The Diversifying Assessment Forum
The Diversifying Assessment Forum is an annual event which provides a venue for all staff involved or interested in assessment to explore processes and opportunities for changing, refining or adapting current assessment practices.
Recordings and slides from all previous fora are available on the Resources page (Raven access required).
2023 Forum
Date: Monday 27 March 2023
Time: 2-5pm
Venue: Student Services Centre
The Diversifying Assessment Forum 2023 was chaired by Professor Bhaskar Vira, Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Education and Chair of the Examination & Assessment Committee.
See the full programme for the afternoon.
Diversified Assessment
Following the Examination Review Final Report (2017), the University has been strongly encouraging "creative and innovative modes of assessment as appropriate to the subject being examined".
Diversified assessment moves away from a reliance on exam-based assessment, and instead focuses on summative assessment practices that ask students to engage in discipline-specific or authentic 'real-world' tasks to demonstrate their learning and the development of skills relevant to their discipline and future work. They also provide staff an opportunity for innovation in the design and development of assessment tasks that align with intended learning outcomes.
There is considerable evidence in the sector that high-stakes summative exams disadvantage some students who do not perform to their best ability under these conditions. High-stakes timed assessment settings create a pressured environment, while the learning outcomes of University programmes do not generally require students to demonstrate knowledge or skills under intense pressure.
Diversified assessment thus gives us more variety and choice in how we ask or allow students to demonstrate that they have met their learning outcomes.