This paper will re-examine the widely used term of ‘authentic assessment’ and argue that certain notions and assumptions about it might usefully be re-considered in view of shifting expectations and priorities in higher education. The paper links to the theme of the conference in suggesting that our conceptions of authentic assessment, and applications of it to pedagogic practice, need to shift to account for broader changes, most pointedly social, economic and environmental issues categorised under the heading of sustainability and ESD (education for sustainable development). The paper seeks to offer some new perspectives in response to the following questions:

1. How is authentic assessment understood and used in contemporary higher education?
2. Would there be greater value in re-pivoting our use of authentic assessment, so that it reflects current societal and educational pressures and priorities, such as sustainability, diversity and partnership?

Whilst authentic assessment is a valuable term in that it provides a tool for educating about assessment, it has also become one that is somewhat generalised. It is often used as an explanatory mechanism to promote better practice in assessment; similarly, it is often tied to employability agendas, with the assumption that assessment should focus on preparing learners for the world of work.

But should authentic assessment be about more than these things? In this re-conceptualisation, I will opine that, during their assessment journeys and over the duration of their studies, students should be exposed to wider issues by way of their assessment experiences, through alternative, contemporary lenses. These lenses include:

 Authenticity as sustainability - Higher education needs to engage more deeply and urgently with sustainability. Students should graduate as ‘sustainable beings’, which means that environmental and social aspects of sustainability should be embedded in curricula, teaching and assessment. These points are supported in student-based research – see, for example work by ‘Students Organising for Sustainability’ (sos.org.uk).

Authenticity as student-staff partnership and student experience - Students should have the be actively involved in their assessment process as a normal practice. We need to collaborate with students, to provide a more student-centred student experience in assessment.

Authenticity as equality, diversity and inclusion - Assessment cannot be authentic if some learners are disadvantaged. Authentic assessment is that which is fair to all, inclusive of all, and takes steps to mitigate against unconscious bias.

Whilst other factors also need to be addressed in our efforts to develop authenticity, such as the rise and influence of Artificial Intelligence (AI), the above three will be focused on here. Further, given the recognised ‘urgency of sustainability’ the paper will concentrate especially on the first of the above.

The paper will draw on a range of contemporary literature, including that on assessment design (Sambell, 2013; Brown and Sambell, 2020), authentic assessment (and feedback) (Navé Wald and Harland, 2017; Carless et al, 2020; McArthur, 2023), education for sustainable development (UNESCO, 2017; Advance HE, 2021; Smith, 2023); equality, inclusivity and unconscious bias (Agarwal, Mercer-Mapstone and Bovill, 2020, Tai et al, 2023; Sway, 2020) and student-staff partnership (Cook-Sather, Bovill and Felten, 2014; Students Organising for Sustainability – SOS – www.sos-uk.org). 

Finally, examples will be given of how authentic assessment has been applied in specific contexts using the lenses advocated. 

The key points and arguments to be presented are formed from a literature review, which draws on themes including assessment design, authentic assessment, education for sustainable development, equality, diversity and inclusion, and staff student partnership. It applies and discusses publications and policy documents including those identified in the previous section – although these are examples and additional literature will be utilised. Further, the work makes use of other secondary sources, these being informal conversations and notes from the author’s direct involvement in assessment policy and pedagogy at several institutions. Specific application will be made to several key sources and guideline documents on education for sustainable development, including a forthcoming text of which the author of this paper is contributing, entitled ‘Education for Sustainable Development in Universities: Nurturing Graduates for Our Shared Future’ (Routledge, 2024). Finally, a reflective element based on a theory of reflection by Moon (2005) has been used to guide the approach and analysis. Whilst this is a UK based work, it will, through its use of literature and in its discussion, consider European and international contributions and frameworks, and again, particularly by way of its focus on education for sustainable development (ESD).

In sum, this paper, which reports on an ongoing work, argues that to ensure authentic assessment remains a term with currency in higher education, and to ensure that authentic assessment is itself practised authentically, we need to connect it to wider, contemporary issues and challenges – through different lenses at different times - such as sustainability, wellbeing, equality, diversity and inclusion, and collaboration and partnership. In essence, authentic assessment should no longer be seen a static term to be applied in the same way to every learning, teaching, and assessment context, but as a more fluid and flexible entity. By adopting such an approach, we are more likely to achieve our goal of sustaining authenticity in assessment in the long term, as a central part of the learning and teaching process.

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