Assessment - a Guild Education Council Perspective

Anonymous Assessment

There is some concern among students regarding the possibility of academic discrimination when a student's name is included on an exam booklet or assignment cover sheet. This concern has been expressed through the Guild's Education Council and has been earmarked for a major project in 1995. Some students have expressed a belief that their gender, race, degree course or age may provide a means for bias to exist.

Currently there are some departments within the university requiring only a student number to be written for identification purposes on examination and assignment cover sheets. Such anonymity virtually precludes markers from using previous experience with a student in determining any current assessment. There do not appear to be any legitimate arguments for inclusion of a student's name, birth date and degree course on written work, other than for the convenience of returning assessments through tutorial groups. It is undoubtedly an advantage for lecturers and tutors to be party to anonymous marking because it removes the onus of their being accused of discriminatory academic assessment.

There are a number of questions which the student Guild, through its Education Council, is currently asking the Executive Deans of each faculty of The University of Western Australia.

• Are there procedures in place to ensure that each piece of written work is marked solely on the basis of content?
• Is there a relevant policy concerning any possible bias, in current marking practices, due to the gender, race, age or course type of students?
• Are lists matching student numbers and names kept in confidence?
• Do staff have access to the photo information provided for the UWA student card?
• If students only completed their student number on their exam paper (and no other identifying details) would they be penalised?

Assessment Feedback

Prompt feedback regarding assessment details is frequently requested by students. The Education Council has received information from students who have not had assessment feedback prior to withdrawal dates and prior to exams. Long delays in returning assignments and exam results means a failure to pass on valuable indicators of performance and technique which may be required in other assessment areas of the unit concerned. These problems have been reported most frequently in full-year units.

Similarly, in some practical areas where written work is not required and a whole unit is marked on a project or portfolio which is handed in at the end of the semester, a lack of constructive feedback can result in misunderstanding regarding content and quality of the work to be submitted. This also may apply to some units where the total assessment (or major component of assessment) may rely on one final exam.

It is the belief of the Guild that the nature, timing and extent of assessment feedback can have a strong impact on the quality of education provided to university students. Consequently, the Education Council has tabled the following questions, which in its view highlight the issues relating to prompt and effective assessment feedback for students.

• What policies or procedures are in place that set a maximum time limit for marking and returning assessments?
• What procedures are in place to prevent students being disadvantaged in their work due to the late return of assessments?
• What procedures are in place to prevent students being disadvantaged in their work due to inadequate and/or non-explanatory feedback of their assessments?
• To what extent are students able to review all pieces of assessment, including exams, after they have been marked?
• What sort of results are made available to students after the assessments are marked? (For example: written comments, breakdown of marks, percentages, as well as grades).