The ASSHE Inventory: Changing assessment practices in Scottish Higher Education
CHANGING ASSESSMENT PRACTICES IN SCOTTISH HIGHER EDUCATION
Foreword to the LTSN Web Edition
The ASSHE Inventory is a rich source of information and ideas on assessment in higher education. It brings together over 120 descriptions by Scottish university and college teachers of changes in how they assess their students' progress and performance.
Although it first appeared in 1996, the Inventory is still being 'rediscovered' by new audiences, in Britain and overseas. Some are especially attracted by its grounding in real examples of everyday practice. Others value it as a reference-tool, whether to survey changes in their own and neighbouring subject areas or to look at the different ways in which a particular challenge involving students in assessment, for instance has been tackled. Most seem to find it helpful in thinking about how to develop and extend their approaches to assessment.
This new Web edition has been made possible with the kind financial assistance of the Learning and Teaching Support Network's Generic Centre. It will ensure that The ASSHE Inventory continues to be accessible, and to find new audiences.
For ease of reference, the Web edition retains the three-part structure of the original Inventory. It is therefore possible to look at :
- Inventory Entries by Chapter, i.e. arranged under broad themes such as assessing group and teamwork
- Inventory Entries by Subject, i.e. arranged by discipline, subject area or field of study (e.g. Business and Management Studies)
- Inventory Entries by Topic, i.e. under very specific terms such as poster presentations, processing marks, or workplace assessments
Inventory entries of all three kinds can be downloaded as PDF files. To read them requires Adobe Acrobat Reader, which can be downloaded free from here.
Anyone consulting the Inventory is strongly advised to familiarise themselves with the procedures followed in compiling entries, which are described in the section entitled The ASSHE Project. Please note that the content and format of entries are unchanged from the original 1996 edition, and may therefore present background information (e.g. on contact details, numbers of students affected, wider take-up) which is no longer accurate or applicable. Inventory entries should therefore be seen as offering snapshots of assessment initiatives at a particular point in the recent past, rather than as guides to present practices in the departments and institutions concerned.
Dai Hounsell
November 2001
The ASSHE Project Inventory Entries by Chapter Inventory Entry - Music