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Designing Authentic Assessment to Improve Academic Integrity
Sharon Lehane1 , Angela Wright2
1Department of Management and Enterprise, Munster Technological University, Ireland, 2Office of VP
Academic Affairs, Munster Technological University, Ireland
How to cite: Lehane, S.; Wright A. 2024. Designing Authentic Assessment to Improve Academic Integrity.
In: 10th International Conference on Higher Education Advances (HEAd’24). Valencia, 18-21 June 2024.
https://doi.org/10.4995/HEAd24.2024.17136
Abstract
The use of AI chatbots has sparked worldwide debate regarding assessment practices in
higher education. Early indications on the use of AI chatbots, signal significant
disruption to the higher education system in relation to academic misconduct concern.
In terms of the research approach, initially, a systematic literature review was conducted
to examine the association between academic integrity and authentic assessment with 32
focused publications from 2019 to 2023 analysed. This led to the development of a robust
‘Model for Practice’ to guide the implementation of authentic assessment in a way that
simultaneously improved academic integrity. This paper presents the main findings of a
case study approach with two final year student groups whose teaching and assessment
schedule was based on this Model. Results show that the Model addresses the issue of
assessing students in a manner that engages students, improves their employability skills,
and ensures adherence to academic integrity guidelines.
Keywords: Authentic Assessment & Design; Academic Integrity; Contract Cheating;
Academic Misconduct; ChatGPT
1. Introduction
The rapid launch of ChatGPT in November 2022 has resulted in a dearth of educational research
into the relationship between assessment design and the use of advanced machine learning
algorithms in higher education. This lack of literature, along with the changing educational
landscape, has motivated the current study exploring the impact of authentic assessment design
on academic integrity. The uncertainty surrounding ChatGPT has led to widespread disparity
on the possible implications for higher education, with some studies warning of a potentially
catastrophic impact on assessment, and others dismissing these concerns, stating that ChatGPT
may bring opportunities in terms of new modes of learning and assisting educators. The
necessity for higher education institutions to produce ‘employment ready’ graduates has
positioned authentic assessment as a primary tool for developing students’ professional skills
10th International Conference on Higher Education Advances (HEAd’24)
Universitat Polit`
ecnica de Val`
encia, Val`
encia, 2024
DOI: https://doi.org/10.4995/HEAd24.2024.17136
HEAd
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons License CC BY-NC-SA 4.0
Editorial Universitat Polit`
ecnica de Val`
encia 564
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needed for today's multifaceted workplace (Ajjawi et al. 2023). The acquisition of these
employability skills, however, is reliant on evaluation and assessment procedures that hold
students to the highest academic standards. The legitimacy of a higher education institution will
be undermined if the institution cannot guarantee that an assessment accurately measures
student learning. Although guidance on how authentic assessment can incorporate ChatGPT
will undoubtedly increase, the novelty of such studies means that empirical evidence is urgently
required to support this guidance and to ensure confidence in any findings.
2. Research Context: Authentic Assessment and Academic Integrity
Authenticity has long been recognised as an inherently valuable characteristic of assessment
design (Ajjawi et al., 2023). Authentic assessment is defined as ‘assessment which aims to
engage students in real-world scenarios that are complex, ambiguous, and unpredictable, to
simulate the real-life situations and problems that students will face in their careers (Bretag et
al., 2019). Authentic assessment has emerged as an alternative to standard exams, which
emphasise memorisation and recall and, instead, aims to assist students in contextualising their
learning, encourage internal motivation, promote inclusion, and improve higher-order critical
thinking, problem-solving, application and self-reflection skills (Sotiriadou et al., 2020).
Bretag et al., (2019) define academic integrity as compliance with ethical, moral, and
professional principles, values and standards that serve as guidance for making decisions and
taking action in education, research, and scholarship institutions. Ellis et al., (2020) state that
there is a growing awareness of new academic misconduct practices, such as contract cheating,
in higher education institutions and yet there are no definitive answers in relation to the volume
of assessments procured through contract cheating providers, and the optimal management and
penalisation processes for academic misconduct. Academic misconduct threatens academic
standards, quality, and credibility in higher education, leading institutions, and regulators
globally to urgently explore potential solutions. Maintaining the trust placed in assessment and
its ability to ensure that students have demonstrated learning to a level that is worthy of an award
is critical in combatting academic misconduct. Assessment needs to evolve along with a
changing academic integrity landscape to ensure that students who engage in academic
misconduct are not awarded a qualification that they have not earned (Ellis et al., 2020).
It is proposed that authentic assessment should be at the forefront of an assessment movement
that addresses; the requirement for improved student equity, the rise of artificial intelligence,
and threats to academic integrity in higher education (Ajjawi et al., 2023). Studies have
challenged the view of authentic assessment as an academic integrity panacea; for example,
although authentic assessment may reduce academic integrity breaches, there is no one
assessment that can prevent it, and, furthermore, the assessment type itself is not enough to
address academic misconduct (Bretag et al., 2019). Moreover, the real-world, career-focused,
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complex problem-solving task aspects of authentic assessment may be overly complicated for
academically and lingually diverse students (Ellis et al., 2020). Additionally, lecturers may lack
resources to provide scaffolded support to students, leading students to seek assistance from
illicit sources. Nevertheless, there is sustained interest in authentic assessment, and its place in
the pedagogical environment cannot be disputed. Evidence supporting the claim that authentic
assessment is the solution to academic integrity remains absent. This paper aims to address the
research question; “Can Authentic Assessment Design Improve Academic Integrity?”
3. Methodology
3.1. Systematic Literature Review
The initial research method employed in this paper was a systematic literature review, where
clearly defined searches, rigorous inclusion criteria, and comprehension evaluations were used.
The article searches used Scopus, Taylor and Francis, ERIC and Science Direct databases to
provide a comprehensive, multi-disciplinary view of the relationship between authentic
assessment and academic integrity. Articles were included if they were peer-reviewed, written
in English and focused on higher education. Articles before 2019 were excluded due to the
plagiarism focus, as this study aims to incorporate new cheating practices. Articles were
included for further analysis if the title, abstract or keywords included the keywords ‘authentic
assessment/task/learning’ and ‘academic integrity/misconduct/contract cheating’. These
keywords were selected to ensure that all relevant papers would be returned while accounting
for differing terminology globally and across disciplines. 760 initial results were limited to 32
articles, which were analysed in detail (the five seminal papers that influenced the current
research are referenced in this paper). This systematic and critical literature review identified a
dearth of authentic assessment designs that grapple with the complexities of the new academic
integrity landscape. A thematic analysis was conducted to identify key theoretical perspectives
on improving academic integrity through authentic assessment design; summarised in Table 1.
Specific guidance on how to incorporate these theoretical perspectives into assessment design
is summarised under the Authentic Assessment section of Table 1, and the subsequent impact
these elements will have on academic integrity is also shown.
Based on a summary of the systematic literature review and resulting theoretical perspectives,
six characteristics are recommended as essential authentic assessment design features. The
proposed framework (Figure 1), developed in this study, displays these characteristics, and it is
proposed as part of this research, that the design should minimise academic misconduct, and
improve student engagement and employability skills. The framework recognises that a holistic
academic integrity culture and lecturer assistance are necessary for implementation.
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Table 1. Theoretical Perspectives on Authentic Assessment Design to Improve Academic Integrity
Theoretical
Perspective
Authentic Assessment
Academic Integrity
Main Authors
Well-Timed,
Personal,
Unique Tasks
Adequate time,
Personalised; Evidence
gathering
Meaningful; Verifies
participation; Peer pressure
Sotiriadou et al., 2020
Engagement
Active contribution;
Students as partners
Motivation; Partnership
gives students support
Bretag et al., 2019;
Ellis et al., 2020
Complexity
Scaffolded complex tasks;
Group work; External
engagement
Difficult to outsource
complex tasks; External
scrutiny
Bretag et al., 2019;
Ellis et al., 2020
Teaching &
Learning
Environment
Personalised teaching,
feedback; Student-lecturer
relationship; Clear
assessment requirements
Lecturer detection due to
student ability awareness;
Early identification of
struggling students
Harper, Bretag and
Rundle, 2021
Scaffolding
Distinct, interconnected,
progressive, reflective
assessment components
Subsequent progressive
tasks; Reflecting on class
and group sessions;
Feedback on each task
Bretag et al., 2019;
Ellis et al., 2020;
Sotiriadou et al., 2020
Support/
Instructional
Material
Assessment support; Clear
instructions; Lecturer
recordings; Exemplars;
Rubrics; Training
Expectations clarified;
Student understanding of
assessment requirements
and marking criteria
Sotiriadou et al., 2020
Inclusion
Assessment and Rubric
Co-Design
Refine assessment design;
Adapt to learning styles
Sotiriadou et al., 2020
Feedback
Peer feedback; Feed-
forward
Familiarity with work;
Learning Ownership;
Student-lecturer dialogue
Bretag et al., 2019
Industry
Partners
Partner with a company;
Real-world setting
Presenting externally;
Employment opportunities
Ellis et al., 2020
Culture
Assessment Design to
minimise cheating;
Supportive environment
Promote academic integrity
culture and visuals;
Dedicated staff
Ellis et al., 2020
Assessment
Type
In-Class Tasks;
Personalised work;
Orals/Vivas; Reflections
Random nature of lecturer
questions; Defending
personal work
Harper, Bretag and
Rundle, 2021
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Designing Authentic Assessment to Improve Academic Integrity
Figure 1. Authentic Assessment Design Framework
3.2. Implementation
To explore an authentic assessment approach with the students, the authentic assessment
characteristics and theoretical perspectives were broken down here into a weekly
implementation plan for a 13-week semester, as shown in Figure 2.
This plan was implemented with two final year student groups – Marketing (97 students) and
Home Economics and Business (32 students) taking a mandatory Corporate Strategy module.
The industry partner for the authentic assessment element was the Marina Market, a local market
to the University and City consisting of a multipurpose venue with an indoor food hall set up in
an old warehouse with 40 vendors permanently occupying the space. Confirmation was sought
that all students visited the Marina Market before deciding on this partner, so that no student
Figure 2. Authentic Assessment Weekly Implementation Plan
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would be disadvantaged. Representatives from the Marina Market presented information on the
businesses and outlined that they were seeking unique event ideas for their venue. Students
formed groups and took part in a rubric co-design workshop where they were provided with a
past assignment rubric and asked to suggest changes individually using an online discussion
forum on the learning management system, Canvas. Students could not view suggestions from
their peers until they commented. Marks for this element (5% of module) depended on critical
thought process leading to the students’ suggestions. The lecturer analysed all suggestions,
altered the rubric, and recorded a tutorial explaining the rubric, marking criteria and all
assignment requirements, and posted this recording on Canvas.
The main assessment task (32%) was to carry out a strategic analysis of the Marina Market and
students proposed that this be presented in a ‘scrapbook’ document, consisting of a mix of
visuals to evidence their learning and analysis in text format. An exemplar workshop took place,
where students reviewed examples of past assignments, graded, and ranked each assignment
and provided feedback. The presentation (30%) focused entirely on the students’ event idea for
the Marina Market, to tie in with industry partners’ requirements. Students submitted drafts of
their event ideas anonymously to Canvas. Each idea was reviewed by two peer groups and
feedback returned anonymously. Students were awarded up to 8% for this peer feedback process
depending on the quality of the feedback provided. Lecturer-student feed-forward sessions took
place before the scrapbook and presentations were completed. Finally, students were asked to
reflect on the experience (25%) and express their thoughts on authentic assessments’ role in
upholding academic integrity. A quantitative survey was utilized to gather empirical data
directly from this large student group. A positivist approach was taken to verify students’ views
on the authentic assessment process through objective analysis of the survey results. Questions
on academic integrity were included, therefore, the survey was conducted anonymously in the
hope that students would be honest about their experiences. The majority (57%) responded (73
out of 129), providing confidence in the reliability and representativeness of the results. Ethical
clearance was received for this research adhering to university policies.
4. Initial Findings
Initial survey results (Figure 3) present definitive evidence that there is a positive alignment
between authentic assessment design and academic integrity improvement. The overwhelming
majority of students agreed that the authentic assessment ‘live case’ with the Marina Market
improved their engagement with the module, enhanced their employability skills, and helped
with academic integrity guidelines. Additional results from the survey show that students
believe they could approach the lecturer for support, they felt they received sufficient feedback,
and they clearly understood the assessment requirements. It is evident that the authentic
assessment framework helped to create a supportive and collaborative learning environment
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Designing Authentic Assessment to Improve Academic Integrity
Figure 3. Authentic Assessment and Academic Integrity Survey Results
which led to the anticipated framework outcomes being met – improving engagement,
employability skills and academic integrity.
5. Discussion
Along with the survey results, informal student feedback was received through lecturer-student
meetings and classes about the authentic assessment experience. Survey results indicate that the
framework process reduced student motivations to cheat as students report being engaged,
motivated and enthusiastic. There was strong interest and attendance at the rubric co-design
and exemplar workshops, and students spoke to the lecturer about how they felt their voice was
heard and their opinion was valued. The industry partner’s event idea allowed students to
develop events targeting their demographic, which they felt was inclusive and meaningful. The
top event ideas were chosen by the Marina Market and students presented their ideas to industry
representatives. The potential opportunity to be chosen as a finalist served as a further motivator
for students. The opportunities to cheat were reduced through scaffolded tasks which began at
the beginning of the semester with the rubric co-design. Each task was progressive, therefore,
students had to understand the previous task to move forward. In terms of lecturer detection,
each students’ input into suggested changes for the rubric was verified by the lecturer on Canvas
and the rubric was discussed with each student group in the workshop. Students evidenced their
learning with visuals which included pictures of the group visiting the Marina Market and
working on the project which reduced opportunities to cheat and aided lecturer detection. The
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lecturer asked each student a question at the end of the presentation to verify their understanding
of the task and their involvement in the project. Students were extremely encouraged by the
lecturer-student feed-forward sessions and felt that these were invaluable to their learning and
skill development. These sessions also allowed the lecturer to become very familiar with
students’ work. The personalised nature of students’ final reflections made it difficult to cheat,
as students needed to participate to be able to reflect deeply.
6. Limitations and Conclusion
The authentic assessment framework proposed in this paper can transfer across academic
disciplines, however, it will only be viable where assessment types involve industry interaction.
Student reflections continue to be analysed and feedback sought to further probe student views
on the experience and improve practice. The framework developed in this study lays the
foundations for the emergence of evidence-based approaches to authentic assessment design
that foster academic integrity across multiple disciplines and will be a useful tool to offset
assessment disruption. This paper provides evidence to support the claim that incorporating
authenticity and key theoretical perspectives into assessment design provides a potential
solution to the issue of assessing students in a new ChatGPT landscape.
Acknowledgements and Conflicts of interest
No funding or competing interests.
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