Types of University Assessments – A Developmental Approach

Cite as: Mugumbate, R. (2023). Types of University Assessments – A Developmental Approach. Blog post at https://africasocialwork.net/blog

Learning at home, in the village or suburb, community, at school or at any level of society, requires ‘teachers or trainers’ to know how much learning their ‘students’ acquired in terms of knowledge, skills, and growth. There are several ways of achieving this, one of them is to give them a task to do, then assess the performance. This blog post focuses on types of assessments for university students, with an emphasis on those that create opportunities for decolonisation and relevance.

WHY ARE ASSESSMENTS GIVEN TO STUDENTS?

• To demonstrate student learning
• To demonstrate achievement of set learning course or subject outcomes
• To assess if students are using decolonial textbook and other literature in their learning of social work
• To assess skills
• To assess if students are ready to go on fieldwork
• To assess the application of knowledge in real life context
• To assess ability to evaluate evidence
• Evaluate communication and reporting skills
• Assess student’s ability to receive and use feedback
• They can be used for assessing students without need for examinations, that is, they can be examinations in themselves

BASIC RULES

• Assessments must reflect the social and developmental challenges, issues or problems of the communities or country.
• Assessments must align with what students will do when they qualify.
• Assessments offer an opportunity to solve real social and developmental challenges, issues and problems. They are not done for passing to get a certificate, diploma or degree.
• There must be an opportunity for feedback.
• Feedback must be timely.
• There must be an opportunity to discuss feedback.
• Must be suitable for the level and time.
• Expectations must be made clear e.g. through a written assessment rubric or discussion before assessment is done.
• Assessments should have due dates for submission and return of feedback
• Assessment can be under exam and non-exam conditions.
• The work must be done by the student.

TYPES OF ASSESSMENTS

• Classroom-based assessments – happen in the classroom or exam room.
• Community-based assessments – happen in the community including at home or school.
• Agency-based assessments – happen at an organisation providing social work and development services. They are different from placement-based assessments.
• Field-based assessments – happen in the field, outside homes and offices. For example, at an irrigation site, dam construction site, cultural event, cultural site etc.
• Laboratory-based assessments – happen in a lab, e.g. a simulation lab, a simulation work room etc.
• Placement-based assessments – happen during student placement under the supervision of a qualified social worker or development practitioner.

EXAMPLES OF ASSESSMENTS

Written or text-based assessments

• Creating a bibliography
• Creating a case study
• Writing an essay – the most popular assessment but it doesn’t offer students many skills
• Filling a workbook
• Creating a portfolio
• Creating a plan of action
• Completing a multiple choice quiz (a few questions or many questions) – another popular assessment but it doesn’t offer students many skills
• Completing a test with short answers (sentences or paragraphs) – doesn’t offer much
• Watch a video then write deep thoughts or reflections about lessons learnt
• Create a poster, brochure, flier, travel guide and cultural guide
• Write a policy, policy paper or brief
• Write or review a decolonisation document
• Create a timeline
• Create a budget
• Write a letter, briefing note, notice or memoranda
• Write a social assessment report or any other report
• Translate content to local language
• Creating a diary of events, views, observations or reflections
• Note-taking
• Write a biography
• Write a poem or song

Oral assessments

• Debate with one or more people
• Interview a community member or a teacher or another student in class
• Individual presentation of a topic or poster
• Group presentation
• Oral examination – ask questions orally for oral responses
• Telling a story or sharing an experience
• Singing a song
• Reciting a poem

Digital assessments

• Create a website
• Create a blog-post
• Create a digital portfolio
• Record a podcast
• Make a social media post (text, video or audio)
• Computer based presentation e.g. PowerPoint presentation
• Create a film

PARTING WORDS

There are many other examples of assessments as shown above. In choosing an assessment type, the key considerations are (1) is it decolonial or it replicates colonial learning strategies from the West – for example an assessment that teachers students to replicate Western ethics is not a good one, neither is an assessment that prioritizes teaching students about Western philosophy. (2) Does it promote development or developmental social work or social development – if it does then it is good. Assessments that promote welfarism, asking students to outline history of social welfare in the UK, contribute very little to the training of social workers in Africa. (3) Does it address a local social problem (4) Is it cultural relevant (5) Pedagogically, is it suitable for the level and doable – it does not help to ask students to create a blog post, when there is no or limited access to the internet. I hope this information will be useful for academics and students alike, and if you would like a PDF copy, please download or view using the link below.

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