Journal of Assessment in Higher Education

On behalf of The Journal of Assessment in Higher Education editorial team, I present volume 3, issue 1.

Erika Carlson kicks off this third issue of The Journal of Assessment in Higher Education, with a look at personalized coaching models with questions about how to best employ these methods. The author examines existing literature to identify core components of successful coaching models, with a finding that points to greater access to student learning outcome data.

The Plan-Do-Study-Act (PDSA) assessment framework is examined as one application of “continuous improvement” research, studied by Drescher and Chang. Their longitudinal work features the use of PDSA cycles in pre-service education in higher education, with outcomes that reveal benefits and challenges for collaboration and co-teaching. They present a three-year, iterative process for continuous improvement and modifications to physical space, and the implications for pre-service education modifications.

Klein, Komaroff, Robertson and Keintz apply Game Theory in an analysis of learners’ perceptions of peer assessment, using multiple variables including participants’ institution of higher learning’s prestige, its competitiveness in the higher education rankings and its extent of grade inflation. Factor analysis was employed to validate these constructs and the discuss of findings provide some provocative observations.

Pasmantier and Di Liberto examine students’ ability to communicate in writing. Analyzing the data during the COVID-19 remote learning period, the examiners take into consideration the impact of online learning to understand student outcomes within “writing intensive” courses. The researchers conducted statistical analyses to understand differences in students’ scores.

Pereira, Santos, Almeida-Aguiar, and Flores conduct multimethod testing of undergraduate students and their perceptions of assessment in the Biology classroom. They extensively examine the engagement of students with traditional assessment methods, resulting in findings that have true practical implications. Particularly interesting are the sample respondent comments, in part, suggesting that students value being assessed.

We hope that you enjoy this issue and we look forward to a fourth issue coming very soon!

Laura I. Spears, PhD.

Co-editor, The Journal of Assessment in Higher Education