Assessment
Open University

Context:
This selection from the Production Handbook of the Open University (UK) outlines that institution's assessment procedures and policies.

Source:
Open University. 1997. "Assessment." In Open University, Production Handbook for Open University Courses and Packs. Milton Keynes. Section 31.0, pp. 1-4.

Copyright:
Reproduced with permission of the Open University. (Permission does not cover identifiable third party material).

Assessment Arrangements

1. Each course must normally contain at least two independent assessment components, one of which must be completed under controlled conditions with an identity check (normally an examination) and one of which must allow students to work at their own pace to meet a pre-set deadline with free access to source materials, course units, etc. (continuous assessment).

   Controlled (Examinable) Component

2. The assessment component to be completed in a controlled environment should normally be a 3 hour written examination held at the end of the course and based on a choice of unseen questions. The examination will be scriptmarked, or computer marked, or a combination of both. The primary purpose of examinations is the assessment of skills, performance and ability.
   
   
3. There may be some cases at third or fourth level in the undergraduate programmme, or on courses outside that programme where it is appropriate to replace the normal written examination by another element of assessment e.g. end of course essay, project, portfolio, seen examination. Alternatively, it may be appropriate for such an element to be combined with the written examination to form the examinable component. Where other forms of assessment are being considered it is important to ensure that a mechanism is established to verify that the assessment is completed by the registered student.

   Continuous Assessment Component

4. The variety and mixture of continuous assessment for a course (i.e. the type of assignment, the number of separate submissions and the length of each, the amount of choice within a submission and the number of sub-scores) is at the discretion of the Examination and Assessment Board for the course, but is subject to certain constraints:
   
   
   1. the need to teach and assess students adequately, while not overburdening them with required work.

   2. the need to keep within a budget when calculating tutor-payments, and other costs,

   3. it is University policy for a full credit course to have eight TMA equivalents (pro rata for half and quarter credits).

5. Course teams may select from the following continuous assessment elements:
   
   

   Tutor marked assignments (TMAs): written work which is marked, graded and commented upon by course tutors, or by tutor-counsellors on foundation courses.
   
   

   Computer marked assignments (CMAs): objective tests with choice of answer (i.e. questions drawn from a number of short objective statements or judgements) which are marked by computer. Three levels of controlled feedback to students are available under the Computer Feedback and Assessment (CFAS) system. The highest level provides an individualised letter containing diagnostic comments on students' performance on an assignment as a whole and tailored responses to the questions which they answered incorrectly. Advantages of CMAs are that they are the least expensive of assignments and provide rapid feedback to students. Whilst effort is required to establish the questions and answers and to provide the feedback, this may be a task which can be completed by the production team and thereby reduce the load for the maintenance team.
   
   

   Projects/Portfolios: assessment requiring students to decide upon a topic themselves and/or gather source materials themselves, involving a written submission of work marked and commented upon by a course tutor and/or independent assessor.
   
   

   Practical Component: assessment of practical skills which the course team wishes to identify separately from any practical work that may be assessed via TMAs or CMAs.

   
   
6. The following formative continuous assessment component is available in addition to any of the above which may be used for summative purposes:
   
   

   Self-assessment questions (SAQs): questions included in the course materials used by students to assess their own level of achievement with the help of answers and comments also provided in the course materials.

   Initial Planning

7. Assessment should be planned as an integral part of the course design by the course team in consultation with at least one external examiner or assessor and the Academic Head of Division (Course Presentation and Examinations). Such consultation should take place at as early a stage as possible. (See page 5 for timetable for approval of assessment strategy.)
   
   
8. In planning an assessment strategy, the aim should be to achieve a balance appropriate to the nature and requirements of the course, and a balance and variety of assessment types to ensure that students have the best opportunity to show their ability. Course Teams will need to consider:
   
   
   1. which continuous assessment elements are to be offered (TMAs, CMAs, project, practical work);
      
      
   2. the number of submissions within each component and the length of each, subject to the constraints of the total student workload and the total budget available and the operational constraints (e.g. timetable);
      
      
   3. which submissions in each element are to be designated summative and which, if any, should be formative (see 11 and 12 below),
      
      
   4. the weighting of each summative submission, and the part scores within it, and of the continuous component relative to the examination.
   
   
9. The following paragraphs give advice on the possible use of the various assessment features available to course teams, and also outline university policy in this area.

   Use of Assessment Elements

10. As has been noted above, within the constraints of university policy and operational requirements, Course Teams are free to select the elements of assessment to achieve the aims of the course.

    Formative and Summative Assignments

11. Formative assignments are assignments which are not used for assessment purposes and are not, therefore, used in the calculation of a student's course score. These assignments may be used, for example, where a course team wishes to encourage students to experience and respond creatively to the stimulus of the course work, unimpeded by any concern about grades which might be given.
    
    
12. Summative assignments are assignments which are used for assessment purposes and will, therefore, be used in the calculation of a student's overall course score.
    
    
13. The present policy states that a 60 point course should have at least 8 TMA equivalents and 30 point courses at least 4 TMA equivalents. The number of formative and the number of substitutable assignments are interchangable up to a total of 2 in 8 TMA equivalents.

    This position allows the options that a 60 point course with:

    8 TMAs (8 TMA-equivalents) with 2 TMAs substitutable or formative, or;
    7 TMAs (7 TMA-equivalents) with 1 TMA substitutable or formative, or;
    6 TMAs (6 TMA-equivalents) with no substitution, or formative,
    and a 30 point course with
    4 TMAs (4 TMA equivalents) with I TMA substitutable or formative, or;
    3 TMAs (3 TMA-equivalents) with no substitution, or formative.

    can be approved within the current TMA-equivalent policy.

    Performance Thresholds

14. Course teams may specify a threshold: it may be appropriate on some courses to replace the normal written examination by another element of assessment e.g. end of course essay, project, portfolio. They feel that a student must pass on a particular component in order to pass the course. Such thresholds may be associated with any element of assessment; failure to reach such a nominated threshold will prevent a student (from) achieving an automatic pass status.
    
    
15. The Examination and Assessment Board is required, in the case of a student who fails to reach a threshold but who in all other respects would be awarded a pass result, to give individual consideration to the student's record at the award meeting but will not normally award a credit without further investigation (possibly with a viva-voce examination) into the student's mastery of the course.

    Weighting of Individual Assignments

16. Variable weighting for individual assignments within a component may be made to reflect the relative difference in their importance or difficulty.

    Substitution

17. Full details of rules regarding substitution are given in the current edition of the Student Handbook. A course team wishing to make a particular submission of work essential would make it non-substitutable.

    Examinable Component

18. Normally, each course, at any level (half or full credit), must be examined by one 'unseen' written examination of three hours duration. However:
    
    
    • courses of less than half-credit may wish to put forward a case for a two hour examination.
      
      
    • it may be appropriate to include other elements within the examinable component
      
      
    • a different type, or mix of examination may be appropriate:- oral, computer-marked, seen (for completion at home or at the examination centre).
      
      
    • it may be appropriate on some courses to replace altogether the normal written examination by another form of controlled assessment e.g. a dissertation, a project.

    Weighting of Assessment Components

19. The limits within which Course Teams may normally vary the weighting of assessment components are as follows for courses which give credit towards the BA/BSc degree:
    
    

    Examination component	50% – 60%
    Continuous Assessment Component	50% – 40%

    (Within the continuous assessment component CMAs should not constitute more than 35% overall.)

    Whilst there is more flexibility on courses outside the BA degree programme the following constraints should also be taken into account:
    
    

    • the largest element(s) of assessment must always be available to the Examination and Assessment Board
    • at least 50% of the credit for any award must be obtained from courses with controlled assessment
    
    
20. Approval of Teaching and Assessment Strategies

    The approval of teaching and assessment strategies is given normally by the Teaching and Counselling, and Examination and Assessment Committees (TACC/EAC). However, as the table below shows, strategies which fall within accepted policy can be approved executively by the Acting Head of Division (Course Presentation and Examinations), whilst those which include new features are considered by TACC and EAC and recommendations made for approval by the Academic Board.