Education Development Toolkit

Learning Design in Practice: Preparing and running assessments

This page introduces you to assessment learning design, which does not end when the assessment strategy is agreed. As a module gets underway, it is important to help students understand the purpose of the assessment, how they can prepare for it, and how feedback can support their learning. Involving students in discussions about assessment can enhance assessment feedback literacy, help them produce better work, support workload planning, and contribute to a more positive learning experience.

It is designed for those who want to know more about the Cardiff University Inclusive Education Framework, and for those who are new to teaching or to inclusive education, perhaps working at an Associate Fellow or Fellow level.

Aligned to PSF: V3, V5, K4, A3

You can develop your understanding of Inclusive Education by engaging with our nine Assessment and feedback workshops. Find out more on the Cardiff LTA CPD page.

Practical tips

It is helpful to consider up front:

How the assessment will support student’s development in preparation for their future careers. It can help to motivate students if they understand that the assessment develops their work skills whilst also testing their knowledge.
How you want your students to engage with formative tasks; the benefits to arise from this, the feedback comments they will receive, and ways in which you want your students to utilise these comments;
Whether there are ways in which your students can be further involved in supporting the formative tasks (e.g. through self and/or peer assessment activities);
How the marking of the summative tasks will be undertaken.  For example:
- whether these are open-ended tasks best marked through the application and interpretation of assessment criteria, and if so, whether the generic criteria used across the programme are appropriate and sufficiently clear for this task, or whether you should develop specific criteria to use with this assessment (and involve your students in developing these?), OR Whether the questions used in the assessment require a fixed answer, and thus the task needs to be supported by a detailed mark scheme to guide staff and students as to how marks will be awarded;

Whatever assessment methods are being used, you need to ensure all of the relevant assessment and feedback information is available to and accessible for students, and that markers and students have a shared understanding of how marking will be undertaken and of the academic standards they need to evidence in assessed work.

Avoid assessment ‘nightmares’ in advance of running the assessment with Sambell’s list of assessment nightmares and approaches to avoiding them.

Reflect on the design of your assessment

Choose one assessment on your module. Ask yourself: would a student be able to explain what success looks like, how the work will be marked and how feedback can help them improve? If not, identify one opportunity to make these expectations more explicit.

Developing Inclusive Assessment and Feedback Practices

Assessment criteria serve as the explicit bridge between what students learn and how they demonstrate their success. Moving beyond generic frameworks to design tailored assessment criteria allows module teams to demystify expectations, tackle hidden barriers, and actively empower student progression.

Establishing Clear Expectations and Criteria

Defining Success: For students to meet module expectations, they must understand what high-quality work looks like across performance bands. Providing exemplary past work across a spectrum of grades and facilitating student-led comparison activities helps learners understand standards and adapt their own approaches.
The EAT Framework: Small-scale, strategic interventions using the EAT Framework (Carol Evans’ assessment diagnostic tool) can help evaluate your module’s assessment readiness, ensuring higher student engagement and alignment with expectations.

Strategic Planning for Marking and Co-Creation

Designing Marking Schemes Early: Establishing how an assignment will be marked before teaching begins ensures you can transparently communicate to students how achievement is measured.
Evaluating Marking Efficiency: Using structured team activities allows educators to assess different marking approaches for both effectiveness and workload efficiency.
Co-Creating with Students: Consider involving students in defining marking approaches. For example, balancing lighter summative marking with robust, iterative formative feedback helps keep feedback timely and actionable.

Designing Meaningful Formative Feedback Opportunities

Scaffolding through Formative Tasks: Every module benefits from formative tasks structured to mirror or build directly toward the summative assessment (e.g., using a patchwork approach). To be impactful, feedback must be returned quickly enough for students to apply takeaways to their final work.
Active In-Session Verbal Feedback: Formative feedback should be embedded continuously throughout the learning process rather than reserved solely for formal submissions. Utilize verbal prompts during live sessions to:
- Stretch and challenge: Ask questions like, “Why do you think that?” or “How would that play out in practice?”
- Reinforce evidence: Ask students to justify their claims and identify underlying sources.
- Highlight common pitfalls: Warn students of typical errors or conceptual misunderstandings before they submit final work.
Reflective Application: Ensure students have structured opportunities such as maintaining reflective logs or revising action plans to explicitly record, process, and apply the feedback they receive.