Assessment Analytics Using Turnitin & Grademark in an Undergraduate Medical Curriculum

In recent times there has been an increased interest around assessment feedback – evaluation of the University of Liverpool (UoL) Medical Curriculum has shown students have real concerns about the feedback they receive (Reed & Watmough, 2015; Watmough & O’Sullivan, 2011). These concerns have been amplified in recent years by results from the National Student Survey (NSS). Through the implementation of the Turnitin and Grademark systems to support the Electronic Management of Assessment (EMA), this study set out to research the suitability of the systems as well as investigate the potential of assessment analytics – the concept that assessment data can be viewed to inform future practice and provide a coherent and holistic view of staff and student performance. Quantitative and qualitative data show that academic staff are positive in relation to the implementation of said systems to support the assessment and feedback cycle, and that whilst the collection and analysis of data can be useful, it is not a complete panacea. There are ethical considerations involved in relation to staff and students in the collection and analysis of such data.