Assessing Performance With ‘Seen’ Component

The B. A. Business Studies (Hons) Course at the Middlesex Polytechnic introduced, for the first time in 1981, three hour examinations with a ‘seen’ component as the method of assessment. This paper examines the current practice on the course, staff and students’ attitudes to this new method of assessment and the student performance under the new method. On balance the new method is preferred to continuous assessment and the student performance improves with experience. The ‘seen’ component serves its purpose as an educational tool as it improves the level of understanding. The weaker students benefit by achieving a significantly higher mark in the ‘seen’ component than the unseen component.