A tale of two centres: a cross-institutional peer review of integrated assessment use in direct entry programs

Direct Entry Programs (DEPs) at Australian universities are designed to enhance students’ English language and academic skills, with the primary goals of preparing and assuring students’ readiness for university studies. Given that university tasks often require the integration of language skills (e.g., writing assignments using information from lectures, articles, and textbooks), this paper proposes the use of integrated assessment tasks in DEPs to increase the authenticity in their assessment approach by using tasks that replicate actual university learning, teaching, and assessment practices. To encourage the shift from standard practice of separate skills testing to integrated assessment, we present key findings of a literature review in integrated assessment use in language programs and show how integrated assessment is implemented in two institutions in Sydney, Australia. The paper also highlights advantages of cross-institutional peer review and proposes an argument-based validity framework for test design that language centres can use to guide good practice.