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📊 Assessment Course Phase

The Assessment Phase allows instructors to evaluate students across multiple competencies using a structured scoring system. Students can be assessed through self-evaluation, peer evaluation, and tutor/instructor evaluation. Students may also evaluate their tutors and team leads.

📝 Using the Assessment Phase​

Once the assessment phase is set up, students and instructors can begin evaluations. Here's how to navigate and complete assessments effectively.

For Students​

  1. Access the Phase: Log in and navigate to the assessment phase in your course dashboard.
  2. Self-Evaluation: If enabled, rate your own competencies using the provided template.
  3. Peer Evaluation: Evaluate team members based on the peer template (if applicable).
  4. Tutor Evaluation: Provide feedback on tutors or leads using the designated template.
  5. Submit: Ensure all evaluations are submitted and marked as final before the deadline.

For Instructors/Tutors​

  1. Review Submissions: Monitor student progress and submissions in the phase overview.
  2. Conduct Assessments: Use the tutor template to assess students.
  3. Provide Feedback: Offer constructive comments to support student development.

💡 Tip: Regularly check for updates and communicate with your team to ensure timely submissions.

This section guides you through the practical use of the assessment phase for a smooth evaluation process.

📺 Video Tutorial: Watch here!

⚙️ Setting Up the Assessment Phase​

To configure the assessment phase, follow these steps:

1. Add an Assessment Phase​

Use the Course Configurator to add an Assessment Phase to your course structure. Connect the participants and team data (if you want to use peer or tutor evaluations).

2. Open the Configuration​

In the course sidebar, select the newly added assessment phase, then click on: Settings (gear icon).

This opens a dialog for setting the phase's behavior and schedule.

3. Configure Assessment Phase Settings​

You must define the following core settings:

SettingDescription
Assessment TemplateSelect which assessment template to use (defines the competency structure)
Start DateWhen the assessment phase begins (using the timeframe selector)
DeadlineWhen the assessment phase ends (using the timeframe selector)

Visibility Settings​

Control when students can see their assessment results:

SettingDescription
Grade Suggestions VisibleWhen enabled, students can view their grade suggestions after the deadline has passed
Action Items VisibleWhen enabled, students can see their action items (feedback points) after the deadline has passed

💡 Note: Both visibility settings only take effect after the assessment deadline. Before the deadline, grade suggestions and action items are never visible to students, regardless of these settings. This ensures students cannot see preliminary results during the active assessment phase.

Use Cases:

  • Grade Suggestions: Enable this when you want students to see their overall performance score
  • Action Items: Enable this to share specific feedback points and improvement suggestions with students
  • Both Disabled: Use when you want to keep all assessment results private (e.g., for administrative purposes only)

Optional Evaluation Types​

You can enable additional evaluation methods

Evaluation TypeDescription
Self EvaluationStudents evaluate themselves using a separate competency template
Peer EvaluationStudents evaluate their peers using a separate competency template
Tutor EvaluationStudents evaluate tutors using a separate competency template

Each evaluation type has its own:

  • Template: Which competencies to evaluate
  • Start Date: When this evaluation becomes available
  • Deadline: When this evaluation closes

⚠️ Note: All timestamps use system time (Europe/Berlin) with deadlines ending at 23:59.

🏗️ Creating and Editing Assessment Schemas​

Assessment schemas define the structure of your evaluation through Assessment Templates.

Understanding the Hierarchy​

The assessment system uses a three-level hierarchy:

Assessment Template
├── Categories (weighted groups)
│   ├── Competency 1 (individual skills with weights)
│   ├── Competency 2
│   └── ...
└── ...

Creating a New Assessment Template​

  1. Navigate to Settings: In your assessment phase, go to the Settings page
  2. Create Template: Click "Create New Template" in the template selector
  3. Fill Template Details:
    • Name: A descriptive name for your template
    • Description: Brief explanation of the template's purpose

Building the Competency Structure​

Once your template is created, you need to build the competency structure:

Adding Categories​

Categories are weighted groups of related competencies:

  1. Click "Add Category"
  2. Fill in the category details:
    • Name: Category title (e.g., "Technical Skills")
    • Short Name: Abbreviated version
    • Description: Brief explanation
    • Weight: Numerical weight for final score calculation
  3. Click "Create"

Adding Competencies​

Competencies are individual skills within categories:

  1. Click "Add Competency" within a category
  2. Complete the competency form:
    • Name: Competency title (e.g., "Programming Ability")
    • Short Name: Abbreviated version
    • Weight: Numerical weight within the category
    • Description: Brief explanation
    • Score Level Descriptions: Define what each level means:
      • Very Bad: Description for lowest performance
      • Bad: Description for below-average performance
      • Ok: Description for average performance
      • Good: Description for above-average performance
      • Very Good: Description for excellent performance

Editing Existing Templates​

  • Edit Categories: Click the edit icon next to any category
  • Edit Competencies: Click the edit icon next to any competency
  • Delete Items: Click the trash icon (⚠️ this cannot be undone)

📺 Video Tutorial: Coming soon

🤝 Showing Self and Peer Evaluation Results​

Self and peer evaluation results appear in the assessment view automatically when the self/peer evaluation uses the same schema as the assessment. Because both then share the same competencies, each evaluation score lines up with its assessment competency without any extra configuration.

If a different schema is configured for self or peer evaluation, those scores are not shown in the assessment view (feedback items are still shown).

📺 Video Tutorial: Coming soon

📈 How Average Scores Are Calculated​

The assessment system uses a sophisticated weighted scoring algorithm to compute final scores.

Score Level Conversion​

Each score level is converted to a numerical value:

Score LevelNumerical Value
Very Good1.0
Good2.0
Ok3.0
Bad4.0
Very Bad5.0

Calculation Process​

The getWeightedScoreLevel function computes the final score through these steps:

1. Competency-Level Calculation​

For each competency with scores:

Competency Score = (Sum of all scores × competency weight) / number of scores / total category competency weights

2. Category-Level Aggregation​

For each category:

Category Score = Sum of all competency scores in category
Weighted Category Score = Category Score × category weight

3. Final Score Calculation​

Final Score = Sum of all weighted category scores / Sum of all category weights

Key Features​

  • Weight-Based: Both competency and category weights influence the final score
  • Proportional: Only categories and competencies with actual scores contribute to the calculation
  • Flexible: Handles partial assessments (not all competencies need scores)
  • Normalized: Final score is normalized by the total weights of assessed categories

🎯 Best Practices​

Template Design​

  • Clear Descriptions: Write specific, measurable descriptions for each score level
  • Balanced Weights: Distribute weights logically across categories and competencies
  • Consistent Granularity: Keep similar levels of detail across all competencies

Self and Peer Evaluation​

  • Shared Schema: Use the same schema for assessment and self/peer evaluation so evaluation results show up in the assessment view
  • Consistency: Keep competency descriptions identical across the shared schema so scores stay comparable

Getting Help​

If you encounter issues not covered here:

  1. Check that all required fields are filled
  2. Verify date ranges and permissions
  3. Contact your system administrator for technical support

✅ You're all set! Your assessment phase is now configured and ready for student evaluations.