Understanding Educational Assessment

The course is offered as a single subject course.

Educational assessment is about supporting and evaluating learning. Set within the frame of policies and social contexts, the course explores assessment at both national and international levels. Key topics include the purposes and consequences of formative and summative assessments as well as fairness as a critical aspect of validity. The course also highlights questions about the interpretation of assessment results and their implications at the individual and system levels. By the end of the course, students will have an understanding of assessment challenges in diverse learning contexts and the ability to propose informed actions to address these challenges.

On successful completion of the course the student will be able to:

Knowledge and understanding
• Describe the contemporary purposes of assessment in education
• Explain formative and summative assessment, their use and consequences in different contexts

Competence and skills
• Demonstrate how to give formative feedback
• Discuss the use of international large-scale assessments by different groups of stakeholders
• Discuss opportunities and challenges involved in assessing learning in lifelong and lifewide contexts

Judgement and approach
• Reflect on fairness as a validity issue in assessment

Teaching is conducted through workshops that combine lectures, seminars, group discussions and peer to peersmall group discussions.

Language of instruction: English

Assessment of the stated learning outcomes will be made through:
• Participation in six workshops
• Provision of constructive peer feedback
• A reflective writing assignment
• An academic essay

If a student who has failed twice on the same examination wishes to change examiner before the next examination, such a request must be granted unless there are special reasons (Chapter 6, Section 22 of the Higher Education Ordinance).

If a student has received notification of study support from the University of Gothenburg with a recommendation for adapted examination and/or adapted form of examination, the examiner may, if this is compatible with the learning outcomes, and provided that no unreasonable resources are required, decide to grant the student an adapted examination.

If a course has been discontinued or undergone a major change, the student must be offered at least two examinations, in addition to the regular examination. These opportunities are distributed over a period of at least one year, but no longer than two years after the course has been completed. The same applies to practical training and clinical placements, but with a limitation to only one additional examination occasion.

If a student has been informed that he/she meets the requirements for being a student at the Swedish Sports University (RIU student), the examiner has the right to decide on adaptation during examination, if this is done in accordance with Local rules regarding RIU students at the University of Gothenburg.

The grading scale comprises: Excellent (A), Very good (B), Good (C), Satisfactory (D), Sufficient (E) and Fail (F).

Criteria for the different grades are specified on the course learning platform.
The academic essay is graded according to the six-grade scale. All other tasks are graded Pass/Fail and must be completed for a grade to be awarded for the course. Students who do not participate in one or more of the workshops will be offered an alternative, written task.

The course is evaluated in relation to the learning outcomes at the end of the course. Students who have taken the course can express their views and comments anonymously in the course evaluation. The results of the evaluation and possible changes to the course will be shared with students who participated in the evaluation and students who are starting the course.

Network-based information and communication is used and a computer with internet connection is required.