Abstract:
Determining whether students have learnt what was intended is a crucial aspect of every course. How this is done and what the outcome shows can however vary greatly. Traditionally in New Zealand, tertiary students’ academic ability is assessed using methods that allow for discrimination between students through norm-referencing, typically producing a single cumulative percentage value which is translated into a letter grade. In contrast, the Government-mandated system for assessing secondary school students in New Zealand is based on a model of criterion-referenced assessment that aims to describe students’ current level of performance with reference to specific performance criteria which are derived from national curriculum statements. Consequently, in progressing from secondary to tertiary education in New Zealand, students experience a major change in the assessment of their performance from being independent of others to being relative to others. A comparison of these two assessment systems used in New Zealand will be presented as well as a description of how standards-based assessment is being introduced into several first-year tertiary chemistry courses as a way to better indicate students’ current capabilities and assist students in the transition between secondary and tertiary education.