Assessment at Macquarie
Assessment is a key part of your learning journey at Macquarie.
It's designed to help you demonstrate what you've learned, develop important skills, and receive feedback that supports your academic growth.
Why assessment matters
Assessment serves multiple purposes in your university education. It measures your progress and understanding, provides opportunities to apply theoretical knowledge to practical situations, and helps you develop transferable skills valued by employers and professional bodies. Through assessment, you will receive feedback that guides your learning and helps you identify areas for improvement.
Assessment is also critical to assuring that you have met the learning outcomes for each of your units and, collectively, for your course at the point of graduation. If your course is externally accredited, assessment also provides assurance to the relevant professional body that you have met the required standards expected for that profession.
Assessment at Macquarie takes many forms to reflect the diverse skills you need to succeed in your chosen career in a real-world context. This variety of assessment types ensures you're developing a broad skill set whilst being assessed in ways that are authentic to your discipline.
The variety of assessments used at Macquarie are broadly categorised into ten different types. These are:
Creative task: An assessment that enables you to demonstrate innovative thinking and original expression through producing creative works, which may include artistic, design, musical, literary, or digital outputs.
Examination: A time-constrained assessment conducted under supervised conditions where you respond to questions or tasks that test your knowledge, understanding, and application of subject matter.
Experiential task: An assessment based on direct engagement with real-world situations or simulated environments, requiring you to apply your learning through active participation and structured reflection.
Portfolio: A curated collection of evidence demonstrating your achievement, growth, and competency development over time, typically including multiple pieces of work with accompanying reflective commentary.
Practice-based task: An assessment that evaluates your ability to apply theoretical knowledge in practical scenarios, often involving hands-on demonstrations of skills and techniques relevant to your field of study.
Presentation task: An oral or visual communication activity where you present your research, analysis, or creative work to an audience, demonstrating both content knowledge and professional communication skills.
Problem-Based task: A structured activity requiring you to analyse and solve authentic problems of appropriate complexity by applying relevant knowledge, theories, and methodologies to develop reasoned solutions.
Professional task: An assessment that mirrors real-world workplace activities and professional standards, allowing you to demonstrate industry-relevant competencies and approaches.
Reflection task: A structured analysis of your personal learning experiences, requiring you to critically examine your growth, challenges, and insights in relation to your academic and professional development.
Written Submission: A formal piece of academic writing that demonstrates critical thinking, analysis, and scholarly communication, typically in the form of essays, reports, or research papers.
Engaging actively with assessment is key to your success at university. This means
- understanding the requirements from the outset
- planning your time effectively
- seeking clarification when needed, and
- viewing feedback as a valuable tool for improvement rather than just a grade.
Your assessments build progressively throughout your degree, with each task preparing you for more complex challenges ahead.
As you progress through your studies, you'll notice your assessments becoming more involved requiring deeper analysis, greater independence, and more complex application of knowledge. This is intentional—your degree is designed to develop you from a student into a capable graduate ready for professional life.
The Assessment Policy outlines the principles and procedures that guide assessment at Macquarie.
Your assessments
Every unit you're enrolled in has specific assessment requirements, and it's essential to know where to find this information and how to understand what's expected of you.
Unit Guides are your definitive source for assessment information. Each unit's guide outlines all assessment tasks for the session, including due dates, weightings, submission requirements, and how each assessment relates to the unit's learning outcomes.
iLearn is typically where you'll find more comprehensive information about your assessments. Depending upon the type of assessment, this might include detailed task descriptors, rubrics, templates, and any additional resources you may need, as well as links to any submission portal if this is a task that requires you submit a piece of work online.
It is important that you check iLearn regularly, as unit convenors may post updates or respond to common questions about assessments.
When you're assigned an assessment, take time to understand several key elements:
What is the purpose?
Every assessment is designed with specific learning outcomes in mind. Understanding why you're completing a particular task helps you focus your efforts appropriately. Is it testing your depth of knowledge? Developing your analytical skills? Preparing you for professional practice? This information is usually explained in detail in the task description.
What am I expected to produce?
Be clear about what it is that you are being asked to deliver for the assessment. Is it a 2,000-word essay, a 10-minute presentation, a portfolio of evidence, or a practical demonstration? Check the format requirements, word counts or time limits, and any specific structural expectations. If you're unsure, ask your convenor or tutor for clarification early.
How much is it worth?
Assessment weightings tell you how much each task contributes to your final grade. A task worth 40% of your unit usually requires significantly more time and effort than one worth 10%.
Am I allowed to use Generative Artificial Intelligence tools within an assessment?
Macquarie University has two categories of assessment that help you to understand if, and how, Generative AI tools, may be used within each assessment. It is important that you are familiar with Macquarie’s approach to AI and Assessment so you can understand what is permitted for each of your assessment tasks.
What are the assessment criteria?
Most assessments include a rubric that outlines exactly what markers are looking for and how your work will be graded. Rubrics typically show different performance levels (such as high distinction, distinction, credit, pass, fail) and describe what each level looks like for different criteria.
If your assessment includes a rubric, treat it as a roadmap to success. Before you start working on the task, read through the rubric carefully. It tells you what's most important and what distinguishes excellent work from adequate work. As you complete your assessment, refer back to the rubric to check you're meeting the criteria. Many students find it helpful to self-assess their draft work against the rubric before submission.
When information seems unclear
If assessment requirements aren't clear after reviewing your Unit Guide and iLearn site, don't hesitate to seek clarification. The best ways to seek clarification are to post questions in your unit's iLearn discussion forum (others probably have the same question) and ask questions in class. If you are still unsure, you can email your unit convenor. It's always better to ask than to make assumptions about what's required.
Some units at Macquarie have access to a ‘Virtual Peer’ AI tool which can be helpful in answering any questions you might have about your assessments if this is available.
Study support
There is a variety of services available at Macquarie that you can draw upon to help you. Find out about these services - see our Study Support information.
Planning ahead
At the start of each session, review the assessment schedule for all your units. Note the due dates, weightings, and types of assessments. This overview helps you plan your workload, identify busy periods, and start tasks with adequate time to produce your best work.