Using Assessment for Improving Students Learning: an analysis of University Teachers’ Practices

In the light of globalisation and reforms in higher education in many countries around the world, the concern for improving the quality of students’ learning has come under focus. The traditional assessment system has come under scrutiny and the new term “quality assessment” has become the common currency in today’s educational arena. The quality assessment is an ongoing, student- participatory activity and necessitates using a variety of assessment techniques, implementing assessment techniques effectively, providing good feedback to student and using assessment data to improve instruction. Teachers must strive to give students quality work to do if they want students to do quality work for them. This paper discusses the assessment techniques practised by teachers at higher education level, the way they implement assessment techniques and how effectively they integrate assessment in instruction for student learning. Results of the study involving 297 students and 37 teachers of a metropolitan university reveal that out of a vast variety of assessment techniques available to them, teachers use only very few of these. Results of the study lead to the conclusion that higher education teachers need professional and practical support for developing assessment skills and strategies, building assessment literacy, and ultimately helping students to improve their learning.