Assessment for learning at scale at UNSW Sydney

Societal expectations of Higher-Education’s ability to produce work-ready graduates continues to struggle against a fundamental challenge related to the conflicting purposes of assessment as primarily a vehicle of certification or as an opportunity for learning. Assessment for learning is proposed as a powerful theory for improving learning from assessment. However numerous blockers including inadequate technological systems retard the adoption of student-centered assessment (Ibarra-Sáiz, Rodríguez-Gómez, & Boud, 2020). This article reports on a ten-year initiative using an assessment platform (REVIEW) as a technological base driving Standards Based Assessment. Use of this software has enabled assessment for learning type practices in hundreds of courses, providing beneficial learning outcomes and experience of assessment for staff and students. This paper highlights the affordances that technology platforms can provide in systematizing beneficial practices, improved assessment experiences and filling a long-standing gap between theory, policy and practice.