Improving the quality of assessment grading tools in Master of Education courses: a comparative case study in the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning

Main Article Content

Michael Francis Christie
Peter Grainger
Robert Dahlgren
Kairen Call
Deborah Heck
Susan Simon

Abstract

This study compares the use and efficacy of assessment grading tools within postgraduate education courses in a regional Australian university and a regional university in the US. Specifically, we investigate how the quality of postgraduate education courses can be improved through the use of assessment rubrics or Criterion Referenced Assessment sheets (CRA sheets). The researchers utilised interviews and a modified form of the Delphi Method to answer three research questions relating to; assessment and student motivation, grading tools and raising quality in learning, as well as assuring quality in assessment grading tools. The research resulted in the development of a checklist, in the form of a set of questions, that lecturers should ask themselves before writing rubrics or CRA sheets. The paper concludes by demonstrating how assessment grading tools might be applied, developed and constantly improved in Master of Education courses in Australian and US higher education institutions.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

Article Details

How to Cite
Christie, M. F., Grainger, P., Dahlgren, R., Call, K., Heck, D., & Simon, S. (2015). Improving the quality of assessment grading tools in Master of Education courses: a comparative case study in the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning. Journal of the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning, 15(5), 22–35. https://doi.org/10.14434/josotl.v15i5.13783
Section
Articles

References

Australian Qualifications Framework Council. (2011). Australian Qualifications Framework Retrieved January 12 , 2015, from http://www.aqf.edu.au/Portals/0/Documents/Handbook/AustQuals%20FrmwrkFirstEitionJul2011_FINAL.pdf

Banta, T. W., & Palomba, C. A. (2014). Assessment Essentials: Planning, Implementing, and Improving Assessment in Higher Education (2nd Ed.). Hoboken: Wiley.

Biggs, J. (2001). The reflective institution: Assuring and enhancing the quality of teaching and learning. Higher Education, 41(3), 221-238. doi: 10.1023/A:1004181331049

Bloom, B. S., Engelhart, M. D., Furst, E. J., Hill, W. H., & Krathwohl, D. R. (1956). Taxonomy of educational objectives: The classification of educational goals. Handbook I: Cognitive Domain. New York: David McKay Company.

Boud, D., & Associates. (2010). Assessment 2020: Seven propositions for assessment reform in higher education. Sydney: Australian Learning and Teaching Council. Retrieved March 21, from http://www.uts.edu.au/sites/default/files/Assessment-2020_propositions_final.pdf.

Brown, B. B. (1968). Delphi Process: A Methodology Used for the Elicitation of Opinions of Experts. Santa Monica, California: The RAND Corporation. Retrieved January 12, 2015, from https://www.rand.org/content/dam/rand/pubs/papers/2006/P3925.pdf.

Clarke, S. (2005). Formative assessment in the secondary classroom. London: Hodder Murrary.

Clarke, S., Timperley, H., & Hattie, J. (2004). Unlocking formative assessment: Practical strategies for enhancing students' learning in the primary and intermediate classroom. Auckland: Hodder Education.

Connolly, S., Klenowski, V., & Wyatt-Smith, C. M. (2012). Moderation and Consistency of Teacher Judgement: Teachers' Views. British Educational Research Journal, 38 (4), 593614. Retrieved February 16, 2015, from http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/01411926.2011.569006

Department of Education Employment and Workplace Relations. (2008). Review of Australian Higher Education: Final Report (Bradley Review). (978-0-642-77805-5). Canberra: Australian Government Retrieved November 29, 2014, from http://www.mq.edu.au/pubstatic/public/download.jsp?id=111997.

Department of Industry Innovation Science Research and Tertiary Education. (2011). Higher education standards framework (F2013L00194). Canberra: Australian Government Retrieved November 29, 2014, from http://www.comlaw.gov.au/Details/F2013C00169/Download

Eshun, E. F., & Osei-Poku, P. (2013). Design Students Perspectives on Assessment Rubric in Studio-Based Learning. Journal of University Teaching and Learning Practice, 10 (1). Retrieved, January 12, 2015, from http://ezproxy.usc.edu.au:2048/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=tru&db=eric&AN=EJ1005281&site=eds-live

Gittens, W. (2007). Shifting Discourse in College Teaching. International Journal for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning, 1(1), Article 17. Retrieved February 16, 2015, from http://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/ij-sotl/vol1/iss1/17

Glaser, R. E. (2014). Design and Assessment of an Assignment-Based Curriculum to Teach Scientific Writing and Scientific Peer Review. Journal of Learning Design, 7 (2), 85-104. Retrieved Februrary 16, 2015, from http://ezproxy.usc.edu.au:2048/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=tru&db=eric&AN=EJ1040438&site=eds-live

Glasson, T. (2009). Improving student achievement: A practical guide to assessment for learning. Carlton South Vic.: Curriculum Corp.

Grainger, P., Purnell, K., & Zipf, R. (2008). Judging quality through substantive conversations between markers. Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education, 33 (2), 133142. doi: 10.1080/02602930601125681

Grainger, P., & Weir, K. (2015). An alternative grading tool for enhancing assessment practice and quality assurance in higher education. Innovations in Education and Teaching International. doi: 10.1080/14703297.2015.1022200

Hounsell, D. (2005). Contrasting conceptions of essay-writing. In F. Marton, D. Hounsell, & N. Entwistle (Eds.), The Experience of Learning: Implications for teaching and studying in higher education (3rd (Internet) ed., pp. 106-125). Edinburgh: University of Edinburgh, Centre for Teaching, Learning and Assessment. Retrieved January 27, 2015, from http://www.docs.hss.ed.ac.uk/iad/Learning_teaching/Academic_teaching/Resources/Experiece_of_learning/EoLChapter7.pdf.

Jonsson, A. (2014). Rubrics as a Way of Providing Transparency in Assessment. Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education, 39 (7), 840-852.

Klenowski, V., & Adie, L. (2009). Moderation as judgement practice: reconciling system level accountability and local level practice. Curriculum Perspectives, 29 (1), 10-28. Retrieved November 29, 2014, from http://eprints.qut.edu.au/26164/

Panadero, E., & Jonsson, A. (2013). Review: The use of scoring rubrics for formative assessment purposes revisited: A review. Educational Research Review, 9, 129-144. doi: 10.1016/j.edurev.2013.01.002

Popham, W. J. (1997). What's wrong--and what's right--with rubrics. Educational Leadership, 55 (2), 72.

Race, P. (2006). The Lecturer's Toolkit: A Practical Guide to Learning, Teaching and Assessment (3rd ed.). New York: Routledge.

Readman, K., & Allen, B. (2013). Practical Planning and Assessment. South Melbourne: Oxford University Press.

Reddy, Y. M., & Andrade, H. (2010). A review of rubric use in higher education. Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education, 35 (4), 435-448. doi: 10.1080/02602930902862859 Sadler, D. R. (1987). Specifying and Promulgating Achievement Standards, 191.

Sadler, D. R. (2005). Interpretations of criteria-based assessment and grading in higher education. Assessment and Evaluation in Higher Education, 30 (2), 175-194. doi: 10.1080/0260293042000264262

Sadler, D. R. (2007). Perils in the Meticulous Specification of Goals and Assessment Criteria. Assessment in Education: Principles, Policy & Practice, 14 (3), 387-392.

Sadler, D. R. (2009). Grade integrity and the representation of academic achievement. Studies in Higher Education, 34 (7), 807-826. doi: 10.1080/03075070802706553

Sadler, D. R. (2010). Fidelity as a precondition for integrity in grading academic achievement. Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education, 35 (6), 727-743. doi: 10.1080/02602930902977756

Sadler, D. R. (2013). Assuring academic achievement standards: from moderation to calibration. Assessment in Education: Principles, Policy & Practice, 20 (1), 5-19. doi: 10.1080/0969594X.2012.714742

Tesch, R. (1990). Qualitative Research: Analysis Types & Software Tools. London: Falmer Press.