Student Coursework Achievement Assessments Intervention Program: A Peer-Review Program to Fix Inconsistent in Grades Assessment

Abstract

Course grading not only include the assessment of performance in final exams or tests, but also includes the assessment of coursework. The study program at Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM) is structured around outcome-based education (OBE), which means that the curriculum is specifically designed to emphasize learning objectives that assess cognitive, affective, and psychomotor domains. The cognitive domain is assessed by final examinations and tests, and the affective and psychomotor domains are evaluated through coursework such as laboratory reports. Examining the Civil Engineering Diploma study program, it is evident that all courses entail coursework, indicating that each course necessitates an assessment that includes assessment by the lecturers. Due to the fact that the majority of these courses are instructed by teaching teams comprised of many lecturers, there is a significant likelihood of encountering assessment issues arising from inconsistent marking techniques. This issue occurs considering the difference of instructor’s academic background and working experience that affects their assessment proficiency skills. A comparative analysis of the assessment conducted in the ECW341 course revealed a discrepancy of up to 8 marks between teaching team and course coordinator. This issue has the potential to cause adverse consequences, particularly for students, stakeholders, and the institution. Thus, an intervention program was developed to overcome this coursework assessment issue. This program integrates the synergy between technology and humans with the goal of enhancing the evaluative proficiency of lecturers. The foundation of program development lies in the utilization of the plan-do-check-action (PDCA) cycle and the identification of problem causes as a main guideline for the solutions. Upon implementation of this program, it has had a favorable influence as evidenced by the disparity in team teaching scores, which averages less than 3 marks. Moreover, according to the perception survey of the target group shows that this program is able to achieve its objectives and have a positive impact. In order as improvement in the future, it is recommended that the potential artificial intelligent elements to be tested and identified as a part of this program. Therefore, it is fitting that this program as a supplementary aid at higher education institutions, given its efficacy in facilitating more precise assessment of the coursework.