1 University Standard Descriptors

PoliciesandProceduresfortheManagementofAssessmentAssessmentGrading,CriteriaandMarking

Thepurposeofthispaperistodefineandprescribeinstitutionalpolicyonassessmentgrading,criteriaandmarkingandtoprovideoutlineguidanceontheirdevelopmentanddeployment.

DefinitionsStandarddescriptorssketchoutinbroadtermswhatisexpectedofstudentsataparticularlevel.Theyaretoogenerictosupportmakinggradingdecisionsforindividualassignments,andsoneedtobeinterpretedintospecificmarkingcriteriaforeachtask.Markingcriteriaareusedtojudgethestandardtowhicheachlearningoutcomehasbeenachieved.Theyneedtobespecifictotheassignmentbecausetheyneedtolinkthecriteriaandtheintendedlearningoutcomesfortheunit.Verification refers to thepracticeofpeer reviewofassignmentbriefs,which should includemarkingcriteria, andwhichshouldbeincorporatedintotheunithandbook.Verificationisusuallycarriedoutbyacolleaguefromadifferentunitandbytheexternalexaminer.[See‘ResponsibilitiesinMarkingandModeration’].

InstitutionalRequirementsTheseinstitutionalrequirementssupporttheQAAqualitycodeindicatorwhichexpectsinstitutionsto“have

transparentandfairmechanismsformarkingandformoderatingmarks.”(QAA2011,indicator7).

Institutionalstandardsdescriptorsshouldformthebasisforthedevelopmentofmarkingcriteriaateachlevel

(Appendix1).Markingcriterianeedtobeprovidedforeachassignmenttask.Programmeteamsmaychoosetouse

similarcriteriaforparticulartasksatthesamelevelacrosstheprogramme(egessays,presentations,exams,

portfolios),ormayusedifferentcriteriaforeachtask.Criteriashouldbeincludedintheunithandbook[see

CommunicationofAssessmentArrangementstoStudents].

Theuseofcommonstandarddescriptorsacrossaleveloracompleteprogrammewillmakeiteasierforstudentsto

judgetheirprogressbetweendifferentunitsandshouldfacilitatemoderationdiscussionsaboutassignments.

UniversityStandardDescriptorsTheUniversityStandardDescriptorsaredesignedtobeareferencepointforassessmentcriteriaintheappropriate

subjectareaandtoprovideacommonlanguagefordifferentiatinglevelandperformancewithineachlevel.

Programmeteamsareencouragedtousethegenericcriteriaasabasisforevaluatinganddevelopingtheirown,

discipline-specificcriteriaforeachleveloftheirowntaughtcurriculum.

TheUniversityStandardDescriptorsarebasedontheUniversityGraduateOutcomes(employabilityand

sustainabilityoutcomes).Itisthereforelikelythatthecriteriaforanyparticularassignmenttaskwilluseasubsetof

theappropriatedescriptorsatthatlevel.

Havingachievedthefulldegreeawardatagivenlevel,studentsshouldhavebeenabletodemonstratelearningat

theappropriatelevelacrossallofthegraduateoutcomes.Subjectspecialistsarebestplacedtointerpretthegeneric

descriptorsintodiscipline-specificlanguageandprofessionalcontextforagiventopicandformofassessment.

2 University Standard Descriptors

AtUnitLevelAssignment tasks shouldbe clearlydefinedanddemonstratea logical relationship to theunit’s intended learningoutcomes.ThemarkingcriteriaforassessingstudentperformanceonthetaskshouldreflecttheUniversityStandardDescriptorsforthatlevelofthecurriculumandshowhoweachgradingbandcanbeachieved.Programmeteamsmaychoosetousesimilarschemesforparticulartasksatthesamelevelacrosstheprogramme(egessays,presentations,exams,portfolios),ormayusedifferentschemesforeachtask.Criteriashouldbeincludedintheunithandbook.MMUAssessmentRegulationsstatethatallelementsofsummativeassessmentwithinaunitshallbemarkedoutof100.Theweightedaveragemarkfortheunitiscalculatedfromthemarksfortheindividualelementsofsummativeassessment.Departmentsmusthaveinplacesystemsforcheckingthecomputationofmarksinindividualassessmenttasksandforwholeunitsandforensuringthatmarksarerecordedaccurately.Wheremarksarestoredelectronicallyprovisionshouldbemadeforappropriateback-upcopies.Moderationofassessedworkshouldbecarriedoutaccordingtothedocument‘ResponsibilitiesinMarkingand

Moderation’.

3 University Standard Descriptors

Appendix1:UniversityStandardsDescriptorsThe basic aim of these standards is to develop a shared language to describe student achievement.

The standards are composed of a series of statements which describe an acceptable level for each of the university’s graduate outcomes across each of the five levels taught at the University. The full set of standard descriptors then offer a model for differentiating performance at each level.

The standards need to be interpreted for each discipline and assignment task to create marking criteria for each task: words such as information, data sources, theory, practice and contexts such as community, appropriate audience, professional values and standards and team-work will require different approaches in different subject areas. The scope and context of the assignment task should also be considered when setting criteria: what is appropriate range and depth? Not all of the standard descriptors will be needed for each assignment task.

The table below shows a summary of the pass level descriptors for each taught level, to show the progression expected along the levels.

Detailed descriptors for all levels can be downloaded in editable form (Word document), or as PDFs for each level.

Level 3 PDF

Level 4 PDF

Level 5 PDF

Level 6 PDF

Level 7 PDF

For further guidance on using the University Standard Descriptors, see the Centre for Excellence in Learning and Teaching website http://www.celt.mmu.ac.uk/assessment/index.php

4 University Standard Descriptors

University Standard Descriptors: Summary of requirements for a pass at all levels of taught courses

GraduateOutcome Level3 Level4 Level5 Level6 Level7

1. Applyskillsofcriticalanalysistorealworldsituationswithinadefinedrangeofcontexts

Linksbetweentheoryandpracticeareidentified.

Linksbetweentheoryandpracticeareanalysedinabasicway.

Linksbetweentheoryandpracticeareconstructed.

Problemsaresolvedwithsomereferencetotheoryandpracticeandwithevidenceofsomecriticalreflection.

Novelandcomplexproblemsaresolvedwithreferencetotheoryandpractice

2. Demonstrateahighdegreeofprofessionalism*eginitiative,creativity,motivation,professionalpracticeandselfmanagement.

Thecharacteristicsofaprofessionalareidentified.

Anacceptablenumberofthecharacteristicsofaprofessionalareappliedtotheirownwork

Workisevaluatedwithrespecttothecharacteristicsofaprofessional.

Thereisevidenceoftheabilitytoworkcompetentlywithreferencetoprofessionalstandardsandvalues,abletoreflectontheirownpractice

Thereisevidenceoftheabilitytoworkautonomouslywithreferencetoprofessionalstandardsandvalues,reflectingcriticallyontheirownpractice.

3. ExpressideaseffectivelyandcommunicateinformationappropriatelyandaccuratelyusingarangeofmediaincludingICT

Workisrecognisablystructuredandpresentedtoasmallgroupofpeers.

Ideasarepresentedadequatelytoanaudienceofpeersusingadefinedrangeofstrategiesandmedia.

Workisclearlycommunicatedusingarangeofstrategiesandmedia.

Workispresentedtoaselectedaudienceusingarangeofstrategiesandmedia

Theoutcomesoftheirworkarepresentedclearlyandappropriatelytoadefinedaudienceusingarangeofstrategiesandmedia

4. Developworkingrelationshipsusingteamworkandleadershipskills,recognisingandrespectingdifferentperspectives

Thecharacteristicsofsuccessfulteamsareidentified.

Evidenceofcontributiontoateamtocompletedefinedactivitiesispresented.

Evidenceisshownofabilitytoworkinateamaseitherleaderormemberasneededtocompleteprojectsandidentifystrengthsandweaknessesofperformance.

Thereisevidenceofworkingeffectivelyinateamaseitherleaderormemberasneededtocompletecomplexprojects.Evidenceofreflectionontheirperformancewithintheteam.

Thereisevidenceofcontributiontoateamaseitherleaderormemberasneededtoscopeandcompletecomplexmulti-facetedprojectsandofsomereflectionontheirownperformanceandthatofotherswithintheteam

5. Managetheirprofessionaldevelopmentreflectingonprogressandtakingappropriateaction

Thekeyfeaturesofaprofessionaldevelopmentplanaredescribed.

Appropriateopportunitiesfortheirownprofessionaldevelopmentareidentified.

Professionalaspirationsandactionplansarearticulated.

Aplausibleprofessionaldevelopmentplan isproduced

Demonstrateavisionofthemselvesandtheirprofessionalfutures

6. Find,evaluate,synthesiseanduseinformationfromavarietyofsources

Informationpresentedinthecourseisappliedtonewquestionsorsituations.

Informationfromprimaryandsecondarysourcesiscollected,analysed,interpretedandappliedtospecificproblemsundersupervision.

Aprojectisdesignedandcarriedouttocollect,analyseandcritiqueinformationfromprimaryandsecondarysourcesundersupervision.

Aprojectisdesigned,plannedandcarriedoutusinganappropriaterangeofprimaryandsecondarysources.Theresultsand/oroutcomesareevaluatedaccurately.

Aprojectisplannedandcarriedouttogatherinformationfromappropriateprimaryandsecondarysourcesandsynthesisetheresults

7. Articulateanawarenessofthesocialandcommunitycontextswithintheirdisciplinaryfield

Socialandcommunitycontextswithinthedisciplinaryfieldaredescribed

Thesocialandcommunitycontextsofthedisciplineareidentified

Socialandcommunitycontextsofthedisciplineinworkareidentified.

Thesocialandcommunitycontextsofthedisciplineareconsideredindrawingconclusionsandmakingrecommendations

Thesocialandcommunitycontextsofthedisciplineareconsideredcriticallyindrawingconclusionsandmakingrecommendations

* As defined in the discipline area

5 University Standard Descriptors

Appendix2:referencelistofdescriptiveterms

The table of adjectives is intended to provide an indication of the language which is commonly used to differentiate performance across a level.

Gradeband Indicativelanguage

86%-100%

Creative,insightful,illuminating,inspiring,exciting,authoritative

70%-85%

Persuasive,sophisticated,original,reflective,ambitious,meticulous,critical,convincing,unexpected

60%-69%

Fluent,thorough,analytical,precise,rigorous

50%-59%

Clear,confident,consistent,thoughtful,accurate,careful,congruent,coherent

40%-49%

Satisfactory,sufficient,adequate,descriptive,

35%-39%

Incomplete,inadequate,inconsistent,derivative,contradictory,superficial,irrelevant,limited

20%-34%

Erroneous/wrong,missing,extremelylimited,inappropriate,insufficient,incoherent,unstructured

0%-19%

Absent/none,lacking,formless,detrimental