Originality First

By Nick Hope

Three zebras standing. Credit Etienne Steenkamp.

There's no doubt as to the value of both Comparative Judgement as well as more established rubric-based modes of assessment. Both have their place, and both provide high levels of value when applied thoughtfully. But what use is evaluating the merit of a piece of work without understanding how original it is? What if the 'best' work is in fact copied from another source? What if the author of that work isn't really the author at all?

It's these questions that, if unanswered, threaten to undermine the very purpose of assessment, whatever form it takes.

Impractical Implications

Whenever large volumes of content are assessed as a single unit, whether it be responses to a rubric-based component, or an adaptive comparative judgement session, it is impractical to spot cases of high similarity without the use of technology.

It would take a single individual, reviewing every item of content, working flat-out, and with a photographic memory, to even get close!

And it's risky to leave finding suspicious levels of similarity to chance, hoping that somebody remembers seeing something, and then 'connecting the dots'.

The Fundamentals

Any content being assessed needs to be:

  1. Original - unless the assessment is based entirely on quantitative responses, it's reasonable to expect some level of originality in what's been submitted. If everybody's essay is exactly the same, we can't assess the merit of one over another.
  2. Attributable - we can't rate an individual's ability unless we can be confident that they've authored what they've submitted.
  3. Valid - it would be pointless trying to assess somebody's knowledge of the American Civil War by reviewing their ability to recite Shakespeare; the content has to be fit for purpose.

Whatever the mode of assessment, it will focus on criteria designed to ascribe a level of validity to what's being assessed. But it has to be underpinned by an informed view of both its originality and attribution.

Takeaway

A more holistic view of assessment depends upon each of these elements considered in concert. Start with originality, ensure correct attribution, and then ascribe value to the content based on validity within the scope of the assessment.

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