Continuous assessment frameworks within university English Pathway Programs: realizing formative assessment within high-stakes contexts

Abstract

Universities have become increasingly reliant upon English Pathway Programs (EPPs) to expand enrolments of international students who otherwise fail to satisfy standard entry requirements, as determined by standardized tests of language proficiency such as IELTS and TOEFL. EPPs provide foundation programs for mainstream university courses, with particular attention to the language skills required for academic study. This article contributes to the work on alternative assessment within higher education by focusing on the use of classroom-based assessment within such programs, and the formative potential of continuous assessment frameworks in the context of higher education. We report on an Australian case study of teacher practice within one EPP, in which ongoing classroom-based assessment contributed towards 70% of the students' final score. We argue that there is significant value for using continuous, classroom-based assessment, but the high-stakes nature of higher education restricts how its formative potential is realized in practice. We identify implications for promoting more positive learning gains, including the need to re-balance assessment tasks within course structures and the value of greater teacher autonomy.