assessment terms glossary.doc

Assessing Student Learning

Glossary of Assessment Terms

"Achievement based "A sub-set of standards based assessment "
"assessment "in which the performance of students is "
" "compared to a series of levels of "
" "achievement. All students have the "
" "opportunity to achieve at each of the "
" "levels defined. Marks or grades can be "
" "allocated. "
"Assessment "A process of collecting and interpreting"
" "evidence of student performance and "
" "attainment. "
"Assessment criteria "The criteria that are used to measure "
" "performance in a particular assessment "
" "task. "
"Assessment plan "A summary outline of the proposed "
" "assessment methods for any course. "
"Assessment rationale "A statement which outlines the "
" "fundamental reasons for a chosen "
" "approach to assessment. "
"Assessment task "An individual assessment activity that "
" "assesses student performance for part of"
" "a course. "
"Authenticity "A check that any work submitted by an "
" "individual student can be attributed to "
" "that student. "
"Competency based "A sub-set of standards based assessment "
"assessment "in which the performance of students is "
" "compared to a competency standard. "
" "Students are allocated a mark of either "
" "competence or not yet competent. "
"Coverage "The extent to which an assessment plan "
" "covers the learning outcomes of a course"
" "or programme. "
"Fairness and openness "That all students should have equal "
" "opportunity to complete assessment "
" "requirements and that information given "
" "with regard to assessment requirements "
" "is simple and clear. "
"Formative assessment "A process that takes place during "
" "teaching and which is used essentially "
" "to give students developmental feedback."






"Learning outcomes "Definitions of the performance expected "
" "from students on a course or programme "
" "of learning. These are the benchmarks "
" "for assessment and may also be called "
" "elements and performance criteria or "
" "objectives. "
"Manageability "That the demands of the assessment "
" "process, including the level of the work"
" "required, are realistic for both "
" "students and tutors. "
"Marking schedule "A detailed sheet that gives students "
" "information on the way marks or grades "
" "will be allocated for a particular "
" "assessment task. "
"Model answers "A set of answers that are used by a "
" "marker to help with reliability and "
" "consistency. "
"Moderation "A process of ensuring the consistency of"
" "assessment with the required standard. "
"Norm referenced "An assessment system in which the "
"assessment "performance of students is compared to "
" "others. It is usually assumed that "
" "there will be a range of performances "
" "within any student group. As a result "
" "marks are often scaled to reflect this "
" "assumption. "
"Reliability/consistency "The extent to which an assessment, and "
" "assessment decision, would produce the "
" "same or similar assessment decision on "
" "two different occasions or by two "
" "different assessors. "
"Standards based "A process whereby the performance of "
"assessment "students is compared to a set standard. "
"Sufficiency "That the quality and quantity of work "
" "submitted is adequate to make an "
" "assessment decision or allocate a "
" "mark/grade. "
"Summative assessment "The process of assessing student "
" "achievement during or at the end of a "
" "course that contributes to the 'mark' "
" "given to students. "
"Validity "The extent to which an assessment "
" "measures what it has been designed to "
" "measure. "