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Assessment

As the ‘coat-hanger’ of curriculum design, and arguably the primary concern of our students, assessment is given particular emphasis by Australian Catholic University.

New Assessment Policy

Policy

The new ACU assessment policy is now in force (as of 1 January 2013).

What's changing in the new policy

Mini-webinars

Recordings of mini-webinars on key aspects of the new policy (from late 2012).

You may be interested in joining the Assessment discussion group - in LEO

Getting advice on assessment

Dr Kristina Everett is an assessment specialist and Chair of the ACU Assessment Committee. Other staff from the Learning and Teaching Centre who can help with assessment queries are Tim Baillie, Pauline Ferguson, Marie Fisher, Anna Gemmell and Penny Wheeler.

Good practice in assessment

Ideas and inspirations for good practice in assessment (PDF File, 1.7 MB) Guidelines for implementing the assessment policy, and case studies from the 2012 Assessment prize.


2012 Assessment prize

The winners of the 2012 Good Practice in Assessment Prize were announced on 16 November 2012.

These are the winning submissions in each of the six categories:
  1. diverse groups
  2. first year assessment
  3. groupwork
  4. large groups
  5. moderation and equivalence
  6. rubrics

Diverse Groups

Mary Gallagher and Theresa Shellshear, winners, diverse groups assessment prize

Winners: Ms Mary Gallagher and Ms Theresa Shellshear Education

Title: ‘Good Practice in Assessment: innovative and authentic task for a diverse cohort’

Mary and Theresa present an excellent example of how collegial collaboration is essential to achieve the best learning outcomes for our students. Their case study, of assessment across Education units, linking maths and English literacy, is an exemplar of formative assessment and how it benefits all students, regardless of background.

First Year

Coral Bayley, assessment prize winner, first years

Winner: Mrs Coral Bailey Nursing

Title: HLSC110 Beginning Professional Practice: observational field visit and video

In her case study Coral demonstrates how vital academic support is for first year students. By providing early feedback on a two-part assessment task and assigning students to mentors she makes them feel supported and in control of the tasks so they can meet the unit’s learning outcomes.

Group Work

Catherine Bell, winner assessment prize - groupwork

Winner: Dr Catherine Bell  Visual Arts

Title: ‘Negotiating Collaborative Creativity: art collectives as a strategy for assessing group studio-led research.’

Catherine’s case study, where students form collectives and mount their own exhibitions, clearly demonstrates her approach to innovative assessment which is developed in response to her students’ learning needs.

Large Groups

Dr Wilhemina van Rooy Vicki Bredin, winner, assessment prize

Winners: Dr Wilhelmina van Rooy and Mrs Vicki Bredin

Title: ‘The fair Test:Learning and teaching opportunities for early childhood/primary teachers to work scientifically’

Wilhelmina and Vicki’s case study describes innovative assessment which is effective in helping large groups of students to develop their English language skills in weekly tutorial written and aural work. Their assessment design provides good guidance for students and reduces marking time for staff.

Moderation and Equivalence

Winners: Ms Natalie Gamble and Team Health Sciences

Title: ‘Development of a Resource to Facilitate Cross-Campus Moderation of Assessment’

Natalie and the team from Health Sciences clearly demonstrate the research/practice nexus in learning and teaching in their case study. Their work has provided ACU with resources which benefit our students by disseminating vital knowledge regarding moderation and equivalence nationally.

Rubrics

Tracey Harris

Winner: Ms Tracey Harris

Title: ‘Social Work and Policy Q&A’

Tracey’s winning entry is an exemplar of how rubrics can work to clearly identify the standards of achievement of learning outcomes and graduate attributes for an assessment task. Tracey’s social work students needed to debate a policy position in a live Q&A panel, and the rubric assessed their understanding of policy and ability to respond to the audience, as well as key policy communication skills.

Assessment design

Writing learning outcomes

Aligning attributes, outcomes and assessment

Conducting assessments

Types of assessment

Formative assessment

Rubrics and marking sheets

Glossary of assessment terminology

criterion-referenced assessment:
assessment based on fixed, pre-determined criteria, associated standards and weightings
hurdle task:
a task or activity that is marked on a pass/fail basis and is required to pass the unit but does not contribute to the final grade. Hurdle tasks normally require the mastery of professional skills or the attainment of required attributes.
moderation (of assessment):
a quality review and assurance process which supports assessment design and marking activities. It involves confirmation that the assessment tasks and marking are valid, equitable and reliable.
summative assessment:
assessment of learning, the evaluation at the end of a program, unit or topic
validity (of assessment):
an assessment is valid if it measures what it is supposed to measure (Atherton, 2011).