The language of assessment: Identifying challenging terminology for students and exploring implications for practice

West, Harry; Skidmore, Nicole; Bennett, Laura; Eve, Juliet; Minett-Smith, Cathy; Rudge, Luke

Abstract

Many interventions have been developed by staff to support students in understanding assessment task requirements and summative and formative feedback. However, to various extents, these approaches assume a shared understanding of the, often indeterminate, language used in assessment. This article reports on a project, which aimed to explore students’ confidence in interpreting frequently used language in assessment and feedback documentation and explore ways in which staff can work with students to address misunderstanding and misinterpretation. To do this, we undertook a corpus-based linguistic analysis of assessment documentation to identify frequently used and potentially problematic language. We then used a survey and focus groups to explore with students their confidence in interpreting these terms. In doing so, we identify commonly used assessment and feedback terminology, which students find challenging to interpret, potentially resulting in frustration and demotivation. We conclude by exploring different approaches reported by students in the focus groups which help them interpret challenging terminology, notably different forms of dialogic-based intervention, but note, however, that time and space are needed within the curriculum for a shared (or ideally co-created) understanding of language to be developed between students and staff.

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Aug 25, 2024
• Online Publication Date: Sep 16, 2024
• Deposit Date: Sep 25, 2024
• Publicly Available Date: Sep 25, 2024
• Journal: Assessment and Evaluation in Higher Education
• Print ISSN: 0260-2938
• Electronic ISSN: 1469-297X
• Publisher: Taylor & Francis (Routledge)
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/02602938.2024.2402960
• Keywords: assessment terminology, language, feedback, dialogue
• Public URL: https://uwe-repository.worktribe.com/output/12909769