Practical advice on assessing students’ skills and application of learning in real-world contexts
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To embed the skills students will need to thrive beyond their studies, lecturers need to assess how they’re going to use them in their future lives. Enter authentic assessment – a holistic approach that judges the student’s ability to apply their learning in meaningful, real-world contexts. But how to make it work across different university programmes? How can educators incorporate digital tech and generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) into authentic assessment, instead of fighting it? And, crucially, how do we minimise subjectivity and make it fair? This collection considers those questions and more, offering practical advice on making authentic assessment work for students and tutors.
Authentic assessment for specific courses
Find out how to design assessments that present students with realistic challenges or tasks relevant to different contexts – and why this could help in the ongoing struggle to protect academic integrity and minimise cheating. The capabilities and knowledge required in computer programming may not be applicable for management degrees, while life skills such as effective communication, negotiation and reasoning may be transferrable across many disciplines and professions. Here are examples of how to test them.
How to mark authentic assessment
Different types of assessments require different marking and feedback methods. A challenge of authentic assignments lies in ensuring fair, objective assessment of the skills and knowledge demonstrated. Learn how to create effective rubrics to help examiners and students understand what is required, why grades should not be the focus and feedback should lie at the heart of all assessment.
Partnering with industry
Bridge the gap between academia and real-world learning by integrating industry projects and challenges. This also strengthens the relationships between institutions and employers and ensures assessment reflects the complexities of the professional world. Find out how to use events and e-portfolios to assess student learning, as well as forming important partnerships.
The impact of GenAI on assessment design
GenAI has forced a major rethink of many traditional assessment practices. This goes far beyond worries over academic integrity. Students need to develop proficiency in using AI tools and assessments must reflect this. Here you can read about innovative approaches to assessment that embrace AI as part of the process and how AI literacy can be evaluated.
