Sustainable Assessment: Rethinking assessment for the learning society
Abstract
Assessment practices in higher education institutions tend not to equip students well for the processes of effective learning in a learning society. The purposes of assessment should be extended to include the preparation of students for sustainable assessment. Sustainable assessment encompasses the abilities required to undertake those activities that necessarily accompany learning throughout life in formal and informal settings. Characteristics of effective formative assessment identified by recent research are used to illustrate features of sustainable assessment. Assessment acts need both to meet the specific and immediate goals of a course as well as establishing a basis for students to undertake their own assessment activities in the future. To draw attention to the importance of this, the idea that assessment always has to do double duty is introduced.
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Accurate, actionable feedback helps students improve their work.
“Accurate, actionable feedback helps students improve their work [Nicol and Macfarlane-Dick 2006;Boud 2000].”
From Peer and self assessment in massive online classes (2013) · cites this paper as Boud 2000
Sustainable assessment was proposed as assessment that meets the needs of the present and prepares students to meet their own future learning needs.
“Sustainable assessment was proposed as assessment ' that meets the needs of the present and [also] prepares students to meet their own future learning needs ' (Boud 2000, p. 151).”
From Developing evaluative judgement: enabling students to make decisions about the quality of work (2018) · cites this paper as Boud 2000
Hounsell introduced the notion of sustainable feedback, building on Boud's discussion of sustainable assessment.
“Hounsell (2007), building on Boud's discussion of sustainable assessment (2000), introduced the notion of sustainable feedback.”
From Rethinking models of feedback for learning: the challenge of design (2013) · cites this paper as Boud 2000
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- Authors
- Boud, D.
- Corresponding author
- Boud, David
- ORCID
- Boud, David
- Venue
- Studies in Continuing Education
- Publisher
- Informa UK Limited
- Published
- 2000-11
- Volume
- 22
- Issue
- 2
- Pages
- 151-167
- ISSN
- 0158-037X (ISSN-L)
- 1470-126X
- OpenAlex
- W2132028633
- Cited by
- 1,545
- References
- 5
- Citations by year
- 2026: 66 · 2025: 74 · 2024: 80 · 2023: 88 · 2022: 71 · 2021: 84 · 2020: 96 · 2019: 80 · 2018: 93 · 2017: 75 · 2016: 82 · 2015: 92 · 2014: 95 · 2013: 81 · 2012: 87
- FWCI
- 15.74
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Studies in Continuing Education (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Education › Student Assessment and Feedback
- Social Sciences › Education › Higher Education Learning Practices
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Developmental and Educational Psychology › Educational and Psychological Assessments
- Keywords
- sustainable assessment, formative assessment, learning society, higher education assessment, lifelong learning, self-assessment, purposes of assessment, informal learning
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