Transparency and Expectations for Students

Fair assessment processes are transparent, providing students with clear expectations on what, how and why they are being assessed, and with quality information regarding their progress and status of learning

Course outlines and conversations about how assessments are designed to support, as well as determine, learning. A common practice under this principle is to provide a rubric or “marking guide” to help students understand the elements of and expectations for a task. Rubrics are particularly important in courses in which graduate assistants (teaching) assist with grading.

Examples:

Universal Design for Learning: EDUC 430 (Interview with Dr. Amy Burns)

Clear Assessment Expectations: ENGG 533 (Interview with Dr. Denis Onen)

Educational Resource Project: KNES 241 (Interview with Dr. William Bridel)

Challenge Assessments: STAT 323 (Interview with Jim Stallard)

Literature:

Teaching for Quality Learning at University What the Student Does (4th edition) : John Biggs and Catherine Tang (2011)

Making Sense of Assessment Feedback in Higher Education:  Carol Evans (2013)

Guiding principles for language assessment reform: A model for collaboration: Brent A. Green and Maureen Snow Andrade (2010)

Core principles of effective assessment: R. James, C. McInnis, and M. Devlin (2002)

Assessment and grading at the University of Alberta: policies, practices, and possibilities: Robert W. Luth (2010)

Rethinking Formative Assessment in HE: a theoretical model and seven principles of good feedback practice: David Nicol and Debra Macfarlane-Dick (2004)

Essential foundations for establishing equivalence in cross-national higher education assessment: Sarah Richardson and Hamish Coates (2014)