**3. Discussion**

The importance of assessments in HE continues to remain an issue under consideration and there are those who argue that assessments act as evidence of student learning and that students' learning is achieved by the assessment process [22]. Although it would appear that there is a lot of focus on teaching and learning strategies, as a way to improve the student experience and enhance student engagement,

#### *What is the Point of Assessments? DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.110379*

assessments must be seen to be fit for purpose that takes connivence of the diverse nature of our student groups [23]. Regardless of this, it is still imperative to explore what really is the point of assessments in HE, This question involves considering different approaches and perspectives and understanding that there are complexities that must be addressed in order to ensure that the assessment process is not just yet another mandatory exercise in HE that is executed as an expectation of both the staff and students but rather, that it is an actual tool that can be used to improve the learning experience of the students.

Drawing on the assessment used for this study, the first thing to be considered was the cohort being assessed. The data showed that there were a significant number of students across the two academic years that scored 1–10% which is indicative of academic offenses, and in addition, those who have not followed the assignment specifications which suggests that they may have contracted out their work to a third party. Thinking of who we are assessing, this is relevant because it can be argued that students may be making the decision to get help with their assessments as a result of a lack of confidence in their own abilities. This was one of the criteria in mind when the new assignment was designed as a four-part portfolio to allow students with a range of abilities to be able to successfully engage with the tasks and maximize their grade outcomes. Bretag et al. [24] argue that the designing of an assessment can be a determinant to the student's ability to contract it out and from the figures above, the increase from 2.6% to 9.8% of students falling in the lower grade category shows that students more students were not engaging with the new assessment despite the changes. This could be an area for further research to explore the barriers limiting our students from engage with different assessment types.

Another issue that has been identified is what we are assessing for. There is significant the discourse around the need for inclusive assessments and this formed the basis for the redesign of the assessment. The redesign of the assessment was influenced by some of the key themes identified in the Culturally informed assessments toolkit such as 'unclear and inconsistent instructions', 'inexperience in certain assessment modes' and 'clarity of assessments. Drawing on the guidelines of the Universal Design for Learning (UDL), the process of planning and designing of assessments was structured and focused on achieving the provision of 'multiple means of engagement, representation, action and expression' [21]. The assignment design also offered choice and autonomy with the students able to choose from four specific areas to write about, thus engaging student interest and acknowledging the diverse learners as well as their individual backgrounds and employment routes. This also afforded students the ability to link learning to employment particularly for those already in work, and for the students with no practical experience, the idea was that they would be able to learn from colleagues during workshops and assignment preparation sessions and in so doing, engage in community and collaboration. In addition to inclusivity, the new assessment was designed to mitigate for academic offenses and the issue of the authenticity of student's work by ensuring that elements of the assessment required personalized reflections which could not be successfully addressed without engaging in the assessment preparation sessions.

In reflecting on the question of what we are assessing, this assignment was designed based on UDL themes to assess for interest, perception, comprehension, and expression and communication. Section one was the background or introduction which tests their academic writing skills, research skills, and knowledge of the issue being discussed. The second section required the use of a media source (print or video) reporting on the social issue, and this allowed students show their interest in an issue, as well as their perception of how the media influenced the discourse on the issue and inadvertently the law and practice. The third section was the legislation and case law section which allowed students to engage with legislation and evidence their awareness of the law and case law to explore how the law is used in practice. The data showed that students did better in section three which was a surprise as this was deemed (by both staff and students) to be the most challenging section and students did worse in the second section which was included to encourage a non-academic element to the assessment to allow those who struggled with academic skills (research, writing and analysis) maximize their grades.

It can therefore be argued that since what we assess is useful only if it is deemed relevant by students, and other stakeholders such as politicians, industry, academics as well as the society in general [22] it is worth exploring what is the point of assessments.
