Conceptions and alternative assessment practice in Malaysian higher education

Abstract

Malaysian government has specifically called for assessment reform in higher education to align with the current needs. In most practices, educators in higher education implemented both of traditional and alternative assessments but lack of empirical studies on alternative assessments. Thus, this study aimed to examine and analyse the assessment conceptions and the alternative assessment practices among educators in one of Malaysia premiere research university. This study randomly selected 118 respondents form three different clusters; Engineering (E), Social Sciences and Humanities (SSH) and Sciences and Technology (ST) to respond to a questionnaire known as Conceptions and Alternative Assessment Survey (CETAS). Based on Rasch Measurement Model analysis using Winsteps, this study found that, regardless of different clustering and level of teaching experiences, educators in this premiere research university shown positive conceptions of assessment and have been frequently practicing various alternative assessment to assess their students learning. As this study only investigate the issue descriptively, it is recommended that future study could examine the correlation between the two constructs; conception (4 dimensions) and practice (8 types of alternative assessment) in the context of other research universities, similarly public and private universities in Malaysia.