Evaluation of a new assesment scheme for a third-year concurrency course

In this paper, we describe and evaluate a change that was made to the assessment scheme for a third-year course on concurrent systems. The original assessment scheme consisted of tutorials, three assignments, and a final examination. The change was motivated by the fact that students often performed poorly, especially on the third assignment, and yet the average mark that they received for this and the other assignments contributed to what we felt were inflated course grades. In the changed scheme, the third assignment was made more complex and open-ended, but it was also made optional in that students can pass the course without having to do this third assignment We evaluated the new assessment scheme by comparing the performance of students on Assignment 3 and the course for the last two years and by analysing the results of a student questionnaire.