A review of the characteristics of intermediate assessment and their relationship with student grades

Abstract

a iclon, leiden university graduate school of teaching, leiden university, leiden, the netherlands; b institute of Psychology, leiden university, leiden, the netherlands ABSTRACT In-course assessment, such as midterms, quizzes or presentations, is often an integral part of higher education courses. These so-called intermediate assessments influence students' final grades. The current review investigates which characteristics of intermediate assessment relate to these grades. In total, 88 articles were reviewed that examined the relationship between intermediate assessment and student grades. Four main characteristics were identified: the use of feedback, whether the assessment is mandatory, who is the assessor, and the reward students get for participating. Results indicate that corrective feedback leads to the most positive results, but elaborate feedback may benefit lower achieving groups. No difference in results was found for mandatory versus voluntary intermediate assessments.Peer assessment seemed to be beneficial, and rewarding students with course credit improves grades more than other rewards. Three scenarios are presented on how teachers can combine the different characteristics to optimise their intermediate assessment.

Assessment Methods Determining the Higher Education Students’ Academic Success

“…The authors emphasize the need for large-scale studies that can analyze and validate the most efficient assessment tools for collaborative work. Day, van Blankensteina, Westenbergb and Admiraal [18] also analyzed the perceptions of students and teachers but they focused on the middle assessment. The authors found that both teachers and students have a positive opinion on the middle assessment.…”

Continuous Online Assessment at a South African Open Distance and e-Learning Institution

“…The non-CA modules have two assignments and CA assessments can go up to 10 assignments. In a review of CA in higher education, Day et al (2018b) also found that the frequency of assessments differ. It is also typical in certain cases that learning activities within a module could be planned, say, for each week of the teaching period.…”

“…CA helps reduce the negative effects of highstakes once-off examinations (rote memorization, cramming, and high anxiety) and helps to promote student learning (De Lisle, 2015;Holmes, 2018). The application of CA in higher education spans different disciplines (Rezigalla et al, 2017;Day et al, 2018c;Nayak et al, 2020;Zhan, 2020) and various pedagogic approaches (Day et al, 2018b;Llamas-Nistal et al, 2019;Chong et al, 2020). CA has also been shown to work in traditional contexts as well as through using online and interactive Information and Communications Technology (ICT) systems (González-Campos et al, 2018).…”

“…Different types of assessments (e.g., quizzes, written assignments, and tests) that are graded or not-graded are used in CA. There are thus different configurations in practice of CA, including a range of contribution to formative and summative assessment (Day et al, 2018b). Most applications of CA, however, include an exam as part of summative assessment.…”

University teachers’ conceptions of their current and ideal intermediate assessment: an A+ is good, but speaking your mind is better

“…Subsequently, teachers reported what their ideal intermediate assessment would be, focusing on a 'perfect world' without practical constraints. Finally, the interviewer presented a hand-out with a short overview of intermediate assessment in the literature (preliminary results from a literature review by Day et al 2017b). Using the information on this hand-out, teachers further reflected on their ideas for ideal assessment.…”