Assessment futures through teachers’ eyes: a qualitative case study in higher education

Growing expectations for relevance, fairness, and adaptability in higher education assessment highlight the need to understand educators’ conceptions of assessment. This qualitative study explores higher education teachers’ views on essential assessment elements, future challenges and opportunities, and directions for developing assessment. The research was conducted at a large Finnish research university and draws on two datasets: seven focus group interviews (n = 21) and an open-ended survey (n = 32). Participants represented diverse disciplines, teaching experience, and pedagogical training. Data were analysed using qualitative content analysis drawing on the Teacher Assessment Literacy in Practice (TALiP) framework. Findings indicated that teachers conceptualised assessment not merely as grading but as a pedagogical practice supporting learning, fairness, and constructive alignment with learning outcomes. Despite growing GenAI use, core pedagogical principles were seen as enduring. Teachers emphasised the need for pedagogical training, institutional support, and a shift in the assessor role towards mentorship. More experienced teachers highlighted student agency and ethics. Key challenges included GenAI integration, academic integrity, and resource constraints. This study provides a practice-based perspective on assessment literacy across TALiP levels and underscores the need for GenAI-specific competencies. Findings inform institutional strategies for future-ready, ethically grounded assessment in digitally evolving higher education contexts.