Assessment: Grading and Feedback

Why do we assign marks or grades to an assessment?

The mark or grade awarded is a measure of how closely the actual student response matched the intended or expected response. The weighting of a mark should be directly related to the relative importance of the task and the level of skills and capabilities developed in order to accomplish the task.

Feedback

Adapted from 'Designing Assessment to Improve Physical Sciences Learning' by Phil Race (http://www.physsci.ltsn.ac.uk/Publications/PracticeGuide/guide4.pdf)

Feedback should be targeted to enhance learning:
Feedback should be part of the learning design for the course. Students will read feedback if it can be related to a learning or assessment activity that is to take place soon.

Feedback should be timely:
In order for feedback to be relevant to students it should be received within 2 weeks of completing the task.

Think about how students will feel when they get marked work back:
Staff should think about the impact their comments will have on students. A good way of thinking about this is to remember how you felt when you received feedback on a draft conference paper or a grant application.

Try to do more than put ticks:
Ticks do not inform students about why something gained marks, or was deemed significant by the assessor. If something is particularly relevant, either because it was a good point or not addressing the question, then you could provide a short commentary.

Avoid putting crosses, if possible:
'Please review', or 'Consult reference xx' is more conducive to a student's learning than simply being told theirs is an incorrect or inappropriate response.

Try to make your writing legible:
Electronic annotation is quite easy to do and always ensures that your feedback will be legible (use 'Track Changes' in Microsoft Word). If paper copies of assessments are used, then printing your comments often assists students.

Try to give some feedback before you start assessing:
Once a class has completed an assessment, you could make model answers available within a day or two. Students will still be interested in the expected responses and will very likely discuss with each other their own responses.

Don't forget to give positive feedback:
Feedback should always commence with what was good about the student response, then proceed to suggested improvements.

Give feedback to groups of students sometimes:
It may be more efficient to give general feedback to the class on some common aspects of assessments, or to use tutorial groups for providing oral feedback on general points.

Let students argue:
It is often useful to let a student work through a point out loud so that you, or they, may clarify a point. Students will often arrive at an acceptable answer by verbally discussing a question.

Feedback should be realistic:
If feedback is to have an impact on student learning, then it must be achievable within the resources and time available.

Feedback should be fair:
Feedback should address the issues within the assessment, and not unrelated issues. The feedback should be directly related to the learning outcomes indicated in the course objectives.

Feedback should be motivating:
Feedback should allow students to improve. For low achieving students this may be how to achieve a Pass, whereas for High Distinction students it may be how to stretch themselves beyond their current abilities.

Feedback should be honest:
If a student is not meeting the required standard, then they should be told this in a direct, but positive, manner. Make sure that the comments are about the work, and not the student. It is the student response that is being assessed, not the student.

Think about audiotapes for feedback:
It is relatively straightforward to make digital audio files and attach these to emails, or student digital assessment files. This may be a more efficient use of time compared to writing feedback, either by hand, or using 'Track Changes' in Microsoft Word.

Consider giving feedback by email:
It is possible to automate email lists and this allows students to view feedback at a time and place convenient to them. It also is an efficient use of staff time as appointments may be difficult to organise.