Higher education is infatuated with numbers. Educators assign students a mark for an assessment, combine those marks into a final unit grade, and then institutions combine grades from multiple units into a Grade Point Average (GPA). The result is a wonderfully convenient numerical value. Years of learning ultimately represented by […]
Assessment & Feedback - Reflections & Provocations
The Assessment Illusion: Why Precision in Grading is a Myth
Higher education frequently treats grades as exact indicators of learning. For example, one student might get 74%, while another earns 75%. Similarly, one might be awarded a Credit and the other a Distinction. Transcripts, GPA calculations, scholarship rankings, and postgraduate admissions all operate under the assumption that these distinctions are […]
Assessment & Feedback - Innovation & Future of Higher Education - Reflections & Provocations - Student Learning & Engagement
Why Higher Education Must Separate Assessing from Grading
In higher education, we often talk about assessment, but what is usually meant is grading. The two have become so closely linked that we forget they serve very different purposes. When they blend together, it is learning that suffers. If we see assessment as the process of understanding where a […]
Assessment & Feedback - Reflections & Provocations - Student Learning & Engagement
Assessing vs Assessment – Are They Really the Same?
In higher education, the terms assessing and assessment are often used as if they mean the same thing. At first glance, both relate to the act of “judging” student learning. However, a closer look reveals an important difference, one that influences how students experience learning and how educators design their […]
Assessment & Feedback - Innovation & Future of Higher Education
Narrative Evaluation: Feedback That Helps Students Grow
Assessment and feedback in higher education have long been dominated by grades, rubrics, and numerical scores. While these methods offer efficiency and standardisation, they often miss the deeper story of learning. A grade may indicate where a student’s work stands on a scale, but it rarely reveals how they arrived […]