T-10: Rethinking Assessment in Higher Education

Technical interviews are common in computing but rarely integrated into coursework. This talk explores their implementation as an alternative summative assessment in two large CS courses. A dual-track grading system allowed students to choose between a coding project and a technical interview, promoting engagement and autonomy. We examine student outcomes, participation trends, and challenges in balancing fairness and logistics. Findings suggest that technical interviews enhance real-world preparedness but require careful design for accessibility and scalability. Best practices for integrating them into large courses and future refinements will be discussed.

Traditional written exams in science raise issues of authenticity, extrinsic motivation, and anxiety, particularly among groups such as female students. Our project examined the integration of oral exams by professors and their impact on student emotions through 200 student surveys and interviews with 15 students and 5 physics professors. Our results reveal that oral exams reduce anxiety and promote positive emotions, especially among female students. Students appreciate the interaction with their professor, while professors find the assessments more profound, despite logistical challenges. The presentation will conclude with recommendations for integrating oral exams in a fair, supportive, and effective manner.

Students’ grades have often been a source of anxiety in their academic journey, and fear of failure can impact motivation, learning, and academic performance. Specifications grading aims to partially address this issue by aligning learning outcomes with grades using a pass/fail system, where students pass a series of assessment tasks to earn a desired grade based on the mastery of course material. This grading system was recently implemented in a core neuroscience course at McGill University. We are interested in comparing students’ perceptions of specifications grading, their motivation, and their approach to learning to previous iterations of the course.