Student views of peer assessment at the International School of Lausanne

Abstract

This article explores student attitudes and perceptions relating to peer assessment, as observed at the International School of Lausanne, where the case study was restricted to students in the International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma Economics course of the programme. Informed by a review of literature on the relative merits of peer assessment, this article highlights its specific strengths and weaknesses as assessment for learning and highlights specific gaps in the literature, before investigating students’ perceptions of its value and social dynamics within small student groups. The article concludes by considering the clear preference expressed by the majority of students participating in the study for anonymity in the peer assessment process. It is clear that this adds a more complex and not yet thoroughly explored set of consideration to the debate about the merits of peer assessment. Students’ preference for anonymity concurs with Falchikov’s findings that such concern was more likely to be found in relatively small, well-established groups, exactly like the one that is the focus of this study.