Interim / Continuous Assessment

3.8.2.1 Definition

Continuous assessment (CA), also seen as a supplement to high stakes assessment, is another way of assessing student performance and then using those findings to improve student success. Cross and O’Loughlin (2013) concluded that continuous assessment has the potential to provide richer and more authentic teaching and learning when compared to once off summative assessment.

Heywood (2000) indicated that the concept of continuous assessment was used in the United Kingdom and Ireland before the terms formative and summative assessment formed part of the assessment vocabulary. In 2006 Trotter claimed that continuous assessment practices encourage students to learn on an on-going basis. This appears to be a logical view, considering that in essence continuous assessment usually involves a series of tasks that are individually marked or graded and is most effective with several distinct module learning outcomes. Such outcomes can be achieved at definable stages during the module, as echoed by Everson (2010) by concluding that continuous assessment include regular monitoring of whether course objectives are being met or not.

The advantages and disadvantages of CA can be separated into student-centred and teacher-centred elements respectively, but for the purpose of this thesis they are simply grouped together under advantages and disadvantages.

3.8.2.2 Advantages

Everson (2010) concluded that continuous assessment has the advantage of being a form of assessment that allows for the systematic and thorough monitoring of learner skills and knowledge acquired. Other advantages, as listed by students (Everson, 2010), included:

 Less strenuous parrot-learning.  CA was considered as being fairer.  Better time management.

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Everson (2010) also noted that continuous assessment is appropriate as it gives the students control over their learning and thus changing the learning from teacher- centred to learner centred. This idea is shared by Hernández (2012), stating that the provision of feedback associated with continuous assessment points as being of high importance as judged by both academics and students.

Hernández (2012) also listed other advantages of using continuous assessment which include:

 Provided academics with more control over the assessment within the classroom as opposed to leaving such decisions to the institution.  Students associated CA with motivation to learn on an on-going basis.  Students believed it provided opportunities for feedback on their

learning.

Hannay (1999) added to this by stating the advantages of CA included:  Relatively low failure rates.

 Leads to clear assessment criteria being identified.

All these advantages could have the added benefit of ensuring improved or increased learner retention simply because students can manage the amount of work better as opposed to a curriculum so packed from start of the semester or year to the end. In fact, many lecturers (unconfirmed) at EATI indicated that students struggle when they are presented with large amounts of work that is tested at the end of a semester. Continuous assessment also potentially creates the platform for students and lecturers to interact with each other frequently so that strengths and weaknesses are identified and improved upon. This can greatly enhance the student experience as they might feel that the lecturers value their achievement and that they are not just part of a production line in a factory. This type of assessment might even lead to lecturers becoming more aware of aligning their curriculum with the assessment to ensure student learning and success.

3.8.2.3 Disadvantages

Though the benefits of CA are numerous lecturers and facilitators must also guard against the over use of these forms of assessment that could impact on the feedback

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that is so vital to student learning (McDowell, Sambell, Bazin, Penlington, Wakelin, Wickes and Smailes, 2006). CA can provide a more reliable estimate of a student’s capabilities and indirectly measure a student’s capacity to manage time and handle stress (Brown, 2001).

However, according to different authors (Everson, 2010; Hannay, 1999; Hernandez, 2012), CA can make significant demands on the time of lecturers, especially if the numbers of students are large and feedback in the form of a mark is required. This is the case especially when one considers that timely feedback is an important part of continuous assessment as it informs the learner on how well they are progressing and how they can improve but this could be offset by factors such as the timing of the assessments and the size of the assessment activity.

Other disadvantages as mentioned by Hernandez (2012) include:

 Assessment overload

 Increase in student anxiety about marks

 Students commented that feedback could be limited may not be conducive to student development, learning or success; and

 The use of CA as formative and summative assessment.

Therefore, it is believed that much like formative assessments (which would not necessarily count towards a final mark), continuous assessment has a very important role to play in fostering student-lecturer relationships so that students feel valued and have a greater need to do better. If the strategy is correctly implemented it could definitely lead to curriculum alignment, quicker feedback and less anxiety that is associated with very high stakes assessments like summative events which will be discussed next.

3.8.3 Summative Assessment