Integrating literacy in science and mathematics learning and teaching has been an ongoing endeavour. There are frameworks developed to guide teachers' practices, but little is reported on assessing literacy simultaneously with scientific or mathematical content knowledge. We reviewed the literature on assessing literacy in science and mathematics…

Assessment policy reform has led to the adoption of a "participatory" framework of assessment in South African higher education. Using a Foucauldian theoretical lens, this article explores the relation between participatory assessment practices in higher education and social control. Empirical evidence is drawn from assessment practices…

Linking assessment and curriculum in science education, particularly within the topic of matter and its changes, is often taken for granted. Some of the fundamental elements of the assessment, such as the choice of wording and visual representations, as well as its relation to the curricular sequence, remain understudied. In addition, very few…

Extended Curriculum Programmes have a responsibility to validate the resources and experiences students bring to their learning environment. However, designing assessment practices that encourage diverse students to draw on their resources in order to both access and challenge disciplinary discourses can be complex. This article is framed in terms…

Primary school educators in South Africa often experience difficulties in applying recommended adaptive assessment methods in large multilingual classes, with these challenges being exacerbated when teaching and assessing English as First Additional Language (EFAL). In this article, we report on a study that explored Grade 6 educators' knowledge…

Written assignments for large classes pose a far more significant challenge in the age of the GenAI revolution. Suggestions such as oral exams and formative assessments are not always feasible with many students in a class. Therefore, we conducted a study in South Africa and involved 280 Honors students to explore the usefulness of Turnitin's AI…

The study reported on here contributes to the growing body of knowledge on the use of standard setting methods for improving the reporting and utility value of assessment results in South Africa as well as for addressing the conceptual shortcomings of the Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statement (CAPS) reporting framework. Using data from the…

Background: Formative assessment has been reported to improve learners' learning in affluent contexts. However, very few studies have reported the impact of formative assessment on teachers' knowledge and understanding in no-fee public schools located in a low socioeconomic context. Aim: This article investigates the impact of the Assessment for…

Debates continue about assessment methods and tasks in higher engineering education that would enable assessment of cognitive learning attributes and attainment of graduate attributes. This study explored the students' perceptions of the conventional and alternative assessment methods that are relevant and could be used to assess cognitive…

Traditionally, research has shown poor uptake and acceptance of non-traditional assessments. The COVID-19 pandemic, however, necessitated a drastic shift towards online assessments and negated the practicality of traditional assessments. The acceptance of online assessments by university students enrolled in historically disadvantaged higher…

Assessment in higher education is a complex path to navigate, with unexpected twists and turns. Although many studies project the positive outcomes of assessment for learning, the outcomes do not always match the intention. Even when formative assessment is well-planned, the implementation may take such a toll, leaving a lecturer physically…

In the shift to Emergency Remote Teaching and Learning (ERT&L) during the COVID-19 pandemic, remote assessment and feedback became a major source of discontent and challenge for students and staff. This paper is a reflection and analysis of assessment practices during ERT&L, and our theorisation of the possibilities for shifts towards…

We are four academics teaching mathematics at three different higher education institutions over two continents. Through fortnightly meetings to research how our practices changed as a result of the COVID-19 lockdowns, we formed a community of practice. The process of articulating our experiences and ideas, and reflecting on the recorded meetings…

There is a growing body of research that suggests that improving the quality of online formative assessment strategies increases students' motivation to participate in online assessment. However, the way in which course leaders at open distance learning universities communicate the expectations of learning to students through online formative…

Lecturers have different perceptions of the effect of internal continuous assessment (ICASS) on students at tertiary vocational education and training (TVET) colleges. This qualitative multiple case study explored computer practice module lecturer's experience of internal continuous assessment (ICASS) in three KwaZulu-Natal TVET colleges. Six…