Assessment in legal education

Good assessment goes to the heart of the student learning experience. It impacts upon course design and choice of teaching method, as well as on students’ enjoyment of the subject and the quality of their educational experience. UKCLE aims to support law teachers in their development of appropriate and useful strategies for assessment by providing resources, encouraging research and promoting discussion through events and professional development seminars.

This page contains links to key resources, both law related and generic, on assessment and related issues. To find more resources on the UKCLE site, click ‘what’s related’ or use the search box.

Assessment: overviews

• Introduction to assessment in legal education – outlines the context and drivers for change, with three sections focusing on different areas of assessment
• Ensuring successful assessment – download the UKCLE bestseller, including advice and guidance on all aspects of assessment in law
• Assessment for learning: guide for law teachers – overview of the chief issues and how they affect learning and teaching in law
• Effective assessment strategies in law – advice on the principles of effective assessment, plus definitions of formative and summative assessment
• Assessing student work and providing feedback – hints and tips aimed at new law teachers

The Higher Education Academy website includes an assessment for practitioners section, with links to resources and tools including:

• LTSN assessment series (2001) – guides and briefing papers on different aspects of assessment
• Focus on assessment (2003) – issue of Exchange magazine
• The ILTA Guide: Inspiring learning about teaching and and assessment (2001) – introduction to assessment issues for new staff
• MESA: Managing Effective Student Assessment (2005; PDF file) – ideas and tools to improve student learning

Two Centres for Excellence in Teaching and Learning (CETLs) are focused on assessment:

• Assessment for Learning (AfL) – includes case studies of modules using the ‘assessment for learning’ approach
• Assessment Standards Knowledge exchange (ASKe)

Netskills’ Assessment for learning pages offer a range of resources and materials on the underpinning concepts and how to evaluate assessment activities.

E-assessment

• E-assessment seminar – links to resources from the UKCLE seminar on 31 January 2008
• Using e-assessment – introduction to a range of techniques and links to where to find out more
• Assessing by multiple choice question tests – FAQ on using MCQs
• The use of technology to enhance assessment – listing of JISC resources

Formative assessment and giving feedback

• Designing student learning by promoting formative assessment – research into the take-up of formative assessment on an undergraduate law programme
• Feedback, marking schemes and pro forma – includes examples of law school pro forma
• Providing individual written feedback on formative and summative assessments – hints and tips on providing effective feedback
• Telling it like it is: giving feedback in difficult circumstances – includes three role plays on how not to do it

Self, peer and group assessment

• Ideas for the innovative use of group, peer and self assessment
• Innovation in assessment – includes self and peer assessment
• Evaluation as a method of assessment – case study of students’ evaluation of their own and others’ performances in interview situations
• Law students engaging in a critique of their own learning experience: concept mapping as a tool for student self assessment

Portfolios and e-portfolios

• Portfolio-based learning and assessment – FAQs and case studies
• Stopping to think: reflections on the use of portfolios – case study
• Getting started with e-portfolios – advice and case studies

Last Modified: 4 June 2010