Backward design provides a framework for curriculum planning that can be used at unit, course or school level. The approach places assessment at the heart of the planning process. In this article the ideas of backward design are outlined and their application to a current curriculum development project, York Science, is described.

The purposes of this study are to gain more insight into students' actual preferences and perceptions of assessment, into the effects of these on their performances when different assessment formats are used, and into the different cognitive process levels assessed. Data were obtained from two sources. The first was the scores on the assessment of…

The purpose of this paper is to gain insight into the relationships between hands-on experiences with formative assessment, students' assessment preferences and their approaches to learning. The sample consisted of 108 university first-year Bachelor's students studying criminology. Data were obtained using the "Revised two-factor study…