in collaboration with Bart Tambuyzer (UAntwerp, Faculty of Pharmaceutical, Biomedical and Veterinary Sciences & science tutoring)
Over the past decade, intake in higher education has broadened tremendously. Initial assessments are used to measure students’ competences at the start of their first year of higher education. These tests have great potential to support a heterogeneous group of students as they take the important step from secondary education to higher education. In addition, they help lecturers to prepare, because they also like to know what’s coming. They can use the results of these assessments as starting points to anticipate bottlenecks and to place population-specific emphasis on certain elements.
The importance of good feedback during initial assessments should not be underestimated. For one thing, these assessments are performed at the very start of higher education, a period of uncertainty and big changes for students, so they are extra sensitive to feedback. And then there is the assessment aspect: their skills and knowledge are put to the test, even though it is not a real exam. An initial assessment is more about accompanying students, being by their side, with a strong emphasis on feedback in order to move towards differentiated learning paths and guidance. This enables students to receive education tailored to their needs, with the possibility to intervene early on in their learning process through targeted adjustments (= differentiated learning route). Below are some tips on how to give successful feedback on an initial assessment.
Set the goal – ‘feed up’
Feedback on an initial assessment should build a bridge between the skills/knowledge the student already possesses and the intended goal. This means that it’s very important to clearly define the goal the student should work towards, as well as the corresponding assessment criteria (‘feed up’). Feedback should always be related to this goal and provide strategies to achieve it. In other words, it should help bridge the gap between the student and the goal (see also this ECHO Tip from 2013 on giving feedback through Blackboard, in Dutch).
Be specific, give feedback and feed-forward
State both what is right and what is wrong. Highlighting specifically what is already going well yields better results than only pointing out mistakes. Recognising achievements can be very encouraging. However, negative feedback is also allowed, as long as it is linked to opportunities for improvement. You can use examples and model answers. In addition, students expect feedback to always include feed-forward where needed. They want to know what is expected of them, so be sure to highlight any opportunities for improvement in the student’s specific situation4. Indicate how the desired objectives can be achieved starting from the qualities the student already possesses. This can be addressed during a feedback discussion. Testimonials of students who came before them and specific examples of how they were able to improve their learning process can also be useful tools.
The earlier the better
Students should receive feedback on the initial assessment as soon as possible. This speeds up learning processes, both in individual students and in the whole group. That is why it’s important not to make the assignments in the initial assessment too complex. After all, complex assignments are not only more intensive and time-consuming for students, but also more difficult for you to assess, making it harder to provide quick targeted feedback. Quick feedback enables students to start pursuing a differentiated learning route early on. Going digital with the assessment and its subsequent processing can significantly speed up the feedback process, but often requires more labour-intensive preparation by the lecturer or lecturers.
Make it personal
Students have indicated that they benefit greatly from personal feedback. Ideally, this should be given in a face-to-face feedback conversation. This allows you to use body language, encourage the student with conversation techniques, ask questions and work in a very relevant/focused and specific way (see also this ECHO Tip from 2015 on feedback conversations, in Dutch). Such a conversation is the ideal setting for the envisaged differentiated learning route.
In large groups of students, differentiation is possible through automated feedback, by defining specific ‘milestones’ for each student to reach. These milestones can be very specific, and reaching them can be either mandatory or optional. Here, too, specific points of concern should be clearly identified in the feed-forward, to help students find the best path towards achieving their personal goals and subgoals. Repeated assessment is shown to have added value here, as students can keep track of their progress.
Teach students to give feedback and feed-forward to one another as well. This can be done through short peer reviews of one another’s assessments or other tasks, in which they identify both a strength and a weakness. This can also help lighten the workload of the lecturers/assistants. Students greatly appreciate being able to give their own input on feedback, so be sure to close the feedback loop. This can make the assessment even more tailored to the students, while showing them that they have agency in their own individual learning process (see also this ECHO Tip from 2013 on actively dealing with feedback, in Dutch).
Formative or summative?
To improve their learning process, students benefit most from ‘casual’ initial assessments, without any strings attached. This is best done through formative assessment, without awarding a cut-and-dry score. Such formative tests show students what the questions will look like and how mastery of the subject matter is assessed, without judging them (see also this ECHO Tip from 2017 on formative testing).
However, these same students also indicate that they would like summative tests, as this relates better to the ‘real’ tests. Indeed, summative tests that do award a score to the students’ performance are seen as more relevant, showing them precisely where they stand. The answer to the title question is therefore: a combination of formative and summative tests appears to be desirable for an initial assessment. Be careful not to be too strict or controlling in your feedback, but a score is allowed as long as there are no hard consequences. Also make sure that such scores, whether or not reported in relation to the whole group, do not encourage a sense of competition.
In summary: feedback on an initial assessment is effective when students know where they’re going (feed up), how they’re currently progressing towards it (feedback), and what the next step is to get there (feed forward).
Want to know more?
ECHO Teaching Tips (in English):
ECHO Teaching Tips (in Dutch):
Gijbels, D., & Speltincx, G. (2011). Beginassessments. Meten van startcompetenties. Antwerpen-Apeldoorn: Garant.
Hattie, J., & Timperley, H. (2007). The Power of Feedback. Review of Educational Research, 77(1), 81–112
Lia, J., & De Luca, R. (2014). Review of assessment feedback. Studies in Higher Education, 39(2), 378–393.
Opitz B., Ferdinand N. K., & Mecklinger A. (2011). Timing Matters: The Impact of Immediate and Delayed Feedback on Artificial Language Learning. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, 5(8).