Continuous assessment

Abstract

As a result of growing dissatisfaction with traditional time‐test examinations, forward — looking educationists have recently been investigating some alternative methods of assessing student performance. One of the first methods to be tried was that of continuous assessment. This is by no means a newly‐devised system. As long ago as 1921 Professor Helen Wodehouse introduced such a system in connection with post‐graduate students preparing for the diploma in education of Bristol University. When in 1947 the Institute of Education was set up at that university, Professor Fletcher obtained approval for continuous assessment to be applied to all students in the associated colleges of education. In the same year the Huddersfield College of Education (Technical) was established and, with the approval of Leeds University, continuous assessment has been used exclusively for measuring student performance and attainment. The fact that this system has been in use for nearly fifty years, without protest and without any doubts being cast upon the efficiency or quality of those who have been subjected to it, is surely more than prima facie evidence that it is a satisfactory method of testing.

Citation

Bacon, F. (1969), "Continuous assessment", Education + Training, Vol. 11 No. 7, pp. 282-283. https://doi.org/10.1108/eb016162