Resources
Our initial round of work packages aimed to review and compile evidence about effective programme strategies. We then went on to collect case studies and explore other aspects of programme focused assessment.
During the project we kept a close eye on other funded assessment projects. A number of assessment frameworks have emerged, and we are pleased that several assessment initiatives at a number of institutions still make reference to PASS and the merits of integrated programme assessment.
Short guide to programme focused assessment
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The what, why and how of programme focused assessment for anyone who plays a part in designing, developing and delivering modules and programmes in Higher Education.
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Assessment Issues
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Common assessment issues the project sought to address.
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General literature review
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Inclusive assessment
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(, 656 KB)
An examination of what is meant by the notion of inclusivity, tracing its genesis and looking at
some of the legal, social, cultural, educational and economic factors that have driven, and will drive,
this imperative forward
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Inclusive assessment : an auditing tool
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(, 505 KB)
This short auditing tool is intended to support the activity of reviewing assessment strategies with a
view to establishing inclusive practice.
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International perspectives
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(, 612 KB)
This paper offers pointers to those examples so that readers can explore their potential further should they wish.
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Interpreting PFA for programme validation
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Interpreting Programme-Focused Assessment for the Validation of Programmes - Report of one university's experience.
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Position paper
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(, 608 KB)
Position paper: The case for programme focused assessment.
This paper argues that Programme-Focused Assessment (PFA) should be considered for
adoption/adaptation by all courses and programmes in HE that wish to improve their assessment
processes and make assessment more ‘meaningful’ for their students.
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Refocusing the undergraduate curriculum
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(, 187 KB)
Refocusing the undergraduate curriculum at Leeds Metropolitan University
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Students' view of assessment strategies
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(, 424 KB)
An initial generation of data capturing students' perceptions of programme focused assessment.
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Survey of staff attitudes
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(, 1.0 MB)
Staff attitudes were ascertained by undertaking a web based survey of programme, course and level
leaders at Leeds Metropolitan University
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Assessment frameworks
Assessment initiatives
- Integrated programme assessment - Brunel University.
- Assessment and feedback principles - University of Wollongong, Australia.
- Mapping assessment across programmes - a programme-level approach to assessment - The London School of Economics and Political Science.
- Programme approaches to assessment and feedback - Ireland's National Forum for the Enhancement of Teaching & Learning in Higher Education
- Programme level approach - University of Sheffield.
- Re-thinking assessment - a programme leaders' guide - Chris Rust, Oxford Brookes and associated workshops:
- Transforming assessment in Higher Education - HEA case study series.
Assessment projects
- Assessing Students at Masters Level Internationally (ASSIMILATE).
- Assessment Careers: enhancing learning pathways through assessment.
- Assessment for Learning (AfL) CETL, Northumbria University.
- Assessment Standards Knowledge Exchange (ASKe) CETL, Oxford Brookes University.
- COLLABORATE: working with employers and students to design assessment enhanced by the use of digital technologies.
- interACT - Interactive Assessment and Collaboration via Technology.
- JISC Assessment & Feedback Programme.
- Making Assessment Count (MAC).
- Map my programme.
- Programme Approaches to Assessment and Feedback, National Forum for the enhancement of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education, Ireland.
- QTI Delivery Integration (QTIDI/Uniqurate).
- Rethinking Final Year Projects and Dissertations: Creative Honours and Capstone Projects.
- TESTA Transforming the experience of students through assessment.
- The Big Dilemmas Project, University of Exeter.
- The Evaluation of Assessment Diaries and GradeMark at the University of Glamorgan.
References
Adams, M and Brown, S (eds.) (2006) Towards Inclusive Learning in Higher Education London: Routledge.
Armstrong, M., Clarkson, P. and Noble, M. (1998), Modularity and credit frameworks: the NUCCAT survey and 1998 conference report,Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Northern Universities Consortiuum for Credit Accumulation and Transfer.
Bennett, L. and Folley, S. (2017) ‘Team based approaches to address TEF issues’. Educational Developments, 18.4, pp. 5-8.
Biggs, J. and Tang, C. (2007) Teaching for Quality Learning at University, 3rd edition. OUP (Society for Research Into Higher Education)
Binns, C. (2017) Module Design in Changing Era of Higher Education: academic identity, cognitive difference and institutional barriers, Palgrave MacMillan UK.
Bridges, P., Cooper, A., Evanson, P., Haines, C., Jenkins, D., Scurry, D., Woolf, H. and Yorke, M (2002), ‘Coursework marks high examination marks low: discuss’, Assessment and Evaluation in Higher Education, vol. 27, no. 1, pp. 35-48.
Brown, S and Pickford, R (2006) Assessing live and practical skills, London: Routledge.
Covic, T. & Jones, M.K. (2008) "Is the essay resubmission option a formative or a summative assessment and does it matter as long as the grades improve?" Assessment and Evaluation in Higher Education, 33, 75-85.
Duncan, N. (2007) "Feedforward: Improving students' use of tutors' comments", Assessment and Evaluation in Higher Education, Vol 32 (3).
Francis R.A. (2008) "An investigation into the receptivity of undergraduate students to assessment empowerment". Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education 33(5): 547-557.
Fung, D. (2017) A Connected Curriculum for Higher Education. London, UCL Press.
Gibbs, G. and Dunbar-Goddet, H. (2009) Characterising programme level assessment environments. Assessment and Evaluation in Higher Education.
Gibbs G, Simpson C (2004), Conditions under which assessment supports students' learning, Learning and Teaching in Higher Education, 1 (2004-5).
Hartley P, Whitfield R (2011) ‘The case for Programme-focussed Assessment.’ Educational Developments, 12.4, pp. 8-12.
Higher Education Academy, Assessment Framework, York, HEA.
Higher Education Academy (2012), A Marked Improvement, York, HEA.
Higgins, R, Hartley, P. and Skelton A. (2002) "The conscientious consumer: reconsidering the role of assessment feedback in student learning." Studies in Higher Education, 27, 1, 53-64.
Jackel B, Pearce J, Radloff A and Edwards D (2017) Assessment and Feedback in Higher Education: A review of the literature for the Higher Education Academy. HEA/ACER.
Knight, P & Yorke, M. (2003) Assessment, learning and employability, SRHE/OU Press.
Sadler (2009), ‘Fidelity as a precondition for integrity in grading academic achievement’, Assessment and Evaluation in Higher Education.
Van der Vieuten, C P M et al (2012), A model for programmatic assessment fit for purpose, Medical Teacher Vol. 34, Iss. 3,
Yorke, M, Bridges, P and Woolf, H (2000), ‘Mark distributions and marking practices in UK higher education; some challenging issues’, Active Learnong in Higher Education, vol. 1, no. 1, pp. 7-27.