Assessment to support student learning in higher education: From theory to practice

Abstract

Although assessment plays a role in supporting student learning, it is often not seen as an integral part of the learning process. The research presented in this thesis aims to contribute to knowledge about how assessment supports students’ learning and to provide insight into how this is realised in higher education practices

This thesis provides a theoretical framework of how assessment relates to learning, which can be used by teachers and educational advisors when designing and developing assessments. It also examines how teachers and students view the influence of assessment on the learning process. The findings reveal a gap between the theory, which emphasises that assessment can be used to improve student learning, and the assessment practice, where assessment is primarily used to measure student performance. The discussion highlights the importance of a programme-level assessment design, in which the dual purposes of assessment, both improving and evaluating student learning, are balanced.

Designing a balanced assessment programme requires a different way of thinking about assessment. This requires a structural change in the long term. An application that provides insight into programme-level assessment, as was developed in one of the studies, can serve as a catalyst for initiating conversations about assessment among various stakeholders at different levels of the curriculum.