Student Experiences of Assessment and Feedback in the National Student Survey: An Analysis of Student Written Responses with Pedagogical Implications

Abstract

The National Student Survey (NSS) indicates that students are less satisfied with Assessment and Feedback versus other dimensions of the NSS in Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) across the United Kingdom (UK). HEIs generally rely on quantitative Likert responses within the NSS to assess the quality of their provision while ignoring written comments. However, we propose that analysis of written comments is essential to understand students’ lived and multidimensional experiences. Therefore, we utilised a Framework Analysis to investigate students' written responses for assessment and feedback in the 2020 NSS. We identified high (n = 4) and low-scoring (n = 4) departments as those that scored the highest and lowest on assessment and feedback at an HEI institution in the UK. These groups scored above and below the NSS national average for assessment and feedback of 72.6% (Office for Students, 2020), at 84.6% and 66%, respectively. Our analysis of 10,628 words revealed five main themes of interaction and experience, assessment clarity, assessment fairness, timing, inspiration for the present and future, and eleven sub-themes. We used the frequency of words concurrently with these themes to identify areas of good pedagogical practice. For example, high-scoring departments provided easy-to-follow lectures (Theme 1) and assessment guidance (Theme 2), students perceived feedback as fair (Theme 3), tutors were appropriately responsive to students' attempts at communication (Theme 4), and assessments had clear applicability to future employability (Theme 5). Our findings highlight the suitability of our approach for academics and HEIs to improve their understanding and provision of assessment and feedback. We provide recommendations to improve assessment and feedback at a unit, program, and HEI level.