Assessment in University Physics Education

Assessment is an important part of any education programme. However, following tradition, many academics offer modules that are lecture-based with a formal unseen examination as the principal assessment. Historical inertia dictates that the form and content of the assessment is essentially the same from year to year without any sort of analysis of how students prepare or what is being tested.

This book explores issues relating to student assessment in university-level physics education. The purposes of assessment and current issues are covered in depth alongside analysis of the different types of assessment applied in university physics departments, and suggestions on how assessment might be improved. Reviewing the methodology of assessment, the text is universally applicable to physics teaching at universities worldwide, providing lecturers and course designers with the tools to improve the quality and efficacy of their assessments in physics. With a firm emphasis on practical experience and numerous examples of current assessments, the book serves as a guide to academics new to assessment, as a refresher to more experienced academics who wish to think more deeply about what they are trying to achieve, and as a challenge to senior figures working on higher education infrastructure.

Key Features: 

• A timely book that will drive physics departments to think more carefully about their assessment 
• Analyses the types of assessment being applied in university physics departments and suggests how these might be improved 
• Provides an overview of the purpose, methods and methodology of assessment 
• Offers lecturers and course designers with practical advice to improve the quality and efficacy of their assessments in physics 
• Written by a highly-experienced author who has been directly involved in university physics assessments for many decades