The quality of assessment tasks as a determinant of learning

• Published in: Assessment and evaluation in higher education 2021-08, Vol.46 (6), p.943-955
• Main Authors: Ibarra-Sáiz, María Soledad, Rodríguez-Gómez, Gregorio, Boud, David
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Assessment as learning; assessment task; Business Administration Education; Causal Models; Determiners; Economics Education; Educational Quality; Empowerment; Feedback; Feedback (Response); Foreign Countries; Higher education; Learner Controlled Instruction; Learning; Learning transfer; Least Squares Statistics; Self evaluation; Self Management; Structural equation modeling; Structural Equation Models; Student Attitudes; Student Empowerment; Student Evaluation; Student Participation; Transfer of Training; Undergraduate Students
• ISSN: 0260-2938; 1469-297X
• DOI: 10.1080/02602938.2020.1828268

Learning is not just determined by the curriculum, but by how it is assessed. This article focuses on the analysis of the role played by the quality of assessment tasks on learning in undergraduate courses. During two successive academic years, information was collected on the views of students on the assessment activities and practices that they had experienced in subjects in business and economics with the aim of examining what influenced their perception of assessment tasks. A causal relationship model was developed which included key variables such as participation, self-regulation, learning transfer, strategic learning, feedback and empowerment (learner control). It was validated using partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM). The relationships between assessment task quality and these variables were explored. Feedback, participation, empowerment and self-regulation were identified as mediating effects of the quality of assessment tasks on learning. The results highlight how assessment practices in higher education can be enhanced through improvements in the design of assessment and suggestions are offered on future lines of research that will allow a better understanding of the effectiveness of assessment processes.