| Abstract: | This paper focuses on the reported use of literature‐based essays (i.e., essays that draw upon established literature in their construction) in assessing students within an Education Faculty in an Australian University. Interviews with academic staff and with students were used to explore how literature‐based essays were used in the context of the assessment program for the unit (subject) and how such assessment tasks were viewed by academic staff and their students. The reported use of literature‐based essays is evaluated in terms of three criteria for sound assessment derived from the literature and the perceptions of academic staff and their students are compared in relation to each criterion. It is concluded that a number of the academic staff within the Education Faculty displayed significant shortcomings in their theoretical knowledge of assessment and that their use of literature‐based assessments frequently failed to meet one or more of the requirements for an adequate assessment program at tertiary levels. |
