Do students know best when it comes to assessment? A best/worst analysis of assessment choices

While much has been written on the nature of marketing assessment (Miller, Chamberlin and Seay 1991; Miller and Mangold 1996; Nonis, Hudson and Philhours 2005; Bacon and Anderson; Paladino 2008 and Pearce and Lee 2009), there has been little research on the type of assessments and weighting students would prefer. The nature of assessment can also affect learning outcomes and student satisfaction (Green 1997; Moberg and Watson 2003; Sampson, Bontia and Betters-Reed 2008; Welch 2009 and Pearce and Lee 2009). This paper uses Best- Worst scaling to examine assessment trade-offs made by students studying consumer behaviour. Students were asked to choose the best and worst assessment types using a incomplete balanced block design. Assessment choices included weightings for tutorial participation , a mid semester test, group project work and a final exam. Also included were whether the final exam or mid semester was multiple choice, short answer or a combination of both. It was found that while a majority (56%) of students preferred a final exam weighting of 40% with a mix of multiple choice and short answer questions, a 20% multiple choice mid semester, 10% participation mark and a 30% group project, there were three distinct segments of assessment choices. These segments were found to differ somewhat in terms of gender, hours worked and whether the student’s secondary education was in English or not. Implication for marketing educators of the results is also discussed.