Improving Assessment Through Student Involvement: Practical Solutions For Aiding Learning In Higher And Further Education

Improving Assessment Through Student Involvement The assessment of students is an activity central to the role of any professional in further and higher education, and is an area that is the subject of constant innovation and debate. This book provides a scholarly account of the many facets of assessment, with a particular focus on student involvement. Peer and self-assessment are powerful assessment tools to add to the existing tutor-based methods of assessment and feedback, and this book is a comprehensive guide to the methods and issues involved. Practical and accessible in style, yet grounded in research and rich in evidence-based material, Improving Assessment Through Student Involvement will be valued by all FE or HE professionals wanting to enhance both the effectiveness and quality of their assessment methods. Nancy Falchikov is a respected authority on peer assessment, and worked for many years as a teacher and researcher in higher education. She has written widely on assessment matters, and is the author of Learning Together: Peer Tutoring in Higher Education (RoutledgeFalmer). Improving Assessment Through Student Involvement Practical solutions for aiding learning in higher and further education Nancy Falchikov First published 2005 by RoutledgeFalmer 2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN Simultaneously published in the USA and Canada by RoutledgeFalmer 270 Madison Ave, New York, NY 10016 This edition published in the Taylor & Francis e-Library, 2004 RoutledgeFalmer is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group © 2005 Nancy Falchikov The right of Nancy Falchikov to be identified as the Author of this Work has been asserted by her in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers. British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data Falchikov, Nancy, 1939– Improving assessment through student involvement: practical solutions for learning in higher and further education / Nancy Falchikov. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. 1. College students – Rating of. 2. Educational tests and measurements. 3. Student participation in administration. I. Title. LB2368.F35 200 ISBN 0-203-22099-4 Master e-book ISBN ISBN 0-203-34126-0 (Adobe eReader Format) ISBN 0–415–30820–8 (hbk) ISBN 0–415–30821–6 (pbk) Contents Preface Acknowledgements 1 The seven pillars of assessment viii xii 1 Why assess? 1 How to assess? 4 What to assess? 8 When to assess? 22 Who does the assessing? 27 How well do we assess? 28 Whither? What do we do or where do we go next? 31 2 What’s wrong with tra