Assessment design

AUT takes a connected approach to assessment and has created a set of principles that inform AUT’s policy and procedures, and guide practice and design.

AUT’s approach to assessment:

  1. Supports a systemic view of assessment, to support a scaffolded, consistent experience
  2. Frames assessment as learning that combines summative and formative components of assessment
  3. Reflects contemporary practices and emerging technologies such as generative AI
  4. Aligns with the kaupapa Aronui and mātāpono Māori as defined in the Te Aronui Framework
  5. Reflects the AUT student experience as outlined in Te Kete

AUT’s assessment principles

The development of the assessment principles was informed by a comprehensive review of good practices and contemporary research from tertiary institutions and organisations in Aotearoa and overseas. The principles are grounded in the AUT and Aotearoa New Zealand context and reflect the journey of learners at the university.

Each principle has been aligned with the appropriate tapatoru in Te Aronui, so there is a thread that runs through the principles into the policy and to practice. The principles include a student-focused statement, a more formal educational statement followed by more detail of what the specific principle might involve in practice. This is intended to illustrate that assessment is a shared endeavour between staff and students.

1.
I am prepared for life / Whakaritengā mo te Oranga

Assessment will equip students for learning throughout life.
By engaging with authentic assessment tasks that have value beyond their programme, students are better prepared for continuous learning in the world of work, with their whānau and communities. When encountering new challenges, such as emerging technologies, they have a sense of agency and act with integrity.

2.
I am clear about the purpose of assessment and my expected performance / Te Kaupapa me ngā Tūmanako

The purpose of a task, its relationship to the learning outcomes and how it will be assessed are explicit.
Students will be able to recognise the intention of an assessment and its connection to the learning outcomes and teaching activities. Assessment criteria identify the required performance standard, and opportunities are provided to discuss the requirements of a task. Students will be clear on how technologies can be used to complete each assessment.

3.
I can see myself in the assessment and it makes sense to me / Urungā Aromatawai

Assessment and associated processes are inclusive, accessible, compassionate and personalised.
Students see themselves in the assessment, have the tools to complete the task, feel able to do their best and reach their potential. Feedback on tasks is developmental, actionable and empowering/mana-enhancing.

4.
I can make connections between my assessments / He Tika, He Pono Te Whakahaere Aromatawai

Assessment design creates a coherent, manageable experience that allows students to build on previous assessment experiences for future tasks.
Programme-level assessment design enables students to make connections between courses and across years of study and be better placed to meet the programme's aims. A programme focus, supported by appropriate business processes, helps to create an efficient and manageable assessment experience for all.

5.
I can practise, seek feedback and improve / Manaakitanga me te Tiakitanga

Formative assessment supports active learning through interaction with resources, peers and teachers.
Students are given regular opportunities to complete tasks that prepare them for summative assessment. Feedback on these tasks is timely and comes from a variety of sources (themselves, their fellow students, their teachers) and in a variety of forms (including oral, written, self-reflection).

6.
I know where I am and where I need to go / Ka Whakamana i te Taunekeneke a ngā ākonga

Assessment supports evaluative judgement by including opportunities for self and peer assessment, self-regulation, critical reflection and dialogue.
Students are able to make decisions about the quality of their own work, and the work of others. Through self and peer evaluation, students can build their confidence and develop their assessment literacy, so they are better able to navigate future assessments.

7.
I feel part of a wider learning community / Whanaungatanga

Assessment is a shared endeavour that should involve students in decision-making and has a common language.
Through assessments, students feel part of a learning community, connected to the programme and discipline, their peers and their teachers, whānau and community. Students have opportunities to have their voices heard through feedback on their assessment experience and opportunities to co-create assessments. Those involved in designing and managing assessments will feel confident and supported.

Key features of the assessment policy and procedures

  • Careful progression in assessment; sequencing of assessment tasks within and across courses
  • Actionable and connected feedback
  • Balance of assessment types
  • Spacing deadlines
  • Focuses learning effort and time on task
  • Supports manageable staff and student workload
  • Encourages integrative, rather than fragmented, assessment design
  • Safeguarding academic integrity (particularly in a generative AI landscape)
  • Early support for students to understand the role of assessment
  • Helps staff to get a sense of the cohort
  • Can be either summative or formative (if formative complete as in-class activity = reduced workload on staff)
  • Can prepare students for summative assessment tasks
  • In-class formative activities can be used
  • Clear links to summative assessment tasks
  • Helps clarify expectations for summative assessments
  • Reduces need for staff to address common mistakes
  • Feedback doesn’t have to individual, lengthy or written
  • Students value authentic assessment opportunities
  • Helps to equip students for life after AUT
  • Encourages collaboration and dialogue
  • Helps to reduce (but certainly doesn't eliminate) risks to academic integrity posed by generative AI
  • Recognition of increasing role of generative AI
  • Engages staff and students with generative AI tools in assessment
  • Prepares students for engagement with generative AI in further study or in careers
  • Grounded in values of ethical scholarship
  • Use of exams and tests as types of secure assessment is considered in the context of the programme and the balance of other assessment types across the programme
  • Examinations pose accessibility and inclusivity challenges
  • Extensive use of examinations will not equip students well for life after AUT
  • Other forms of controlled assessment are legitimate (interactive oral, observed exam)

Implementing the assessment principles, policies and procedures

The policy and procedures were approved in June 2024 and the process of implementing these across AUT will take place over 2025 and 2026 through a project managed by AUT’s Transformation Management Office.

Resources for AUT staff

AUT staff can find more information on TUIA:

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