This paper puts forward the case that one of the factors constraining principled learning-oriented assessment practices is lack of trust. It examines a number of assessment dimensions in which trust or distrust plays a role. These issues are illustrated via a discussion of two different iterations of the same module taught in a teacher education…

Discussion of the practice in the United Kingdom of permitting disabled students to take an alternative form of assessment focuses on implications vis-a-vis assessment principles. It concludes that alternative assessments are compensatory in nature, violate the principles of assessment, and undermine the validity of assessment in higher education.…

Raises concerns about the assessment procedures implicit in the new British standards for the award of qualified teacher status. Suggests that these procedures straddle a hybrid position in terms of the basic assessment model and that little regard has been given to the rationale behind the standards, their implementation, or the effects on…

Discusses shortcomings in both cognitive- and competency-based assessment approaches to art learning. Asserts that they fail on a number of fronts to reflect the full extent of art and how it operates. Questions the degree of accuracy that these assessment approaches can achieve when considering art education. (EV)

Examines assessment issues in connection with peer learning at the college level and suggests ways in which the benefits of this approach can be maintained while still meeting a course's formal assessment requirements. Discusses the use of group assessment, peer feedback, self-assessment, assessment of participation, and negotiated assessment. (DB)

Critiques the over-emphasis on multiple choice testing in some large first-year college classes, as well as the poor design and construction of many tests, and calls for a broader and more diverse range of assessment measures. Argues that multiple choice tests to not allow students to develop communicative competence in the academic disciplines.…

The current preference for alternative assessment has been partly stimulated by recent evidence on learning which points to the importance of students' active engagement in the learning process. While alternative assessment may well fulfill the aims of formative assessment, its value in the summative assessment required in higher education is more…

A two-stage process for college student evaluation that combines peer assessment with self-assessment is described, and experience with it is discussed. Several necessary features are highlighted and include assessment made in steps that are absorbable and achievable by students; building student confidence from experience; and providing feedback…

The author proposes that the unique benefit of self-evaluation for college faculty is the close involvement it gives the teacher in considering the effectiveness of their own teaching. Different methods of self-evaluation are considered, and a technique involving keeping a course log that has been found successful is explained. (Author/MSE)

A study investigated the role of subjective assessment in the evaluation of physiotherapy students in clinical programs. Clinical teachers, visiting lecturers, and students recorded perceptions of daily events and interactions in journals. Analysis suggests that assessors make subjective judgments about students that influence grades, and…

System-wide assessment in higher education can be influenced by political issues, which are in turn preoccupied with market forces and technological development. This generates a climate inimical to ethical quality and conflicts with academic work. If academic work is to make its best contribution to society, administration must move beyond…

Constructive-developmental theory, with its emphasis on epistemology and cognitive complexity, explicitly links learning and developmental growth. One model, which identifies five shifts in perception throughout the life span, describes some of higher education's values and objectives. The theory offers a promising direction for student evaluation…

In the United Kingdom, a trend in professional education is toward a competence-based certification scheme to be used in tandem with academic qualifications. However, philosophical differences are found that, linked to structural issues, make this pairing problematic. An alternative approach that allows competencies to be recognized through the…

Alongside increasing demand for faculty to do more teaching, research, and community service, there is increasing pressure to improve the quality of academic work. The relationship between quantity and quality of academic work is complex, and achieving higher quality requires that academics, administrators, and funding bodies have a better…

Two frameworks for educational assessment distinguished, which is quantitative, adequate for construing some kinds of learning, and qualitative, which is more appropriate for most objectives in higher education. The paper argues that institutions implicitly encourage quantitative assessment, thus encouraging a surface approach to learning although…