Assessment

Assessment is a judgement of performance and is a critical feature of the student experience at Warwick. Assessment for the purposes of this strategy includes coursework, examinations, group work, presentations, dissertations and projects. It encompasses formative and summative assessment, assessment for learning and assessment of learning.

For more information on the Warwick Assessment strategy see https://warwick.ac.uk/services/aro/dar/quality/categories/examinations/assessmentstratLink opens in a new window

Moodle supports various options to facilitate assessment, whether completed by computer or human, tutor or peer. Results are stored directly into the Gradebook.

In this section

Quiz

Assignments

Lessons

Interactive activities

Database

Glossary

Workshops

Gradebook

The Gradebook is where Moodle collects scores for graded items in a Moodle space.

When you create an activity with grades within your course, a space is automatically created within the gradebook. When the activity is marked (by the editor or automatically), the grades are sent to the Gradebook.

Reports

• a log of activity in a Moodle course
• a course activity report - number of views by activity and resource
• a participation report for a particular activity
• graphs and tables of user activity
• Quiz and Lesson reports?

Feedback

An essential aspect of assessment is feedback. The University of Warwick stance on this can be found at https://warwick.ac.uk/services/aro/dar/quality/categories/examinations/assessmentstrat/assessment/Link opens in a new window.

QAALink opens in a new window: In meeting the needs of students for feedback on their progress and attainment, institutions will need to consider:

• the timeliness of the feedback;
• specifying the nature and extent of feedback that students can expect in relation to particular types and units of assessment, and whether this is to be accompanied by the return of assessed work;
• the effective use of comments on returned work, including relating feedback to assessment criteria, in order to help students identify areas for improvement as well as commending them for evident achievement.
• the role of oral feedback, either on a group or individual basis as a means of supplementing written feedback;
• when feedback may not be appropriate.

Feedback should be a dialogue rather than one-way communication. It should clearly link to the learning outcomes and encourage students to reflect on their learning.

Good feedback has a positive impact on the person receiving it

• It encourages attention to the assessment task - by focusing the student's effort on the task.
• It motivates the student to continue to work - by encouraging them to do the best they can.
• It provides evidence of existing good practice - so the student knows what and why they have done well.
• It clarifies the expected standards - for the piece of assessment.
• It signposts where and how to improve.

Feedback needs to explicitly state

• what was done well (or badly) and why
• where there is room for improvement and why
• what steps to take to improve