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1、There should be greater flexibility in forms or methods of assessment at university educationIntroduction As an increasing number of students are studying at university level. More and more researchers pay close attention to this as well as the forms of assessment. Universities across the globe have
2、 a variety of methods. Different methods of assessment accomplish distinct aims， and students should be tested with different forms of assessments according to their learning styles. The aims of University education The aims of university education are to develop students skills for learning and ass
3、ist them to immerse themselves deeply in society （Swain， 2011）. In the early stages of university， students are expected to learn the professional knowledge in the field they study in， and in the final year， university will give students opportunities to apply for the internship at popular companies
4、 or organisations. Those work experiences will have beneficial effects on the students career development and help them to adapt to society easier after graduation. Various forms or methods of assessment achieve different purpose 1. Traditional written assessments： Most universities use traditional
5、written assessments as methods to evaluate students， including open-book and closed-book final exams， essays and reports. Those methods always help students gain speculative knowledge and practical skills. As an example， open-book exams involve students to comprehend the fundamental meaning of the s
6、ubject before the examination. Closed-book exams require students to learn the precise ideas from textbooks and their own notes. By comparing these two types of examination methods， open-book exams are relatively less stressed than the closed-books ones because students can take textbooks and refere
7、nce books to the examination （Le， Tam， 2007）. 2. Practice-orientated： Another form of assessment is practice-orientated， which includes presentation， seminar and problem-based assignment. These forms of assessment encourage students to develop their practical skills and guide them on how to use spec
8、ulative knowledge. For instance， problem-based assignment assists students to promote their innovative problem solving skills. Presentation and seminar are an important part of promoting students communication， cooperation and decisional skills which have a very significant impact on their career. H
9、owever， practice-orientated methods are often inconvenient. According to the survey of Le and Tam （2007） ， most students do not understand the aims of presentation and claim that this method of assessment is time-wasting. The forms or methods should be more flexible at university education It is ver
10、y important to ensure students are able to use their knowledge to deal with the problems in reality. For instance， they should know how to find jobs and how to explain their opinion to their partners with jargon. Consequently， universities are supposed to choose the forms of assessment carefully and
11、 seriously in order to meet the students demand on the professional field （Berglund et al， 1998， p.47）. Different students have different learning styles， and with these various assessment methods should be used. The surface learning approach means that students review the knowledge they have learnt
12、 but cannot focus on the real problems they encounter （Le， Tam， 2007）. It is not directly linked with subjects and cannot gain a satisfactory score， especially in the seminar and presentation. Thus students are not willing to spend more time on this. The deep learning method which means that student
13、s try to comprehend knowledge and do their assignments with their own ideas. It is more complex which enables students to study more for final-year thesis and problem-based assignment. These forms of assessment enable students to promote learning procedure and develop their capable practicability. C
14、onsequently， the forms or methods of assessment should be more flexible at university education in order to suit students with different learning styles. Conclusion Different forms or methods achieve different purposes which should incorporate various learning styles to suit different forms of asses
15、sment. Universities should have greater flexibility to assess students in order to achieve various aims. Subsequently giving each student an equal opportunity to maximize their abilities. References： 1Berglund，A.，Daniels，M.，Hedenborg，M.，Tengstrand A.， （1998） “Assessment to increase students creativi
16、ty：two case studies” ，European Journal of Engineering Education，23（1） ， pp.45-54. 2Le，K.N.，Tam，V.W.Y.， （2007）A survey on effective assessment methods to enhance student learning.Australasian Journal of Engineering Education.Online13（2）.p.13-20.Available at：http：/www98.griffith.edu.au/dspace/bitstream/handle/10072/22042/54855_1.pdf？sequence=1.Accessed：1 August 2015 3Swain，H.， （2011）what are university for.The Guardian.Online10 October.Available at：ht
