EDFD681 - Performance Assessment: Judgements, Standards and Moderation

Year

Credit points

Campus offering

Prerequisites

Unit rationale, description and aim

Current debate and evidence point to the importance of complex knowledge, skills and attributes for personal success in the 21st century. This unit considers design principles for complex and authentic assessment tasks that match such learning outcomes, including issues requiring further investigation. The quality of performance on assessment tasks requires judgment against implicit or explicit performance standards. Several ways of envisaging and representing standards will be considered along with the nature of the decision processes involved. Social moderation is a process for quality assuring assessment judgments. Existing and possible practices in social moderation will be examined, including factors affecting moderation outcomes. Qualitative research methods will be studied, and research studies on assessment will be used for acquiring understanding of the substantive issues in assessment as well as building capability in relevant research methods. Students will undertake and report a research study on improving some aspect of judgment-based assessment practice.