Improving Students’ Learning by Developing their Understanding of Assessment Criteria and Processes

This paper reports the findings of a two-year research project focused on developing students’ understanding of assessment criteria and the assessment process through a structured intervention involving both tacit and explicit knowledge transfer methods. The nature of the intervention is explained in detail, and the outcomes are analysed and discussed. The conclusions drawn from the evidence are that student learning can be improved significantly through such an intervention, and that this improvement may last over time and be transferable, at least within similar contexts. This work is a development within a longer and ongoing research project into criterion-referenced assessment tools and processes which has been undertaken in the pursuit of a conceptually sound and functional assessment framework that would promote and encourage common standards of assessment; that project is also summarised.