A crucial, and sometimes overlooked, element of assessment literacy is the time and effort students need to complete assessment tasks – and the time and effort to develop the necessary skills for those tasks.
This project seeks to enhance assessment literacy among both students and staff, by openly discussing the concepts of ‘time’ and ‘effort’. It aims to provide clarity on those expectations when tasks are being introduced to students and to offer ways for better engaging students with formative and summative assessments while equipping them with practical methods for managing assessment demands. The project also intends to support staff to have clearer, realistic expectations towards assessment completion, while demystifying the demands of authentic assessment tasks.
The project team in collaboration with students as partners will explore staff and students’ current perceptions on time and effort in relation to assessment tasks, to produce a framework for effort-focused assessment design and an assessment literacy toolkit for staff and students. The project strives to promote inclusivity and transparency in assessment expectations.
Project approach
The project team will involve students as partners at every stage and will explore the topic through surveys and focus groups. The initial findings will be evaluated through pilot studies at the partner institutions.
Planned outputs
- A toolkit for enhancing assessment literacy for staff that will aid educators with effort-focused assessment design.
- A toolkit for enhancing assessment literacy for students that will aid students with estimating the effort and time needed for various assessment tasks.
- Guides for staff and students on the various applications of the toolkits.
- Workshops to discuss the effort-focused assessment design framework and the assessment literacy toolkits.
- Multimedia materials, including videos and podcast interviews with staff and students sharing their experiences on engaging with the toolkits and the effort-focused assessment concept.
Contribute to the project
You're invited to participate in the research. We are looking for staff and students who will be willing to spend 30 minutes completing a survey that will help us to:
- understand assessment literacy
- explore perceptions of time and effort in assessments
- gather initial feedback on Coventry University’s assessment literacy tool
- identify potential focus group participants.
Complete the survey
Project lead: Coventry University
Project partners: Aston University, IU University of Applied Sciences, Germany, University of the West of Scotland and University of West London
Other Collaborative Enhancement Projects
QAA supports a number of projects every year, covering a range of topics and interest areas. Each is led by a QAA Member, working in collaboration with other members institutions. You can find more information on all projects, and access resources and outputs, on our website.