NZMA Online Assessments

Students are engaged in two different forms of assessment within NZMA Online.

Formative assessment

Formative assessment is the assessment that forms learning, i.e. it is like a progress test or a draft run at a project where the purpose is to gain feedback. It’s often considered an informal assessment. These tasks are embedded throughout the content and take place in multiple forms.

• Multi-choice quizzes
• Drag & drop activities
• Reflection journals or forum posts
• Flip images

Summative assessment

Summative assessment is the assessment that is the sum of the learning, i.e. an end of term test, final submission of the project. This is the assessment that gains the credits of the course. It’s often considered a formal assessment.

Each type of assessment will cover the learning outcomes associated with the course. As per our NZQA requirements, summative assessment can’t be changed without approval and notification. In most cases, they are very static.

However, formative assessments may be already designed into the course or added by you. Imagine a group of students who have just learnt a new stretch or movement, and there is a task to practise that stretch or movement. That is a formative assessment as well as a practice task. It is formative as there is feedback on and assessment of the outcome. Perhaps you get the class to comment and discuss the outcome, but you, as a tutor, observe and assess what elements went well and what didn’t. Then, the ‘what didn’t go well’ might be covered as a follow-up task, revision exercise, extra teaching, further reading for homework, etc.

Interesting:
Assessments were previously thought of as evaluations OF learning. Nowadays, education approaches assessment in a different way: assessment FOR learning. An interesting quick read or a longer read.

Important info about online assessments

• Assessment FOR learning is important to keep in mind. Your feedback will support further learning, whether it is a pass or resubmit. Get into the habit of giving positive feedback as well as supportive feedback that will allow the student to learn.
• This might be your sixth assessment or one-hundredth assessment to mark, but it is the student’s first. Take a break if you start to shorten your feedback or feel you are not giving the students your best feedback. 
• All assessments must be graded and returned to students within ten working days.
• All resubmissions are given a one to two-week ‘new’ deadline (or less if the student only has minor amends).
• If you are assessing and you are not the tutor, regularly check in with the tutor if you have any questions about the grading or student work.
• Assessors don’t meet with students about the assessments if a student needs help with the feedback, etc. The tutor will meet with them.

Assessment due dates

The assessment due dates are in the Programme Info sheet pdf, which is created for each intake.

Assessment due dates are set in accordance with the programme document regulations and are based on the hours of learning required for each module. These hours are confirmed through the NZQA Programme Approval process, so must be adhered to and cannot be brought forward or extended.

The assessment regime will differ for each course and programme. The approach to assessment should be the same.

Tips and Tricks for Tutors to Support High Rate of Student Submission

Minimum two week/s before the due date:

• Introduce the assessment – covering the points on how to read the assessment, not how to read the assessment. This could be done as a message to the intake, a live session, or as a forum thread. You know the class, so make a decision that suits them best.
• Let them know that 1:1 sessions will be open and the dates of these sessions. Remind students how to book a 1:1 session and post your Calendly link.

The week of due date:

• Provide the opportunity to book a 1:1 session via Calendly.

In a forum post the week before, remind students:

• Of the due date/time
• That in the weekend, there is no one around to contact
• That no submission is considered a submission so encourage studentse to submit the work even if uncompleted.
• If they submit incomplete work, then students should wait for feedback to use when working on a resubmission if necessary.
• If there are any issues with submission to take screenshots of the problems and email helpdesk@up.education
• If a student contacts you for an extension, follow the extension instructions of NZMA. See: g. Extension requests.docx

The day after the assessment due date:

• Review the submissions and check who has not submitted and who is ready to be graded.
• Make a note of all the info in the Student Assessment Tracker Spreadsheet for the intake.
• Email these students who have not submitted following the process outlined in the Online Campus Teams Group.

After assessments have been graded:

• Please make sure that you read the feedback given to the students for their assessments. They will come back to you with questions, so you need to know what they have been asked to change, redo, etc.
• Keep checking back to the Student Assessment Tracker Spreadsheet for dates and resubmissions.
• It is very important to keep on top of student deadlines with resubmissions. Keep up the contact with students so they stay on track. Offer your assistance with one-on-ones.

For more information on what to do if a student misses a submission or resubmission, extension requests, and step by step on how to grade your assessments, check out the Online Tutor Info Hub.