Designing assessment in a digital world: an organising framework

E-assessment typically seeks to improve assessment designs through the use of innovative digital tools. However, the intersections between digital technologies and assessment can be seen as increasingly complex, particularly as the sociotechnical perspectives suggest assessment must be relevant to a digitally-mediated society. This paper presents an organising framework, which articulates this nuanced relationship between the digital and assessment design. It draws together literature from diverse domains, including educational technologies, assessment pedagogies and digital literacies. The framework describes three main purposes for designing the digital into assessment: 1) as a tool for improvement; 2) as a means to develop and credential digital literacies; and 3) as a means to develop and credential uniquely human capabilities. Within each purpose, it offers considerations for assessment and feedback design. In addition, it offers researchers analytical tools to understand the role of the digital in assessment. The framework seeks to connect assessment and feedback design to the digital world, and in so doing ensure that higher education will be relevant for graduates’ digital futures.