Assessment Principles

To support assessment best practice at USW, ten Assessment Principles have been developed. These Assessment Principles support the USW 2030 Curriculum Design Principles. The Assessment Principles are not mutually exclusive; they interconnect to form distinctive, dynamic, responsive and sophisticated assessment practices to support transformative learning, teaching and student experiences.

Engine of a plane in the aerospace centre on Treforest campus

Two forensics students in hazmat suits and high vis jackets inspecting a room in the Crime Scene House

Sport students playing football on a football pitch.

The ten USW Assessment Principles are:

Assessment is valid: assessment accurately measures what it is intended to measure.
Assessment is inclusive and equitable: assessment enables all learners to achieve success.
Assessment is reliable: assessment measures learning consistently.
Assessment is achievable: the level, timing and type of assessment encourages academic integrity.
Assessment is transparent: Assessment criteria/rubrics are in accessible language and appropriate to the type and level of the assessment task.
Assessment involves appropriate stakeholders: Students (and external inputs as appropriate) are active stakeholders in the assessment type selection, design, through student voice representation and review processes.
Assessment must ensure students are able to track their learning progress.
Assessment aspires to offer students the opportunity to have some choice around assessment type.
Assessment design supports students' development of appropriate USW graduate attributes and/or employability skills including interdisciplinary or collaborative working.
Assessment is a dialogue between staff and students as partners in the learning process.

Our USW 2030 Curriculum Design Principles act as the guiding philosophies informing assessment design — select any of the icons below to find out more about that principle.