Assessment revisited: a review of research in Assessment and Evaluation in Higher Education

Abstract

A review of articles published in Assessment and Evaluation in Higher Education, over the last eight years (2006–2013) on assessment in higher education, since the introduction of the Bologna process, is the subject of the paper. The first part discusses the key issue of assessment in higher education and the method used for selecting articles. The second part presents results according to the main emerging themes arising from data analysis: assessment methods, modes of assessment and assessment related to a given teaching and learning method. The paper concludes that the foci of the studies are aligned with assessment practices other than the written test, in accordance with a learner-oriented perspective. Although the implementation of the Bologna process has had different kinds of impact in different European countries, the review shows that the use and effects of a diversity of assessment methods in higher education have been investigated, particularly those pointing to the so-called alternative methods. Implications of the findings are discussed.

Keywords:

• Bologna process
• assessment
• higher education
• teaching and learning process
• learner-centred assessment

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology [grant number SFRH/BD/76175/2011].