A timed written examination measures some students accurately and others badly. The same is true of every other method taken alone. What it measures reliably is how well a student performs in that format, which is not the same thing as what they understand.
Students therefore select the methods by which their work is assessed, in consultation with faculty. The choice may be revised as a program proceeds. All routes lead to the same qualification, are marked against the same published criteria, and carry the same academic weight.
How Understanding May Be Demonstrated
Comprehension Credit
Credit accumulated through the checks embedded in each lesson. Understanding is measured as it develops rather than at a single sitting, which suits students for whom examination conditions are the principal obstacle.
Assignments and Essays
Analytical essays, research papers, reflective journals and lesson plan design. Marked by faculty against published criteria, with written feedback and the opportunity to revise.
Practical Scenarios
Educational problems of the kind encountered in practice: designing a lesson for a specified group, responding to a classroom difficulty, adapting a curriculum for a range of learners.
Oral Examination
Assessment by discussion, in which a student explains, defends and elaborates on their understanding. It suits students who reason aloud more clearly than they write.
Portfolio
A curated collection of work demonstrating development and applied understanding across a program, assessed as a body rather than as separate pieces.
Project
Sustained work applied to a practical problem: a curriculum design, a research proposal, a community education program or a comparable undertaking.
Written Examination
Conventional timed examination, retained for students who demonstrate their understanding best under those conditions. It is an option rather than a requirement.
Dissertation
An extended piece of original research demonstrating mastery of a chosen specialization, supervised by a faculty member from proposal through to submission.
How Fairness Between Methods Is Maintained
Choice of method would be worthless if some routes were easier than others. Criteria are written once, by the faculty member responsible for the module, and applied to every method. What differs is the form of the evidence, not the standard it must meet.
Results are recorded as they are awarded and are visible throughout, broken down by module and by method. A student always knows where they stand, without waiting for the end of a term.
- Written by faculty
- Criteria are set by the faculty member responsible for the module, not generated automatically.
- Applied identically
- The same criteria govern an oral examination, an essay and a portfolio.
- Recorded continuously
- Results and grade average are visible as they are awarded rather than at the end of a term.