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 paper 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 is 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: Sep 4, 2024
• Deposit Date: Sep 4, 2024
• Print ISSN: 0260-2938
• Electronic ISSN: 1469-297X
• Publisher: Taylor & Francis (Routledge)
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Public URL: https://uwe-repository.worktribe.com/output/12840433