Rethinking Rwandan Higher Education Assessment System and Approaches

Abstract

In recent years, there have been increasing critiques leveled against Rwandan higher education for the quality of its graduates and various attempts have been made to address the problem. It is argued here that the role played by assessment in Rwandan higher education system has not been given sufficient attention in previous critiques. Research suggests that assessment plays a major role in what and how students learn.  Assessments explicitly designed to promote learning lead to complex learning achievements that are widely deemed critical in the 21st century.
However, there are indications that Rwandan higher education assessment system has been dominated by summative assessment which does not necessarily promote learning, and is sometimes counterproductive. This paper argues for a more strategic perspective on assessment in a balanced fashion with the main purpose of promoting more complex learning among students. A new assessment paradigm is proposed whereby students should play a central role in ongoing monitoring of their learning.

Key words: Assessment purposes, summative assessment, formative assessment, learning complexity, selfregulated learning