Prototype application to address the challenges of criteria-based assessment

A number of challenges are faced by academics when designing assessment mechanisms in higher education. These include the nature and type of assessment, the characteristics of students and the results of student feedback. Assessment processes should be based on gauging to what extent students have met learning outcomes in an accurate and fair way. It is important to make expectations of assessment clear to students in the form of criteria and to provide feedback in a timely manner that explains why their work was graded in a particular way. This paper discusses the issues relating to assessment design and student perceptions. It then demonstrates how a prototype application was developed to address some of these issues. The application allows academics to design assessments with clear criteria and marking schemes. It assists academics in marking student work according to the criteria and generating an overall mark and a detailed feedback report that students can use to improve their learning.