Continuous Assessment

Designing Effective Continuous Assessment

Continuous assessment refers to a spreading of assessment across the weeks of teaching rather than just at the end.  This idea of spreading the learning opportunities of assessment and feedback can be seen across this guidance site, such as in the feedback section and reducing deadline bunching. This approach has many benefits for both students and instructors, however, needs careful design to realise these.

LJMU assessment regulations

The following are key regulations that affect continuous assessment design.

Number of assessments in a single module: The current LJMU assessment regulations (2024) state that “normally there will be one summative assessment task per 10 credit modules and a maximum of two summative assessment tasks per 20 credit modules.” The word ‘normally’ allows you to submit exceptions to this rule. To do this follow the usual institutional processes (please follow the process of module and programme change for consideration at the programme and module amendment panel) for making changes to your assessments.

Student attempts for each assessment: The other regulation that affects the design of continuous assessment is the requirement that all students must attempt every summative assessment on the module in order to pass that module. This can be useful in continuous assessment design, because it requires students to make an attempt at each assessment in order to pass the module.

Three different ways to design continuous assessment

There are three main ways design continuous assessment: block delivery, a portfolio assessment item and additional module assessments.

Block delivery

This involves organising the delivery dates of modules so that do not all finish at the same time. To learn more about this please visit the reducing deadline bunching page. This type of change does not require any formal change request with registry if this was how the module was approved at validation or during programme approval.

Portfolio assessment item

What is a portfolio: Portfolios are a designated LJMU assessment item. A portfolio is an interconnected assessment item that captures a student's learning journey and skill development within a module. It consists of a collection of components, such as, case studies, reflections, development plans, project outlines, or artwork, that align with the module learning outcomes and has only one formal submission deadline.

Portfolio deadlines: The portfolio has a single, unified deadline for submission, giving students the freedom to choose when they submit their work, as long as it is before the designated due date. This flexibility allows students to manage their time effectively and work on their portfolio progressively, refining and connecting the components as they learn and grow. The single deadline provides flexibility for staff and students. However, it has limitations, as you can only encourage submission before the deadline, rather than formally require the student to.

For example, In a creative writing course, a portfolio could include interconnected components such as a writing plan, initial ideas for a short story, self-reflection of peer review task, and a final revised piece. Students can submit these components at any point before the portfolio deadline, allowing them to work on their portfolio progressively and incorporate feedback from peers and tutors.

Additional module assessments

These additional module assessment items each have their own submission deadline. They have to be formally requested via the normal assessment change processes (the guidance for programme and module amendments). As they are formal summative assessments, they have to follow the normal assessment regulations. This can increase the administration burden and assessment burden of the module.

Benefits of Continuous Assessment

Continuous assessment has several major benefits:

  • Encourages distributed student effort and discourages cramming
  • Lowers stress by avoiding high-stakes assessments
  • Provides frequent feedback opportunities so that students can improve
  • Allows instructors to identify and help to struggle students
  • Encourages active learning through regular practice and engagement
  • Enables instructors to adjust teaching based on student performance
  • Promotes learning from mistakes via feedback

Supporting First-Year Success through Continuous Assessment

Thoughtfully designed continuous assessment is particularly valuable for supporting new undergraduate students in their first semester of higher education. This critical transition period sets the stage for students' long-term success, and well-crafted continuous assessment can play a vital role in helping students develop the skills and dispositions needed to thrive.

First-year students often struggle with time management, self-directed learning, and adapting to university expectations. Continuous assessment, especially when designed with the future in mind, can scaffold students' development in these key areas. For example:

  • Frequent low-stakes assessments with timely feedback help students learn to manage their time, monitor their progress, and identify areas for growth early on.
  • Authentic tasks that engage students in using current and emerging skills to build their confidence and capabilities for their future studies.
  • Opportunities for guided collaboration with peers through assessment could help students build social connections and learn to work productively with others.

Continuous Assessment and GenAI

As artificial intelligence (AI) technologies like generative AI become increasingly prevalent in higher education and society, it's important to consider how continuous assessment practices can evolve to harness the opportunities and manage the risks presented by AI. The "Assessment reform for the age of artificial intelligence" document (Lodge et al., 2023) provides a forward-looking vision for assessment in an AI-integrated future that extends and complements the principles of effective continuous assessment.

Key takeaways from this document include:

  • Authentic AI engagement: Assessment tasks should foster responsible, ethical, and meaningful engagement with AI that is authentic to the discipline. Students should learn to work appropriately with AI as a critical capability.
  • Systemic, program-level approach: Assessment should be considered holistically across a program of study, using multiple integrated methods, to enable comprehensive, trustworthy judgements of student learning.
  • Focus on learning process: Assessment should reveal student thinking, competencies, judgement and reflection on the process of using AI, not just evaluate the end product.
  • Appropriate collaboration: Opportunities should be provided for quality collaborative work between students and with AI, guided by clear boundaries on acceptable usage.

As you design continuous assessments, consider how you might appropriately engage students in working with AI, enable visibility into their learning process, facilitate meaningful collaboration, and secure critical program junctures, while still enacting effective assessment practices that maximise student learning and growth. For more detail on assessment in this area please view this sites AI considerations page.

Issues to Consider

While continuous assessment has clear benefits, there are some challenges to keep in mind:

  • Designing continuous assessment affectively across the programme
  • Increased workload for tutors to grade frequent assessments
  • Some students may feel overly assessed or controlled
  • Focuses students on grades vs intrinsic learning
  • Could be potentially demotivating if students perform poorly on early assessments

Many of these issues can be mitigated through thoughtful design, for example, using quick, low-stakes assessments, providing flexibility and choice in assessments, focusing feedback on growth and improvement, reweighting earlier assessments, etc. Being transparent about your goals and involving students in assessment decisions can also help.

Designing Continuous Assessment

Here are some research-based principles to guide continuous assessment design:

  • Clarify goals, criteria and standards
  • Encourage time and effort on challenging tasks
  • Deliver feedback that helps students self-correct
  • Provide opportunities to act on feedback
  • Align formative and summative assessments
  • Encourage interaction and dialogue around learning
  • Facilitate reflection and self-assessment
  • Involve students in assessment design decisions
  • Encourage positive motivation and self-esteem
  • Gather information to improve teaching

When designing continuous assessments, consider how you can apply these principles.

Resources

Boud, D. and Associates (2010). Assessment 2020: Seven propositions for assessment reform in higher education. Australian Learning and Teaching Council.

Chickering & Gamson's (1987) Seven Principles for Good Practice in Undergraduate Education

Lodge, J. M., Howard, S., Bearman, M., & Dawson, P (2023). Assessment reform for the age of Artificial Intelligence. Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency.

Nicol & McFarlane-Dick's (2006) Principles of Good Formative Feedback