Moving the focus from grades to feedback: a case study of pass/fail marking

O'Keeffe, Muireann, Gormley, Clare and Ferguson, Pip (2018) Moving the focus from grades to feedback: a case study of pass/fail marking. Practitioner Research in Higher Education, 11 (1). pp. 70-79.

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Abstract

Assessment is a crucial aspect of academic work. Indeed, there is substantial literature on assessment design and how to ensure the integrity of students’ learning. Much work goes into enhancing assessment practices to ensure the validity of assessment to safeguard the reliability of students’ knowledge. Yet relatively little research has investigated how university educators might learn about significant assessment concepts through experiencing them for themselves. This evaluation sought to explore how a change in a marking approach on a professional development module for academics supported an assessment for learning approach. The reasons for the change are described and the experience of implementing a pass/fail model on an assessment-focused module is discussed. Data was collected from an interactive student activity, external examiner feedback, and a module evaluation survey. Findings indicated a range of reactions suggesting that consultation processes, orientation time, student involvement, and care with nomenclature are required by those considering similar changes.

Item Type:	Article
Journal / Publication Title:	Practitioner Research in Higher Education
Publisher:	University of Cumbria
ISSN:	1755-1382
Departments:	Academic Departments > Institute of Education (IOE) > Initial Teacher Education (ITE)
Additional Information:	Muireann O’Keeffe, Clare Gormley, Pip Bruce Ferguson, Dublin City University, Ireland.
Depositing User:	Anna Lupton
Date Deposited:	24 May 2018 11:36
Last Modified:	12 Jan 2024 19:46
URI:	https://insight.cumbria.ac.uk/id/eprint/3843

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