A review of the changes in higher education assessment and grading policy during covid-19

Abstract

The Covid-19 pandemic has not only brought about sociocultural, psychological and economic challenges, but also educational problems that have entailed radical policy changes to allow universities and colleges to fulfil their role. Before the pandemic, the majority of university courses were designed for face-to-face settings; but under the social distancing policies since Covid-19, institutions have had to react quickly, revising their teaching and assessment policies to ensure that education continues for all students and accommodate the new remote reality of education. This paper provides a review of the changes in educational assessment and grading policies of universities around the world in response to the Covid-19 pandemic, where five key themes were identified: covid-19 binary grading system, revised regulations governing the final degree award, relaxed academic progression policies, revised extension, deferral and exceptional circumstances policies, and mark adjustments. This review will serve as a useful summary for institutions to reflect upon and inform planning strategies for subsequent unexpected future events.

Keywords:

• Assessment policy
• Covid-19
• mitigation
• grading moderation
• mark adjustment

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Additional information

Funding

The research described in this article was funded through the General Research Fund of the Hong Kong Research Grants Council (project reference number 17602122) and UGC Special Grant for Strategic Development of Virtual Teaching and Learning.