"an invaluable guide for practitioners, quality assurors, university managers and students themselves who wish to better understand the importance of assessment for learning, and it will further scholarship in the field significantly."


-Professor Sally Brown


Assessment for Learning in Higher Education is a practical guide to Assessment for Learning (AfL); a term that has become internationally accepted in Higher Education and features in the learning and teaching strategies of many universities. It is also mandated by official bodies such as QAA in the UK. Many staff in Higher Education are uncertain about how to implement AfL, especially in times of increasingly constrained resources and this vital new guide provides solutions that make best use of assessment as a tool for learning.


This book provides an important and accessible blend of practical examples of AfL in a variety of subject areas. The authors present practical, often small-scale and eminently `do-able' ideas that will make its introduction achievable. It provides practical case examples both for new lecturers and more experienced staff who may be interested in embedding AfL principles and practice into their university teaching. AfL approaches go beyond minor adaptations to teaching practice, and signify a shift in the foundations of thinking about assessment. With this in mind there is guidance on the development of effective learning environments and communities through the use of:










collaboration and dialogue







authentic assessment







formative assessment