Examining the Examiners: Why are We So Bad at Assessing Students?

Abstract

In this paper I present evidence that assessment has a major influence on students' attitudes towards their studies. Indeed, students' principal motivation is probably to get good marks rather than to learn about their discipline. I also present evidence that the assessment systems we use are flawed in several respects, in that they are inconsistent, unreliable and not valid. There is a need for research on the different methods of assessment so that we know what the merits and disadvantages are for each of them. The paper ends with some radical (and some tongue-in-cheek) suggestions as to how we can improve things.