The assessment of the students’ learning has been an issue of concern in higher education (Sambell et al., 1997; Black & Wiliam, 1998; Struyven et al., 2005; Pereira et al., 2016). Different perspectives suggest that a shift in the assessment paradigm has occurred, based on the transition from an instruction paradigm to a learning paradigm (Barr & Tagg, 1995), from a summative ‘testing culture’ to an integrated ‘assessment culture’ (Birenbaum, 1997), or, in other words, from a teacher-centred approach to a learner-centred approach (Huba & Freed, 2000; Kahl & Venette, 2010). These changes have challenged and influenced the assessment process and its relationship with teaching and learning. The aim of this paper is to analyse the assessment process in Portuguese higher education settings from the students’ perspectives in five Portuguese public universities. The main purpose is to look at the students’ conceptions of assessment in higher education taking into account the assessment practices used, the influence of assessment in their motivation to learn as well as the self-regulation of the learning process. Although there are studies focusing on students’ conceptions of assessment and their impact on learning (Brown & Hirschfeld, 2008; Fletcher et al., 2012; Gibbs & Simpson, 2004) more needs to be done in regard to students’ beliefs related to assessment practices, as well as the relationship between their beliefs and the processes of teaching and learning (Brown & Hirschfeld, 2008). As Biggs (2003) suggests, explained that how students see assessment will affect their involvement in the learning process. In Biggs’ perspective, while in the assessment process cycle, teachers first see the objectives, learning outcomes and learning activities and only then look at assessment, students see assessment first of all and only afterwards look at learning activities and the outcomes. Furthermore, earlier literature suggests that the ideas that students associate with assessment are related to the area of knowledge that they are doing as well as the assessment methods used by the university teachers (Pereira, Niklasson, & Flores, 2016; Pereira, Barros, & Flores, in press). In other words, assessment influences, either negatively or positively, student learning and may be seen as an incentive for study and for improved performance (Watering, Gijbels, & Dochy, 2008; Biggs, 2003; Brown & Knight, 1994; Brown, Bull, & Pendlebury, 1997; Boud & Falchikov, 2007). 

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