In this Point of Departure, the idea of authentic assessment is examined and troubled by drawing on Derrida's hauntology. The spectres of higher education invite us to reconsider what is 'real' about past, present, and future assessment practices. Such spectres do not lecture or produce a single, definitive interpretation. Rather, these spectres…

Advanced practices for summative exam development and post-exam analysis are proven to be effective but aren't always practical, and, even when these are applied to some degree, exams remain inherently imperfect measures of student ability. Instructors may thus deem it necessary to adjust overall exam scores to account for aspects of an exam that…

It is well known that research quality notions vary across research fields. Despite this, humanities quality notions are often portrayed as deviant or particularly hard to grasp. To some extent, this has a historical explanation, as notions from within the humanities have not been the standards used in the development of research evaluation tools.…

Anonymous assessment, introduced to higher education over the last twenty-five years to reduce attainment gaps, is a now common place. This paper suggests some ways in which anonymous assessment could be reconceptualised. We argue that there is scant empirical evidence of anonymity having worked in reducing attainment gaps in higher education. It…

Current methods for evaluating faculty teaching fall short, and one way to address this is through campus-wide initiatives that focus on change at the level of academic units. The complex context of higher education makes meaningful teaching evaluation difficult; in particular, four sobering realities of this context must be taken into account in…

The rapid development of higher education in China has significantly advanced physical education within universities, contributing to students' comprehensive development and national health improvement. However, the expansion of university enrollment has introduced challenges such as a decrease in per capita sports resources and declines in…

National Assessment Week (NAW) is a series of virtual events dedicated to advancing assessment practices in higher education. This annual event occurs during the first full week of April and represents a concentrated effort to foster assessment dialogue across the nation's colleges and universities. With a mission to enhance assessment practices…

Computational Thinking (CT) is considered a core 21st century digital skill. The aspect of assessment is crucial and knowing what, who, when, how, and where to assess is important for assessment design. In this study, we conducted an umbrella review to gain insights regarding CT assessment in higher education. In total, we analyzed 11 reviews,…

This article engages posthuman theory to propose a rethinking of the theory and practice of relational pedagogies within higher education (HE). There has been renewed emphasis within HE discourses on the significance of relationships within learning and teaching as a means to offer a counter-view to an uncaring marketised HE system. This article…

A source of contestation in higher education curricula is the multiplicity of demands they serve and purposes they seek to fulfil. In this paper, we see this contestation as actively shaping assessment theory and practice, resulting in paradoxes of valorisation and vilification of everyday assessment practices. We address the plethora of…

Feedback is a key factor for learning success and has therefore been widely studied in higher education. As feedback is a highly contextualized practice serving various learner needs, researchers have utilized a plethora of feedback designs in their intervention studies. This diversity in feedback conceptualizations and pedagogical designs often…

Since higher education institutions aim to promote social justice through equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI), educators have raised concerns about the equitable and inclusive implementation of AI-based assessment practices in academic writing for multilingual students, who have been historically disenfranchised. Using academic literacies and…

Leveraging data for change and improvement is the least discussed but most difficult step to implement in the assessment cycle. This practical book closes the loop by linking the higher education assessment process with change management frameworks, allowing for greater institutional adaptability, improvement, and innovation. Seasoned assessment…

Communicating tertiary graduate skills and knowledge to employers is a contemporary issue in Australian outdoor education. Threshold concepts have been proposed as a positive way forward to a shared understanding between Higher Education (HE) professionals, students, graduates, employers, and other outdoor education stakeholders. While threshold…

This article contributes to research on evaluation by examining how organizational actors respond to and use evaluation imposed on them within an evaluation system. Drawing on Henry and Mark's theory of evaluation influence, this study uses Q-methodology to explore how staff within English higher education providers experience evaluation and its…