Assessment Principles
NEW: A vision for education and skills at Newcastle University: Education for Life 2030+
Assessment is the process of evaluating someone's abilities through their work or performance.
It encompasses everything from high-stakes examinations to low-stakes formative activities, and involves judgments made by educators, students, peers, and other stakeholders. The feedback arising from these evaluations is also an integral part of assessment. A fundamental aim of assessment should be promoting intellectual development in learners, helping them build stronger reflection and critical thinking abilities as they progress.
Your assessment's purpose will influence how you design it and the type of feedback you offer.
Assessment and Feedback Principles
Newcastle University's assessment and feedback principles have been developed to help guide and inform effective teaching practice.
The principles apply at both programme and module (or equivalent) level, and underpin our formal assessment policy.
- Assessment and feedback are essential to support effective student learning.
- Effective and efficient assessment and feedback must be embedded in the curriculum design process.
- Assessment must be valid, reliable and consistent.
- Assessment information must be clear and accessible to students
- All programmes must include feedback.
- Feedback must be high quality and timely.
- Types and methods of assessment and feedback must be varied and appropriate.
- For assessment and feedback to be effective both staff and students must have clear roles and responsibilities which will be clearly communicated at the start of each semester.
Formative Assessment
Formative assessment and practice tasks are essential to
- Provide students with feedback to enhance their performance on (summative) tasks
- Help students to understand assessment criteria
- Support students to become familiar with new types of assessment
Formative, practice tasks often take place in-class and result in immediate, informal feedback. Formative assessment tasks (involving submission and marking) need to be included in the Module Outline Form, so that the teaching teams can easily identify assessment commitments for students at a programme level.
There are many different approaches to introducing formative assessment activities. For example, progress / knowledge checks using polls, online quizzes, reflective activities, group tasks, think-pair share activities or peer and self-assessment.
an iterative process of establishing what, how much and how well students are learning in relation to the learning goals…
Considerations for Effective Assessment
Designing successful assessments requires careful consideration to ensure they effectively measure student learning outcomes and promote meaningful learning experiences.
- Ensure that your assessments align closely with the module and programme learning outcomes (assessments should measure what you intend to teach)
- Use a diversity of assessment types across a programme, such as quizzes, exams, essays, presentations, group projects, and practical assignments (this variety develops assessment literacy and key skills)
- Consider progression from year-to-year. Is the level of challenge (knowledge, skills) appropriate to the stage of study. Does the assessment fit within the overall progression of the degree programme? (see Programme Focussed Assessment)
- Consider the timing of assessments throughout the academic year (ensure reasonable distribution of formative and summative assessments avoids overwhelming students)
- Incorporate peer assessment for some assignments (this can help students develop critical evaluation skills and provide diverse perspectives on their work)
- Provide clear and detailed instruction for each assessment, students should understand what is expected of them (see our guidance on Writing A Clear Assessment Tasks and Writing an Effective Assessment Brief)
- Develop assessment rubrics that outline specific criteria for grading (these rubrics make grading more transparent and help students understand how they will be evaluated – see our guidance on Writing Assessment Rubrics )
- Provide prompt and constructive feedback on assessments and support students to develop their feedback literacy (feedback should highlight areas for improvement and guide students toward better performance in the future – see our guidance on Feedback)
- Design assessments with inclusivity in mind, ensuring tasks allow all learners to demonstrate their mastery of learning outcomes (see our guidance on Digital Accessibility and Universal Design for Learning)
- Provide assessment choice. Where feasible, allow students to choose from different tasks, ensuring all options assess the same outcomes equivalently. This flexibility supports diverse strengths and preferences.
- Scaffold assessments. Build formative tasks into teaching to help students prepare for summative assessments. For example, break down complex tasks into smaller steps like creating an essay plan or drafting key sections.