Assessment : case studies, experience and practice from higher education

What are the practical difficulties faced when introducing computerbased testing for the first time? Does the software work? Might the computer crash before saving the test results? Is the response time fast enough? Is it feasible to allow tests to be taken at any time during the term, given the human propensity to leave things to the last minute? These are issues addressed in the first case study on assessment in this book of case studies edited by Peter Schwartz and Graham Webb. This book presents a selection of such case studies about various issues in assessment. Higher education practitioners from a variety of disciplines, practising in universities in the UK, USA, Australia and New Zealand have contributed. Despite the diversity of countries and disciplines, I found myself relating to many of the situations raised in the book, albeit perhaps experiencing slightly different manifestations. Though written by different people, each case study description has the same structure. The issues raised in a case study are described first, such as the issue of managing difficulties arising from replacing pencil and paper tests with computer-based tests for campus-wide assessment. The context of the case is then explained; for example the type of institution, the number of students and their backgrounds and the technology being used. The case is then described in detail with a reflective break whenever an action has to be taken or some decision made. At this point, questions are asked to invite the reader to think about what they would do in this circumstance, such as What steps would you recommend taking to improve the performance of the computertesting programme? What do you think was actually done? Each case ends with a case reporter’s discussion that examines the success of the assessment and analyses the lessons that have been learned from the experience. Thus the book encourages active participation by the reader and is ideal for stimulating discussion if used by a group.