delivery model. This paper explores student and faculty perceptions of summative assessment methods in a block and blend mode of delivery at a…

Two previous studies mapping university mathematics students' summative assessment diet in the UK revealed a clear picture. In general, there was a dominance of closed book examinations with a strong relationship to departmental league table position. The decade since then has seen many changes in higher education in the UK, particularly in the…

There are many varied approaches to involving parents in assessment, but a coherent knowledge base is lacking. To gain a deeper understanding of the role of parental involvement in student learning, we accessed journal articles from three databases following the "Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses"…

The study investigated the impact on student engagement and achievement of a "formative thresholded" continuous assessment strategy in which students had to meet a modest threshold, but their continuous assessment marks did not contribute to their final grade. Students were free to choose their own blend of tutor-marked and…

The Rochford Review heralded new arrangements for statutory assessment for children with SLD and PMLD working below the national curriculum standard. New assessment arrangements, the pre-key stage standards and the engagement model, relate to two groups of pupils: pupils 'not yet engaged' and pupils 'engaged' in subject-specific study. This…

Universities are under increasing pressure to equip graduates with a broader set of competencies, such as communication, teamwork and leadership skills, that go beyond subject-specific knowledge. This, alongside growing student numbers in higher education, creates pedagogic challenges, especially with regards to assessment design. Conventional…

Computational thinking (CT) is seen as a key competence of the 21st century and different countries have started to integrate it into their compulsory school curricula. However, few indications exist on how to assess CT in compulsory school. This review analyses what tools are used to assess CT in European schools and which dimensions are…

Background: UNESCO [(2015). "Quality Physical Education Guidelines for Policymakers." Paris: UNESCO Press.] highlighted the importance of developing physical literacy (PL) from childhood, although it remains unclear how best to evidence an individual's PL journey. The aim of this study was to explore key stakeholders' views of current…

In the UK, one consequence of neoliberalism has been the development of test cultures in schools and standardised assessment strategies used to judge all pupils against within and across curriculum subjects. Few studies to date have explored the influence of this on assessing the learning of pupils with special educational needs and disabilities…

This paper draws on staff and student consultations conducted during the development of Student Minds' University Mental Health Charter to identify five key tensions which can arise in assessment design and strategy when seeking to balance the wellbeing of students with pedagogical, practical and policy considerations. It highlights the need to…

Recent recommendations have been made to ensure that assessments are aligned with prescribed learning objectives. However, little is known about their usefulness to student and academic groups. Focus groups were conducted with students and academics who studied or taught on a UK undergraduate psychology degree; participants were asked about their…