Designing Assessments

This inclusive teaching guide is aligned to Baseline Standard 1, 3 & 4 and the Professional Standards Framework A3. It provides guidance on how you can design assessments inclusively, in line with the Institutional Assessment Strategy.

Further good practice guidance for University of Leeds staff can be found on the Assessment Matters SharePoint site (requires UoL Log in)

Consider barriers in assessment design

Try to ensure that the method of assessment does not put any of your students at a disadvantage. If you find this to be the case, consider alternative ways (where practical), for your students to demonstrate achievement of the learning outcomes.
The way an assessment is designed may create barriers for some of your students. Additionally, the skills required to carry out certain types of assessment may not be related to the learning outcomes. For example, if the assessment requires group presentations, this may be a barrier for some of your students who struggle with anxiety or public speaking.
Use your programme competence standards to help you understand where flexibility in the assessment method may be possible. These competence standards FAQs will help get you started (requires UoL log in)

Provide your students with a choice of assessment methods from the outset. For example, instead of requiring all of your students to participate in a group presentation, offer them the option of completing the presentation alone in a one-to-one. Alternatively, you could also allow them to record their presentation in private or submit a written format instead.
This will enable your students to choose assessment formats that better fit their personal circumstances, learning preferences and needs^1,2, and will ensure they can more effectively demonstrate their learning.

Use a few different assessment methods throughout a programme. This aligns to Baseline Standard 3.
Your students may be unfamiliar with some assessment formats so always provide them with examples so they have a better understanding of what they are required to do.
Including variety in your assessments also ensures that the widest possible group are catered for. Different types of assessment will be more suited to some of your students than others. For example, students who are less confident at traditional essay style assessments may excel in video based assessments.
Explore the use of digital technologies which can be used for assessment, by visiting the Staff Guide to Assessment Systems on the Digital Education Systems site.

Use the simplest and clearest possible way of asking the question, separating out multiple questions and clearly indicating the marks allocated to each part.
You may have students with Autism, specific learning difficulties (SpLDs), cognitive impairments as well as students who speak English as an additional language. They may find it time consuming to decode the meaning of the question, leading to misinterpretation and wasting time³.
This guidance for Writing Inclusive Exam Questions applies across a range of assessment types, not only exams (requires UoL login)

Incorporate the needs of your students who have 25% extra time allocated; this is a standard recommendation for most students with dyslexia. Do this by shortening the test e.g. from 1hr to 40 minutes so that those with extra time can still finish within the allotted hour.
By assuming you will likely have students with dyslexia in your group, you can reduce the need to make ad hoc arrangements, which may be time consuming.

Be explicit about the requirements and the level of detail, knowledge and skill that are expected for a high mark. Discuss assessment criteria with your students at the beginning of the module and when assessments are set, explaining the meaning of the criteria.
Your students will find it difficult to use feedback on their work constructively if they can’t understand why some areas of their work are weaker than others. The terms used in assessment criteria are not always self-explanatory to students.

Guide written by Dr Say Burgin and Jenny Brady | Updated July 2026 by Jenny Brady

Waterfield, J. and West, B. (2006) Inclusive Assessment in Higher Education: A Resource for Change. Staff Student Partnership for Assessment Change and Evaluation (SPACE) University of Plymouth: Plymouth.
Williams, P., Wray, J. Farrall, H. and Aspland, J. 2014. ‘Fit for purpose: traditional assessment is failing undergraduates with learning difficulties. Might eAssessment help?’ International Journal of Inclusive Education, 18 (6), 614-625.
Cannon, H (2016) Examining the need for, and establishing the efficacy of, the language modification of exam papers for university students on the autism spectrum. The Journal of Inclusive Practice in further and higher education Issue 7. [Accessed 30 November 2016]