Teaching Beyond the Curriculum

Abstract

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Assessment is known to be a key driver of learning (Boud, 1995). It can also be a significant stress point for students (Forsyth, 2022). Designing assessments that provide opportunities for early success and feedback can be important in encouraging engagement and enhancing rates of progression. Coventry University changed its academic regulations to allow for assessments that can be designed to assess key skills, knowledge, and competencies. The assessments are core tests that are pass/ fail and allow for multiple attempts. The attempts can be from 3 to 5 attempts for the students to pass. These assessments therefore provide an opportunity to build in timely feedback, encourage a developmental approach and by providing a resit opportunity within the module enhance pass first time rates and feelings of student success. In this paper we will outline the changes in assessment practice enabled through the regulation changes and detail a case study where the introduction of these assessments, through the use of online quizzes, live assessed labs and portfolios have impacted on the pass-first time rates of students on a Biosciences programme. We also can show that the assessment has been the main drive for the pass first time and no drastic changes to the characteristics of the cohorts attended in each year. Boud, D (1995) Assessment and learning: contradictory or complementary? In P Knight (Ed) Assessment for learning in higher education, London: Kogan Page Forsyth, R (2022) Confident assessment in higher education. London: Sage