An exploration of factors influencing institutional cultures of assessment

•The Survey of Assessment Culture reliably measures 3 factors of assessment culture.•Factors: Clear Commitment; Connection to Change; Vital to Institution.•The Survey exhibits strong measures of reliability and consistency within factors.•The three factors match the theoretical foundation for the Survey and study.•The Survey is a reliable measure of factors influencing cultures of assessment.

Theorisation about institutional cultures of assessment in higher education is hindered by an inability to measure the influence of institutional factors on assessment. The authors explore the factor structure of the Survey of Assessment Culture. A three factor model with strong reliability coefficients was developed and included the following factors fundamental to institutional cultures of assessment: (a) Clear Commitment, (b) Connection to Change, and (c) Vital to Institution. Future uses of the Survey of Assessment Culture and implications for research and practice are discussed.