This paper reports a series of studies that assessed the performance of students on continuous assessment components from two courses in an undergraduate psychology programme. Data were collected from two consecutive cohorts of students (total N = 576) and the grades of students were compared based on additional learning needs (ALN; ALN versus No…

Previous research has demonstrated the benefits of peer feedback for improving student work. Gender, as an individual characteristic, is now receiving increased attention due to its influence on the peer feedback process. This study examined the effects of gender and peer assessment training on the amount and content of peer feedback provided by…

National student surveys reveal that feedback is an aspect of the education experience with which students are less satisfied. One method to increase student engagement with their written feedback and to improve feedback literacy is promotion of critical self-reflection on the feedback content. We describe two interventions aimed at improving…

We examined the reliability of grading master's theses at a New Zealand university, where a variant of the academic journal review system is employed. The overall correlation between the grades recommended by internal and external markers of master's theses in psychology and applied psychology at this university was 0.39, which is similar to that…

The study examined how mathematics self-concept, mathematics anxiety and endorsement of mathematics gender stereotypes may impact female students' response pattern in multiple-choice examinations in courses with mathematical content. Questionnaires measuring these three variables were completed by 435 undergraduates (327 enrolled in a…

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…

In-text comments, in the form of annotations on students' work, are a form of feedback information that should guide students to take action. Both the focus of the in-text comments, and the ways in which they are linguistically communicated, have potential to impact upon the way in which they are perceived by students. This study reports on an…

Despite the benefits swift academic progress holds for many stakeholders, there is scarce literature on how academic progress may be improved by changes to assessment policies. Therefore, we investigated academic progress of first-year students after an alteration of characteristics of the assessment policies in three large course programmes:…

Despite the frequently reported association of characteristics of assessment policies with academic performance, the mechanisms through which these policies affect performance are largely unknown. Therefore, the current research investigated performance, motivation and self-regulation for two groups of students following the same statistics…

A common approach to increase test security in higher educational high-stakes testing is the use of different test forms with identical items but different item orders. The effects of such varied item orders are relatively well studied, but findings have generally been mixed. When multiple test forms with different item orders are used, we argue…

In this study, the consequences of allowing course compensation in a higher education academic dismissal policy are evaluated by examining performance on a second-year follow-up (i.e. sequel) course that builds on material from a first-year precursor course. Up to now, differences in the consequences of compensation on student performance across…

Departments and programmes in higher education are required to participate in an increasing number of programme, course and student assessments. These assessment requirements are also opportunities to develop student skills related to scientific literacy and research, if students are included in the process of developing, administering and…

Research comparing continuous assessment (e.g. coursework) with examinations generally reveals a student preference for the former. The perceived increased use of continuous assessment periodically captures media attention, with claims of greater numbers of higher degree classifications being awarded. This paper takes a case-study approach to…

This article presents an empirical evaluation of the validity and reliability of a peer-assessment activity to improve academic writing competences. Specifically, we explored a large group of psychology undergraduate students with different initial writing skills. Participants (n = 365) produced two different essays, which were evaluated by their…

Assessment for learning approaches, such as peer review exercises may improve student performance in summative assessments and increase their satisfaction with assessment practices. We conducted a mixed methods study to evaluate the effectiveness of an oral peer review exercise among post-graduate students. We examined: (1) final assessment grades…