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In Finland, there are no high-stakes tests in comprehensive education, but teachers assign students’ final grades. A recent reform introduced a set of assessment criteria to make grades more comparable across Finland. Based on interviews with 66 lower secondary school teachers, the present study examines how Finnish teachers used their agency in the face of this assessment reform. Understanding teacher agency is of great importance, as it plays a key role in mediating teachers’ public power through final assessment. Using typology analysis, we constructed five teacher types, each reflecting a particular type of agency: the enthusiast, the willing executor, the obedient critic, the immune and the rebel. The nature of teachers’ involvement in the reform varied between the types. The differences in teachers’ agency highlight the importance of understanding different types of teacher agency when implementing assessment reforms and providing appropriate support for all types of teachers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of the study was to examine the effects of rubric co-creation on peer feedback. From a social constructivist perspective, rubric co-creation might have the ability to promote the quality of feedback messages, interactivities within feedback processes, and uptake of feedback information in a peer-based collaborative setting of higher education. Two groups of English Language Studies majors (N = 57) from a Chinese university were recruited. In a writing class enacting peer feedback, the experimental group participated in the co-creation of rubrics whereas the control group accepted and used the co-created rubrics. Results showed that rubric co-creation had significantly positive effects on students' use of criteria and the production of meaningful feedback messages instead of feedback writing styles. Regarding interaction patterns, the experimental group established active and bi-directional dialogic communication between peer learners. For uptake of feedback, the experimental group made significantly more critical application of feedback messages compared to the control group. The paper has implications for the enactment of rubric co-creation in peer-based learning and the promotion of learner agency in dialogic feedback interactions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A key responsibility of higher education providers is the accurate certification of the knowledge and skills attained by their students. However, despite an intense focus on developing relevant quality assurance regulations, academic standards in higher education have remained resistant to explication and consistent application. In this paper, we initially deconstruct and evaluate academic standards and dominant practitioner perspectives on their nature and use, including techno-rational, sociocultural and sociomaterial approaches. The limited prior research on the effectiveness of calibration and social moderation processes is reviewed, highlighting the significant challenges in sharing tacitly held understandings of assessment criteria (attributes of quality) and standards (levels of achievement). Further complications are considered that arise from the varying expertise and power relationships of assessors and the complexities inherent in the development and use of codified artefacts for capturing and sharing standards. We opine that because of the difficulties in clearly representing and agreeing standards, it is unsurprising that there is little evidence of marking consistency to be found in the literature even in contexts where carefully crafted artefacts, such as rubrics, are in use. We conclude that effectiveness would be enhanced through sharing understandings more widely and refocusing the use of assessment codifications towards how they may catalyse effective social moderation and calibration dialogues. Dialogues that foreground individuals' positions of consensus and dissensus at significant points of interpretation in the assessment process are identified within the paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While research on postgraduate thesis writing has investigated how students cope with institutional assessment criteria, this study explores how students form their own criteria for self-assessment through the writing process, aiming to account for the development of their independent thinking in academic socialisation. Based on in-depth interviews with 10 Chinese master's students, the study found that their self-assessment criteria not only represented solutions to problems identified by their supervisors and examiners, but also embodied aims established by students themselves. Those criteria were not fixed textual properties of a 'good' thesis, but were dynamic representations of textual and social realities constituting students' lifeworlds. Viewed from this perspective, self-assessment is a situated process whereby students re-experience and re-interpret multiple sets of realities juxtaposed against their writing. Pedagogically, the study implies that postgraduate thesis supervision could facilitate the expansion of students' self-assessment criteria to develop their capacity for making independent judgements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Little research has exclusively focused on the accessibility of AC, despite their substantial impacts on students' and tutors' engagement with AC and the facilitative role of AC for assessment and learning. Drawing upon sequential online surveys and interviews with undergraduate students from diverse disciplines in a British university, statistical and content analysis revealed the challenges undergraduates faced to comprehend and use AC for their assessment. This study unveiled the entanglement among accessibility, understanding and usefulness of AC for assessment and learning. It uncovered the different effectiveness of varied ways of tutors introducing AC to students and students' expectations of how tutors could implement AC in assessment and teaching. It highlighted and substantiated the necessity of shifting from the prevailing product to a process- and future-oriented approach to contextualising and aligning AC with assessment tasks, learning outcomes and feedback and thereby harnessing the accessibility of AC for students. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study explores how assessment criteria are applied in grading student work. It is found that explicit assessment criteria do not work as authoritative guidance as expected and that tacit criteria are more decisive in awarding a certain grade. Various sources that form idiosyncratic tacit criteria are identified. These sources, including values on curriculum and assessment, teaching experiences, and the way of supervising grades, work as different social contextual elements that influence judgements on grading students' work. The study suggests that tacit criteria and the different sources that form the tacit criteria need to be identified, perceived, and communicated in the community of practice to reduce grade variability and achieve a shared understanding of grading. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article investigates the role of an academic development programme associated with the implementation of newly designed assessment criteria in the UK-based Arts University. The introduction of new assessment criteria was accompanied by a pan-university academic staff development intervention. In a small-scale qualitative study, we researched staff's experience of meaning-making and present three interconnected themes: the relationships between attendees; their relationship with the criteria; and relational understandings within the context of expectations of academic development. We deploy Honneth's theory of recognition and make recommendations for policy makers and academic developers to support the design of socially just academic development opportunities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study looks at assessment of PhD theses from two perspectives: criteria in use in assessment reports at a science faculty and norms of science. Fifty assessment reports were analysed inductively, resulting in thirteen categories that examiners consider when assessing a thesis. These categories were compared with norms of science as described in the sociology of science. The study shows a high congruence between the two perspectives, but also new categories worthy of further discussion and research. Relevance of the thesis research and quality by proxy (that publication is an indicator of quality) stand out very clearly in this study compared with earlier assessment research. These two categories are both relatively new categories in assessment research and indicate that the classical norms of science are changing with an increasing influence of post-academic norms in academia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, researchers have noticed similarities between audio description (AD) and interpreting in training and quality assessment. Drawing on an AD training programme for interpreting students at a university in Hong Kong, this study explored the similarities and differences between AD and interpreting in terms of quality assessment and learner perception. Macrocriteria and microcriteria in AD and interpreting training were compared. It was found that AD and interpreting shared three macrocriteria: accuracy, language, and delivery. Meanwhile, a number of microcriteria and a macrocriterion were identified as exclusive either to interpreting or AD. The differences may be partly explained by the interlingual nature of interpreting, the intersemiotic nature of AD, and the relevant training arrangements. A survey was also conducted among 42 students to investigate learners’ perceptions of assessment criteria in AD and interpreting. The results show that the students identified some criteria as more difficult to achieve separately in AD and in interpreting, and they ranked some criteria as more important in AD and others as more important in interpreting. The findings of this study may help trainers better understand the needs of learners and develop more diverse and refined approaches to AD and interpreting training. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Our study aims to investigate whether engaging students with formative assessment and feedback activities could support students' self-regulation, improve performance and improve satisfaction with assessment. The intervention designs are implemented using a novel framework, developed for staff reflection, derived from a self-regulation learning model and formative assessment and feedback principles. Zimmerman's self-regulation model is chosen for a holistic approach, covering all Phases, to investigate the interventions within 3 honours level modules covering 483 students and 9 academic staff. Student views are obtained immediately following interventions from a short questionnaire and statistically analysed; semi-structured staff interviews are analysed thematically from NVivo. Significant improvement in students' confidence and satisfaction with assessments occurs; evidence for improvement in performance and self-regulation is limited. Staff reflection areas are identified with suggestions for more effective feedforward strategies in support of self-regulation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hydroelectric plants, constructed as modern, industrial, innovative and technological structures of the 20th century, after approximately a century of existence, have become subjects of industrial heritage. Within the article, the interdisciplinary field is approached through the perspective of architectural conservation with consultancies of experts from related disciplines. The study discusses hydroelectric facilities of the past century in terms of industrial heritage focusing on their features, types and elements, investigates the theoretical framework in order to specify criteria for their assessment as cultural heritage, and develops a guideline for the architectural preservation, conservation, restoration and re-use of these structures. The proposed set of criteria and the guideline are applied for 17 selected case studies of dams and powerhouses in Northern Italy. The process and the results of the study are discussed with a purpose of serving as a model for further studies on the preservation, conservation and restoration of hydroelectric plants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Exemplars are samples which illustrate dimensions of quality and enable students to understand assessment expectations. The theoretical basis for using exemplars lies principally in social constructivist approaches to assessment and the notion of tacit knowledge. Through a constructivist grounded theory methodology, this paper theorises how twelve teachers of English for Academic Purposes managed the process of using exemplars. Data collection involved triangulation between semi-structured interviews and classroom observations of the twelve teachers. Data analysis utilised constructivist grounded theory strategies: initial and focused coding, memoing and abductive reasoning. The findings analyse teacher decision-making in relation to exemplar use; the different ways in which criteria are deployed in conjunction with exemplars; and controlled or more open dialogues about exemplars. The theoretical contribution arises principally from a threefold typology comprising structured, guided discovery and dialogic approaches to managing the use of exemplars. It is suggested that a mediated dialogic approach has most potential to maximise learning benefits of exemplar use. Implications for practice explore tensions between what is recommended in the exemplars literature and the complexities of classroom implementation. Methodological implications arise from the triangulation between observations and interviews, and the discursive gap between social constructivist approaches and theories of mediation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

'Transparency' is frequently invoked when describing assessment criteria in higher education. However, there are limitations to the metaphor: 'transparent' representations give the illusion that everything can (and should) be explicated, and that students are 'seeing through' to the educators' expectations. Drawing from sociomaterial perspectives on standards, an argument is made for a different way of conceptualising assessment criteria. 'Invitational' enactments offer an alternative metaphor, one which intentionally promotes student learning. Three propositions frame potential use of this metaphor: (1) assessment criteria promote learning when they invite students into a 'productive space'; (2) assessment criteria coordinate sustained learning by inviting multiple enactments across tasks; (3) assessment criteria develop sophisticated ways of knowing by inviting student reflection. Drawing from both metaphors, teachers can design assessment materials – particularly rubrics, task descriptions and exemplars – which convey their intentions while also prompting students to develop their own ways of working and learning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Madagascar poses a significant challenge for understanding how people colonized islands. While its inhabitants also share an African ancestry, language, genetics, and culture all point to the arrival on the island of Austronesian-speaking settlers from the far side of the Indian Ocean. Recent decades have seen increasing acceptance of a late first-millennium BC date for Madagascar's initial settlement, based principally on arguments relating to the purported antiquity and presence of cut-marked animal bones and the pollen of humanly introduced Cannabis plants. More recently, these claims have been pushed much further back in time by the discovery of stone tools at Lakaton'i Anja and cut-marked bones at Christmas River and Lamboharana. Such arguments must be based on firm foundations if they are to be accepted. This paper evaluates them against criteria developed for assessing the timing and credibility of claims of pre-Clovis settlement in the Americas and early Polynesian presence in Remote Oceania. It concludes that they do not meet them and that for now there is thus no convincing evidence that Madagascar was settled before the mid-first millennium AD. Colonization around that time fits much better with broader patterns of contact, trade, and settlement in the wider Indian Ocean world, including other islands off Africa's eastern coast. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this study is to determine the change in students' levels of critical thinking (CT) through comparing the results of second- and fourth-year students. The study also investigates the factors that are statistically significant in explaining the change, if any, in students' CT. In doing that, the study determines whether or not the use of assessment criteria that encourage CT influences or triggers any change in students' CT. The study employs mixed methods, combining quantitative methods with qualitative ones. Quantitative data were collected using the California CT Skills Test in order to investigate the change in students' levels of CT. Quantitative data were complemented with reflective judgment interviews, which were used to obtain more in-depth responses from the students. The study finds that the levels of students' CT increased from 0 percent in year two to 18 percent in year four. The qualitative research revealed very good performance for fourth-year students in interpretation, evaluation, inference, self-regulation and recognition of their own biases. It also showed minimal reliance on religious texts in discussing gender equality. Variables such as school GPA, non-Egyptian high school degree, and independent learning were found statistically significant to higher levels of CT. Despite its pilot nature, this study provides some insight into the levels of CT in private political science programs in Egypt while investigating the most or least statistically significant variables. Identifying the most statistically significant variables informs researchers, practitioners, and education policy makers about what to prioritize for better CT among students. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Unreliability in marking is well documented, yet we lack studies that have investigated assessors’ detailed use of assessment criteria. This project used a form of Kelly’s repertory grid method to examine the characteristics that 24 experienced UK assessors notice in distinguishing between students’ performance in four contrasting subject disciplines: that is their implicit assessment criteria. Variation in the choice, ranking and scoring of criteria was evident. Inspection of the individual construct scores in a sub-sample of academic historians revealed five factors in the use of criteria that contribute to marking inconsistency. The results imply that, whilst more effective and social marking processes that encourage sharing of standards in institutions and disciplinary communities may help align standards, assessment decisions at this level are so complex, intuitive and tacit that variability is inevitable. We conclude that universities should be more honest with themselves and with students, and actively help students to understand that application of assessment criteria is a complex judgement and there is rarely an incontestable interpretation of their meaning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An international agenda to raise educational ‘standards’ and increase the accountability of schools has the unintended consequence of increased uniformity around pedagogical practices, and of introducing assessment practices that influence the way students experience learning. This paper explores how the self-assessment experiences of primary and secondary school students in relation to their learning reflects their perceived respective institutional demands to account for their learning. Students’ dilemmas and experiences of school-based assessment include the use of pre-defined criteria for assessment tasks focusing the learner’s attention to ‘getting to the identified outcome and in the right way’. When school assessment systems do not reflect students’ socially and culturally valued learning, this reduces conversations around learning to that of outcomes. In contrast, by supporting learners to self-assess in increasingly sophisticated ways, teachers encourage students to think about their learning across contexts, and liberate them from thinkingonlyabout institutional assessment demands. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Lack of clarity about assessment criteria and standards is a source of anxiety for many first-year university students. The Developing Understanding of Assessment for Learning (DUAL) programme was designed as a staged approach to gradually familiarise students with expectations, and to provide opportunities for the development of the skills required to successfully complete assessment tasks. This paper investigated the students’ perceptions of the first two components of the DUAL programme, which assist first-year biology students to engage with stated assessment criteria and standards in order to develop their capacity to make judgements about scientific report exemplars, their peers’ scientific reports and ultimately their own. The study found strong evidence (96% of responses) that the marking and discussion of exemplar reports with peers and demonstrators clarified expectations of scientific report writing. A key feature of this element of DUAL was the opportunity for structured discussion about assessment criteria and standards between peers and markers (demonstrators). During these discussions, students can clarify explicit statements and develop a tacit knowledge base to enhance their ability to judge the quality of others’ work and their own. The peer review exercise (the second element of DUAL) was not rated as highly, with 65% of students finding the process helpful for improving their report. The negative reactions by a sizeable minority of students highlight the need to clearly communicate the expectations and benefits of peer review, with a focus on how the process ofgivingfeedback to peers might benefit a student as much asreceivingfeedback on their own report. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Using results from a survey and focus groups with staff and students, I evaluate best practice for student-focused assessment criteria, including the value of specific assessment criteria, where and when students engage with criteria, the use of exemplars, how assessment criteria connect to feedback and the importance of bringing students more actively into the assessment process. I argue that we need to accept that many students are assessment motivated, and rather than work against this reality (which is rarely successful), we should instead consider how assessment can address student concerns of clarity and fairness while being more tied into learning. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Grade descriptors, marking guides and exemplars are generally accepted to have a positive impact in assisting students’ understanding of assessment task requirements and standards, but little is known about how students use such resources. This paper provides insight into the perceptions of first-year students of the usefulness of grade descriptors, marking criteria and annotated exemplars. Of the 119 students who provided their reflections on the resources, 87% found the resources to be useful. Students’ responses about the usefulness of the resources revealed two main standpoints: those (1) seeking precise guidance and (2) happy with ‘an idea’ of standards. A thematic analysis identified 10 subthemes which were related to these standpoints. There was a strong relationship between students seeking precise guidance and requests for even more exemplars, while those happy with only an ‘idea’ of standards felt the resources largely gave them what they needed and assisted their learning. We discuss some implications of these findings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the increasing awareness of greenhouse gas emissions, transportation with alternative fuel, especially vehicle electrification has attracted attention from more and more researchers, planners and practitioners. However, the feasibility of using electric vehicles for public transit is hard to assess as electric buses vary significantly in terms of costs and performance. Implementation of electric buses in small and medium communities is even more complex, as such communities are often more sensitive to transportation service due to factors such as tighter budget constraints, higher standards for noise and air quality control, and stronger needs for the sense of community. A comprehensive assessment framework is needed to evaluate feasibility of electric bus implementation in small and medium communities. The study establishes such an evaluation framework and selects assessment criteria based on comprehensive literature review and data from multiple sources including research reports, manufacture consultation, and surveys. An exhaustive list of bus performance measurements are quantified to reflect the latest transportation technological advancements and emerging concerns on emissions, noise and energy consumption. In addition to vehicle factors, external factors indicating special features of small and medium size communities are also considered. The study finds that most small and medium communities seem to be ideal for electric bus operation, but electric buses’ indirect impact on environment (through power generation) and their high costs should also be considered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The assessment of creative writing is mandatory in the Western Australian Certificate of Education ( WACE) Literature course; is part of the WACE English course and exam; and is a component of the Australian Curriculum English courses: therefore it is important to understand how to assess creative writing consistently. This article reviews studies into methods of assessing creative writing and the literature detailing creative writing assessment criteria. It argues that criteria should be derived from qualities observed in students' creative writing, criteria that describe a spectrum of performance. The use of analytical marking keys' criteria and categories ensures fair and consistent assessment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper draws on research funded by the Bedford Charity (Harpur Trust) in which the narrative writing of reluctant writers in 10 Lower Schools (pupils aged 5-9) was levelled using, firstly, the Assessment of Pupil Progress (APP) criteria used in English primary and secondary schools and, secondly, criteria devised by the researcher. The latter were specifically designed for the assessment of narrative writing, whereas the APP criteria are generic. Findings resonate with the contrasting paradigms critiqued in D'Arcy's paper on the teaching and assessment of writing (D'Arcy 1999). Evidence suggests that levels assigned to individual texts can vary between one assessment criteria and another. In many cases, pupils achieved higher levels against criteria designed to evaluate creativity and the ability to tell a story. Appropriate assessment criteria are critical not only to summative evaluations but also to the planning of future teaching and learning. However, it is suggested that the dominant assessment paradigm and concomitant approaches to the pedagogy of writing in England have been influenced by discourses over which teachers have had little control. However, the future for the teaching and assessment of writing necessitates a paradigmatic shift. A retrospective of D'Arcy's paper may provide teachers and academics with the impetus for change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the evolution of the field of animal science from 1981 to 2011. Developments included the reformulation of the five freedoms concept into the five domains of potential welfare compromise. Most concepts of animal welfare initially emphasised negative subjective experiences but positive experiences or emotions are also considered to be important. Major orientations recognized in animal welfare thinking are the biological function, affective state and natural living.

The curriculum for journalism is being forced to change because the traditional print-based and broadcast modes are being challenged by wide and easy access to online mass communication. Primarily, students need to develop proficiency in writing, editing and publishing. However, they are also expected to be skilled in the Web medium as they venture into their careers, and weblogs offer a dynamic platform to develop these skills. Based on a statistical summary of student comments on the performance criteria for a blog project, a focus group interview and survey results, this paper will discuss the findings from the introduction of a course-based blog to an undergraduate course in Hong Kong, including: (1) the technical challenge of making Web features; (2) the perception of proficiency in online publishing; (3) the evaluative skills developed through a peer-review process; and (4) the development of a learning community through writing in blogs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article reports on research into formative assessment within a task design that produces multiple opportunities for teacher and pupil dialogue. It draws upon in-depth case studies conducted in schools in socially deprived areas of Scotland, using policy and documentary analysis, video-observation, and an iterative series of interviews with pupils and teachers. The research confirmed the power of this task design, and teachers' skilfulness in deploying it, but raises questions about the understandings of assessment that supported teachers' criteria development, and the ways criteria were brought into classroom dialogue. A large disjuncture is identified between assessing the complexities of these tasks and the assessment vocabularies inherited by teachers. Relational understandings of teaching, learning and assessment that better address teacher 'positionality' are suggested as useful for supporting a standards-based approach to assessment, as well as for addressing issues of social equity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Feedback is central to pedagogic theory, and if feedback is to be effective, students need to engage with it and apply it at some point in the future. However, student dissatisfaction with feedback - as evidenced in the National Student Survey - suggests that there are problems which limit student engagement with feedback, such as their perception that much of their feedback is irrelevant to future assignments. This article reports on a study which sought to enhance engagement by giving students exemplar assignments annotated with feedback before submission of their final assignments. This was done by providing an online facility where students could view exemplars and post comments or questions to tutors and peers on a discussion board. The exemplar facility was highly valued by students, although there were no quantitative effects such as an increase in students' assignment marks when compared with the previous cohort. The article reflects on possible reasons for this result and discusses ways to improve the exemplar facility, for example by facilitating dialogue between tutors and students. The article concludes with lessons learned about how to construct exemplars, and considers how exemplars might also be used within marking teams to improve consistency of marking. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In an effort to gain better understanding of the assessment of prior informal and non-formal learning, this article explores assessors' approaches to portfolio assessment. Through this portfolio assessment, candidates had requested exemptions from specific courses within an educational programme or admission to the programme based on their prior learning. The assessors judged the portfolios according to set rating criteria, and subsequently discussed their approaches. Their decision-making processes, perception of portfolio use in the Assessment of Prior Learning (APL), deciding factors in portfolio assessment and use of the rating criteria were key elements in this discussion. The results show that they do use the rating criteria as an indicator in decision-making, but have mixed perceptions regarding the fairness of APL portfolio assessment. They perceive the portfolio evidence in combination with sound argumentation as the deciding elements in portfolio assessment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reports three studies about preparing Further Education (FE) students for the transition to Higher Education (HE) by improving their understanding of HE assessment criteria. In study 1, students and tutors in both FE and HE were interviewed for a qualitative analysis of their understandings and expectations about assessment criteria. In study 2, students in FE and HE completed questionnaires measuring self-rated understanding and ability about assessment criteria, and beliefs about essay writing. Studies 1 and 2 both showed that FE students were more confident than HE students about their understanding and ability in relation to assessment criteria, but FE students' understandings suggested more surface approaches to learning and more naive epistemological beliefs. In study 3, a workshop intervention to improve FE students' understandings of HE assessment criteria was evaluated in a comparative longitudinal trial. The intervention reduced FE students' self-rated understanding and ability, and promoted more sophisticated beliefs about essay writing, by comparison with students who received standard tuition. We concluded that interventions to develop more realistic understandings of what is required in academic writing could be used to prepare FE students more effectively for the transition to HE. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In fall of 2007, a survey was administered to the membership of the Associated Schools of Construction (ASC) to evaluate member perspectives on scholarly standards as they relate to the International Journal of Construction Education and Research (“Journal”). The objectives of this study were to 1) survey respondent understanding of Journal aims and scope, 2) assess respondent interpretations of scholarly work, and 3) survey respondent attitudes on the overall effectiveness of the Journal submission and peer-review process. Of 106 respondents, 74% had previously published or reviewed for the Journal. While 65% of respondents indicated that the aim of the Journal was to publish scholarly works in both construction education and research, respondents were near equally divided on whether non-original research constitutes scholarly work. Respondents agreed or strongly agreed that Journal topics (87%), title (93%), and assessment criteria (83%) were appropriate. Ninety-four percent of peer reviewers felt the Journal review process was timely and efficient, compared with 78% of authors. Only 66% of authors felt peer reviewers had the knowledge necessary to effectively review their manuscripts. More than three in four (76%) reviewers stated that they relied more on their own intuition than Journal guidelines when conducting peer reviews. Of all respondents, two-thirds (66%) consider the Journal to be a “top tier” publication. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article will outline the motives for the implementation of peer assessment as put into action at the first year of the Civil Engineering course of the University of Minho. The implementation of new assessment methods was a consequence of the successful implementation of peer assessment at other engineering courses. During the semester, three assessment moments took place, in which students assessed the work of their peers. Assessment criteria were defined in a negotiation process between students and teacher. The students subsequently graded the work of their colleagues and had to provide a clear justification for each given grade. The aim of this method is to involve students in the subject, enhance their motivation and deepen their learning. Advantages and disadvantages of peer assessment are discussed. The results that have been obtained so far draw attention to the nature of assessment criteria and the corresponding explicitness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents preliminary findings from the application of the European Standards and Guidelines (ESG) to the Accreditation Council’s accreditation criteria and the review of three German accreditation agencies done by the German Accreditation Council. It focuses on the main characteristics of the ESG and their implementation into the German accreditation system. Three lessons can be learnt from the experience of the implementation of the ESG. Guidelines should concentrate on principles that can be applied to different forms of quality assurance; Integrating regional or international standards or guidelines into existing sets of criteria or standards fosters mutual understanding or even convergence; attempts to make guidelines comprehensive and extend procedural principles of quality assurance, have important side effects on higher education systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]