Assessment tasks

Given the variety of assessment tasks students will complete over the course of their university experience, ensuring they understand the requirements of the task and are well prepared for assessment is necessary. There are several steps you can take to ensure students are well supported before an assessment, and other supports at the university to help them understand the tasks they need to complete during the assessment.

How to support your students

• Be specific about the purpose(s) of assessment and why and what you are assessing for students. Ensure assessments and criteria are aligned with learning outcomes and communicate the relationship.
• Communicate what success looks like, using exemplars, rubrics, explanations and samples.
• Collate assessment information together in one central place and ensure all students know where it is. If individual conversations with students are required to clarify details, make sure this information is shared with the rest of the cohort.
• Allow students to ask questions and discuss the assessment task(s) in a productive and positive manner through guided conversations about rubrics, online forums or assessment drop ins.
• Develop assessment literacy in students. Help them to dissect rubrics, grade samples, peer review or discuss performance levels to develop their evaluative judgement.
• Structure activities with the intention of engaging students in dialogues relating to performance, standards and concepts of quality. “Understanding criteria and the academic discourse in which they may be embedded is challenging and may require training (Hanrahan & Isaacs, 2001), but this kind of understanding is fundamental to collaborative forms of assessment" (Liu & Carless, 2016 p287).
• Offer students choice, if possible, in which tasks they might select to demonstrate learning outcomes.
• Invite students to engage in assessment through partnership opportunities.
• Reflect on assessment tasks and instructions leading up to and during the marking process and collect information on how to improve for next time.
• Embed peer involvement through course processes; create a course climate where the giving and receiving of peer feedback is a normal part of teaching and learning. These skills will improve student outcomes within group and peer assessment.
• Involve students as much as possible in peer feedback processes to allow them to develop expertise in making judgements.
• Educate students that feedback quality varies, train them how to rate peers with constructive feedback and how to critically evaluate and incorporate feedback received.
• Follow-up group activities with opportunities for students to reflect
• Anticipate common assessment questions and develop FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions) pages, or provide a video answering these.
• Explain the purpose of the assessment task - why you have set it, and how it contributes to the students’ learning.
• Clarify the connections between the assessment task and the learning outcomes
• Identify the evidence you are looking for in the assessment
• Educate students about how you will evaluate their performance in this task by discussing the criteria for assessment, and the rubric or marking guide.
• Identify how the assessment task helps students to build skill sets that are relevant outside of the unit, for example, in the community, a workplace or industry context.
• Create opportunities for students to ask further questions about the assessment, via forums, staff consultation or in-class Q&A time.

What resources and services are available to students

Here are a number of resources that you can share with your students to help them better prepare for their assessments and to assist them with group and peer assessment.

LearnHQ
Learn HQ is a one stop shop for student language and learning support, provided by Student Academic Success. It not only includes a bank of language and learning resources, it is a portal for the students to book one-on-one consultations with language and learning advisers and sign up for language and academic skills development workshops.

Learn HQ: Understand assessments Suite of resources that support students' approach to different assessment types, reinforce principles of academic integrity, and introduce examples and annotated assessments from a range of disciplines.

Learn HQ: Write like a pro This page is the landing page of the Learn HQ writing resources. It includes resources on major academic writing genres and key assignment tasks for students from different faculties.

LearnHQ: Collaborate with others A  resource that will guide students with the process, leadership, and possible difficulties around group and team work.

Learn HQ: Provide constructive feedback
A resource that will guide students on giving constructive feedback. The resource includes guidance on giving clear, helpful feedback that highlights strengths, suggests improvements, and avoids vague or unkind comments, and more.

Learn HQ: Learn from feedback
A resource that will guide students on the feedback cycle. The resource emphasises that knowing how to constructively engage with feedback is a valuable asset in studies at university, as well as a transferable skill in life and the workplace.

Student Academic Success: Individual consultation
Share this link with students so that they can book in with a learning adviser for personal help with academic language and learning skills, as well as general study and assessment support.

Counselling for students
Share this link for counselling services so that students can obtain additional support around a number of issues from managing motivation, coping with stress and/or anxiety, prioritisation and managing perfectionism. This is a free service for Monash students.

Extensions and special consideration
Share this link to let students know how to apply for extensions and special consideration that may allow them to obtain a longer extension or sit a deferred exam.