Assessment Practices in Higher Education in United States

This study is an attempt to analyse the assessment practices among students and lecturers in an institute of higher learning (IHL) in the United States. The sample population comprised 170 undergraduate and postgraduate students and 22 lecturers from an identified School of Education. Questionnaires using a 6 point Likert-scale were administered to all respondents whilst interviews were conducted with 5 undergraduates, 5 postgraduates and 5 instructors. Descriptive analysis indicated that assessment practices (dimensions or overall) recorded above moderate level in higher education. Interestingly, students in the IHL favoured formative assessment over final examination. Besides that, students also expressed a positive response to receiving more constructive feedback from lecturers to help them to learn better. Generally, students” preference for feedback coincided with the concepts of formative assessment. This should augur well especially in laying the foundation for more specific action to further improve assessment practices in higher education in the United States as well as other universities which aspire to become exemplary universities.