Alternative Assessment in the English Department in Higher Education: Status and BA Students’ Perceptions

Abstract

Assessing students’ learning is a fundamental part of higher education (HE). It determines whether the goals of education are being met or not and it provides insights to teachers and learners about the most effective ways to improve and proceed. Research confirms that tests and examinations are the most employed tools of assessment in HE. Yet, these traditional assessment methods (TAM) have detrimental effects on instruction and students (Abera et al., 2017). Recent developments in societies have called for new alternatives in assessment that can respond to these changes. This paper, hence, aimed to study the status of alternative assessment (AA) in the new reform of Moroccan higher education (MHE) namely within the program of Bachelor of Arts (BA) by analyzing the BA accreditation document. Also, the study sought to find out AA methods and techniques BA professors use, and students’ perceptions of those methods. The findings suggest that AA are implicitly encouraged in the BA accreditation document, but there is a lack of clarity regarding their weight in students' overall grades, as well as the tools and implementation methods. The study also revealed varied usage of AA methods. Students generally perceive alternative assessments positively.