Peer assessment as a method of improving student engagement

To encourage increased student attendance and engagement in a third-year economics unit, the curriculum was redesigned to incorporate continuous assessment throughout the semester. A component of group project marks were allocated to peer assessment, in an attempt to address concerns about free-riding colleagues sharing a common mark. This study investigated the consistency of marks awarded to peers within teams, and the acceptance by students of marks awarded by peers. Students were asked to provide ratings and explanatory comments for each of their group peers. Focus groups were conducted to determine students' acceptance of this strategy. Eighty student ratings were compared to determine consistency of assessment. Within groups, students who received higher marks from their peers generally awarded marks to their peers across a wider range, whereas students who received lower average grades often awarded the same mark to all team members. These results might indicate that students who were attending class regularly and/or contributing at a higher level were more discriminating in the marks awarded to their peers. Similarly, non-contributors (as identified by their peers) assigned the same or similar grades to each of their peers, possibly due to a lack of knowledge about their peers' contributions.