Assessing assessment quality: Criteria for quality assurance in design of (peer) assessment for learning – A review of research studies

Abstract

The interest in assessment for learning ( AfL) has resulted in a search for new modes of assessment that are better aligned to students’ learning how to learn. However, with the introduction of new assessment tools, also questions arose with respect to the quality of its measurement. On the one hand, the appropriateness of traditional, psychometric criteria is being questioned in the context of assessment for learning. On the other hand, it has been argued that new criteria need to be formulated to acknowledge the unique features of assessment for learning. The issue dealt with in this review is what quality criteria are specifically relevant to AfL. Studies using (peer) assessment for learning were evaluated with regard to use of quality criteria under two perspectives: their recognition of educational measurement criteria, as well as their consideration of student involvement in the assessment of learning. The selected studies were analyzed to determine what specific criteria were utilized in (successive parts of) the assessment cycle (i.e., the process of construction, administration and follow up of an assessment). Our results indicate that quality criteria are dissimilarly connected to the distinct steps of an assessment cycle, which holds as well for the attention given to student involvement in assessment for learning.