Students tend to be assessment driven (Biggs, 1999 cited in Kember 2008, p.11).
Therefore, assessment of students is a crucial part of educators’ work. Marsh (1999,
p.128-129) notes that in higher education assessment is driven by institutional (not only
educational) demands to serve formative, summative and normative purposes:
Table 3: Assessment process
Assessment Type Purpose Implementation Means
Formative Developmental Tutorial, trial
submissions, self/guided
assessments
Expert opinions
Summative Assessing competency;
Assessment excellence; Administrative Formal submissions, Final presentations Evidence; Professional judgement; Marks
Normative Discriminatory Final presentations
Reviews of final marks
Professional
judgement
Source: Chen, Ilett and Kinsland, 1998, cited in Marsh 1999, p.127
Assessment ‘is a comprehensive, multifaceted analysis of performance and must be
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The ongoing feedback and evaluation given to trainees during the course to clarify
their skill strengths and weaknesses, to help them assess their learning needs and
identify skills and competencies which they need to work on to reach the required
standard. (Inskipp 1996, p.68)
Pring describes the linkage of assessment and personal development:
Any kind of development that is important enough to promote is important enough to
be assessed in some broad sense of that term. If one knows what personal development
means, then one must have some rough idea of what counts as having achieved it in
some respect. One must be able to state what counts as appropriate evidence of
success. It is therefore important to attend to the ways in which both the school and the
individual are succeeding – the school in helping the individual to develop as a
personal, the individual in his or her own personal development. If it is argued that
personal development is too much a subjective or a private affair for any form of
assessment, then one should retort that it is much subjective… But that is not to say
that personal development should be assessed through tests or examination. It does
mean that one has to make judgements, and that to make judgements one needs to
think by what criteria and on what evidence one is to make them.
(Pring 1985, p.139-140 cited in Best 1996, p.249)
71 Best explains that:
If the purpose of personal and social development education (PSE) and pastoral care is
to promote student development, learning or change, it seems reasonable to expect that
provision should be judged according to whether it achieves this aim. The implication
for evaluation is that judgement of effectiveness is based on the analysis of student
outcome data. (Best 1996, p.251)
As described in section 2.7, competency based education is addressed in VTC 8-Year
strategic plan. Hall and Jones (1976, p.71) suggest that in competency-based education,
programme administrators are typically less concerned about comparing students with
each other than they are about comparing student abilities against preset criteria.
Typically then, a formative, criteria based system is devised. The researcher of this
study believes that performance criteria can be used in assessment. Who is the designer
of the competencies-objectives? Hall and Jones (1976, p.347-348) suggest that these
objectives:
• Are identified by someone (instructor, student, professional), or negotiated.
• Follow directly from assumptions: values, beliefs, ethics, opinions, and concerns of program builders.
• Are made public to students before they start working on them.
• Are constantly reviewed if necessary, in the light of the changing values and beliefs of program builders and the successes of students who have completed prior programs.
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The assessment can then be shared with students to aid their understanding of their
performance. Below is an example of assessment criteria for an oral presentation
(Entrepreneurship Skills and Practice module):
• Plan, agenda & structure (10%)
- Presence of a structure with a beginning, middle and end
- Logical sequence of information
- Evidence of preparation and rehearsal • Content (25%)
- Quality of script and depth of coverage of the topic: Company background, mission,
marketing strategy, operation workflow and financial forecasts • Effectiveness of visual aid (15%)
- Ability to help explain and reinforce screen text and presentation • Time limit (5%)
- Present the report within 25 minutes • Answering skills (15%)
- Answer the assessor’s questions correctly in a Q and A session • Presentation skills (10%)
- Demonstrate professional presentation skills
• Audience contact (10%)
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A marking scheme involving grading is designed for the module. Students can perform
the preset objectives. However, when assessing co-curricular activities which are not
formally designed as such, what assessment tools should be used? As discussed in section
2.3.4 regarding personal development, individual exploration, and a self-regulated
learning cycle plays an important role in developing students’ self-awareness and
development. Barell (2007, p.159) outlines several self-assessment methods
(explanations provided by the researcher):
• Concept Maps – form a chart to identify all possible areas
• Thinking/Inquiry journal – write down completed tasks and problems encountered • Folders/portfolio – list skills that need to be enhanced
• Weekly “wraparounds” – summaries of learning
• Letters home – letters to parents about to demonstrate understanding
Portfolios are a common tool to use in such programmes. Crockett (1998, p.4) defines a
portfolio as ‘evidence, usually bound in some form of container, that suggests or
demonstrates a person’s skills and abilities. Evidence may be referred to as samples,
examples, documents, records, or products. Because they have been assembled together,
they provide evidence of a person’s skills and abilities.’ Holloway and Carroll (1999)
note the portfolio is an instructional technique frequently used in educational settings. It
has proved very useful in helping students integrate the knowledge that they have learned
in applied settings that demand complex thinking and action. They outline the following
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1. Theoretical basis: goals, method of assessment, and relevant reading. 2. Supervision: session videotaped, followed by reflection on the work.
3. Self-assessment report by students. Feedback session to provide reflection on personal strengths and weaknesses.
4. Competency enhancement by peers, recorded as third party evidence demonstrating personal development.
5. External evaluation by tutor or employers.
(Holloway and Carroll 1999, p.220)
Creating a useful portfolio involves recording, reflecting, and collaborative skills. As
students document their achievements, their performance will outstrip other students who
don’t. Crackett notes that:
If students learn to transform their portfolio contents into an effective presentation of
their abilities, they will be learning to add value to information by organizing and
prioritizing it. If they learn to use their portfolios as interviewing tools, they will be
better prepared to find and get the jobs they want. (Crackett 1998, p.6)
In summary, the portfolio has three aspects: it is a documentary record of the students’
professional work and growth; an assessment of the quality of the students’ work; and a
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Best et al. (1996) discuss assessment and performance criteria used to gauge students
performance based outcomes and evidence collected. Assessment should be linked to
learning outcomes and empirical evidence, preset performance standards, ongoing
assessment and evaluation. Assessment criteria need to be clear, transparent and
straightforward, and express clearly the required performance per task. Apart from formal
assessment, ‘self and peer assessment is also recommended so as to help learners to take
their own responsibility for their learning.’ (Black and William 1998, p.26, cited in
Barnes 1999, p.147). Inskipp (1996, p.78) also explains how a reliable assessment is one
that should be repeatable, producing the same results using different assessors. If the
overall assessment comprises assessment by peers and trainers, and self-assessment, all
working to the same clear criteria within a climate of openness and responsibility, it is
likely to be more reliable. Students are likely to become more self-aware through
feedback from educators and peers and develop a clearer direction and set of goals.
In summary, the portfolio is one of the best methods to track learning progress and assess
student submissions. Staff in charge of these assessments must have appropriate
professional training and knowledge to devise performance criteria and methods of
assessment. Students should raise questions and develop their ability to self-evaluate and
reflect. Through portfolio work, students enhance these skills learners and manage
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CHAPTER THREE: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY