White paper on “Current trends in assessment in Europe”
18 June 2018
The Coimbra Group Education Innovation Working Group has produced a white paper on “Current trends in assessment in Europe”, including future recommendations. The publication features different cases and practices in formative and continuous assessment and the pros and cons of different forms of such assessment.
This White Paper is the final outcome of a workshop within the auspices of the Coimbra Group Working Group on Education Innovation held in Aarhus (Denmark) on 27 February 2017. The output from that workshop, consisting of participants’ contributions in electronic and paper notes, combined with a selection of literature in this field and cases from Coimbra Group universities, has resulted in this White Paper, adopted by the Working Group in April 2018.
Recent years have seen an increased focus on assessment and feedback in many European countries. This trend is triggered by the development of teaching and learning activities that support student-centred learning and, closely linked to that, the general modernisation agenda within higher education in Europe as outlined, for instance, by the High Level Group on the Modernisation of Higher Education (2013). Final examinations at the end of the course module or academic term have been the order of the day, but new developments are primarily to be found in continuous or formative assessment activities throughout the academic term. Much inspiration in this field has come from the English-speaking parts of the world; however, new developments are spreading across Continental Europe as well.