Assessment in the law school: Contemporary approaches of Australian property law teachers

Assessment in higher education has received increasing attention in the last decade. This attention is partly a result of the recognition that traditional assessments do not reflect the application of learning in a real life, or real work context. Calls for changes to traditional modes of assessment in legal education have gained currency with the latest iteration of what it means to be a law graduate, in terms of knowledge, skills and attitudes. The nature of what is taught in the law curriculum in terms of legal knowledge and skills – both professional and generic – inevitably has an impact on the learning outcomes for a degree course or course unit and this in turn will affect the intent and the mode of assessment. This paper reports on the assessment practices of Australian property law teachers ascertained from results of a national survey, and situates these practices within the context of the diversity of learning outcomes and types of assessment, as well as contemporary thinking on assessment per se.