A new assessment strategy for Law: improving formative feedback and incorporating multiple choice questions

The concept of ‘student experience’ has gained momentum in the UK in the last two decades. This narrative has been fuelled by increased fees and the consumerisation of the sector and is evidenced by the importance placed on the views of students as reflected in the National Student Survey (NSS). Assessment is an important part of the overall student experience. As a result, improving the student experience of assessment and feedback is an issue for most higher education institutions across all disciplines. Working to improve the assessment process, while preparing students for work or further study, is a further challenge. In Law, we must also consider the impact of changes to the routes to qualification as a legal professional, as we are aware that some, but by no means all, Law students want to practise Law in the future. In this paper, we consider how, at the University of Portsmouth’s Law School, we have confronted these challenges with a new assessment strategy. This strategy aims to improve feedback, increase the connection between formative and summative assessment and incorporate multiple-choice examinations.