Continuous Performance Assessments in Teaching
The concept of «Continuous Performance Assessments» (C.P.A.) may only be applied in course units which are assessed via session examinations or end-of-semester examinations.
A continuous performance assessment is a means of assessing performance within the course unit context during the semester. It contributes towards the overall performance assessment result, although the final examination via session examination or end-of-semester examination continues to be the more decisive element.
A continuous performance assessment serves the following different goals:
- It requires students to perform in areas which cannot be assessed or graded in the final examination framework. Examples of continuous performance assessment tasks are excursions which are integrated into the course unit; completion of a course unit computer exercise; authorship of a project paper or case study; or delivery of a presentation.
- It gives students feedback on their learning progress and helps them to actively follow the teaching during the semester, continually process course material, and complete the associated exercises.
A compulsory continuous performance assessment involves clearly delineated tasks which must be completed within the course unit framework and graded individually. There are the following possibilities for the marking of compulsory continuous performance assessment tasks:
a. The compulsory continuous performance assessment task needs not be passed on its own; it is awarded a grade which counts proportionally towards the total course unit grade.
b. The compulsory continuous performance assessment task must be passed on its own; it is assessed on a pass/fail basis.
c. The compulsory continuous performance assessment task must be passed on its own and counts proportionally towards the total course unit grade; it is graded (grades of 4 and above signify a pass; grades below 4 signify failure).
Not completing or failing to pass a compulsory continuous performance assessment task means that the corresponding course unit cannot be passed. If students in this situation do not deregister from the final examination their failure of the course unit will be officially decreed as a «no show». If students fail or do not complete a compulsory continuous performance assessment task, lecturers must inform them of this in writing before the deregistration deadline.
The share contributed by graded compulsory continuous performance assessment to the total course unit grade may not exceed 50%.
Interim examinations are conducted once or twice during the semester. They focus the study behaviour of students and give them feedback on their learning progress.
Sitting interim examinations is recommended for students, but is not mandatory.
Interim examinations are conducted under examination conditions and are graded individually.
Grades from interim examinations are computed proportionally towards the total course unit grade if they improve it. The share of these grades in the total grade may not exceed 30%. If they would worsen the total grade, however, they are disregarded. They therefore function as a bonus, but not as a penalty. Students can still achieve the maximum grade of 6 in the course unit even if they only sit the final examination.
Note that the level of difficulty of interim and final examinations is similar.
Learning tasks, which involve activities such as short exercises corrected in class, quizzes, and presentations of solutions to exercises, focus students’ learning behaviour during the semester by providing feedback on their learning progress. Several learning tasks – typically 5-10 – should be offered during the semester.
Although participation in learning tasks is recommended for students, it is not mandatory.
Learning tasks which have been completed and handed in can improve the total course unit grade by up to 0.25 grade points. The maximum bonus may be achieved by successfully completing a defined number of the learning tasks offered. Students can still achieve the maximum grade of 6 in the course unit even if they only sit the final examination.
The different continuous performance assessment tasks described above can basically be combined. The share contributed by graded continuous performance assessments to the total course unit grade may not exceed 50%.
Continuous performance assessment tasks must be described in full in the Course Catalogue under “Additional information on mode of examination”. Details must include:
a. The type and number of continuous performance assessment tasks;
b. Roughly when they will be set during the semester; and
c. How they will be assessed (graded and/or marked pass/fail) and the grade weighting.
Continuous performance assessment tasks which are not listed in the Course Catalogue may not be marked or graded.
Detailed information:
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