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Alternative ways of assessment /portfolio.
Plan:
1. The issues with conventional assessment methods
2. Advantages of Alternative Assessment
3. Disadvantages of Alternative Assessment
*This post is written for my upcoming webinar with Academic Enhancement & Leadership Development Centre (ADeC), University of Malaya (sometime end of May/early June), and a reference point for lecturers in developing meaningful alternative assessment plans for students.
The issues with conventional assessment methods
To determine their students' competence, university lecturers commonly use these assessments methods: written tests, assignments, seminars, role-plays, and controlled lab experiment reports. Sometimes these assessments are structured in the following manner:
2 written assignments (15% x 2)
2 student presentations (15% x 2)
1 final exam (40%)
When I was a programme and course coordinator, I became acutely aware of three major issues concerning the conventional methods of assessment.
First, conventional educational assessment methods are approaches commonly found in factories: An entity goes into a conveyor belt, undergoes a transformation, and it comes out as a product. If along the way, the entity has flaws, it gets downgraded or removed from the standard streams. We wrote about this in the Journal of Education and Work.
Unfortunately, this is the world we live in. When we think of schools and universities like factories, it places stress on our students, their families, and teachers. Grades and CGPAs, which are regarded as quantitative indicators of a student's learning quality, dehumanise the learning experience. It neglects students who don't fit into the system. It creates jealousy among peers. So what is a better alternative then? For me, qualitative feedback that covers the following aspects:
What are my strengths in this course?
What am I weak in this course?
How can I further improve myself?
If a person fails a course, they have the option of sitting for it again. There is no penalty. When a person completes a programme, they receive a certificate of completion - which does not necessarily mean that they are competent. If people want to decide if they are competent, the students can show their portfolios. These principles humanise individuals' needs...
But of course, these ideas wouldn't see the light of day because our politicians and policymakers are still very much engrossed with numbers *chuckle*.
Second, lecturers are bound by rigid policies found in audit forms, where they must carry out curriculum and assessment plans based on the previous curriculum reviews. The underlying principle behind this is to ensure that lecturers cover the essential stuff and to maintain some degree of acceptable educational standards. However, this also causes many lecturers to practise 'impression management'. Among others, lecturers are reluctant to fail weak students because it would raise red flags. Having to repeat the course would disrupt the students' schedule, they may not be able to graduate on time, and so on. As a result, the university may be churning out graduates who are not realising the aspirations of their degrees.
Third, conventional assessments are good at capturing one thing: cross-sectional results. Many assessors do not seem to realise that conventional assessments capture performance data, which may not necessarily be reflective of competence. Just because I know how to say, 'Vanakkam', and 'Roomba nandri', and count from 1-10 in Tamil and score well, it does not mean I am competent in the language. This lack of awareness, in my opinion, is how our education system is failing our students in lower secondary schools. There is much rote learning and regurgitation of information in final examinations. Sure, some of you still remember your add math formulas, chemistry equations, critical years in national history and politics, etc. But what do you think about your peers? There is so much emphasis placed into conventional assessments, and top grades are regarded as though they are like trophies to be proud of.
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