Explaining assessment criteria: bridge documents

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I began this work in a previous institution, where students had a particularly complicated assessment. It was to complete a real-world form (so directly applied to their field of work) but therefore had many sections. All of these were weighted separately, and differently, for the purposes of the assessment and had to each relate back to each aspect of the generic marking criteria. This was difficult for both students and staff to navigate, so I felt that there must be a better way to support student understanding and ensure staff consistency in marking.

Reducing uncertainty

So, I created a ‘bridge document’, which had two parts. Firstly, I took each section of the assessment and then, using the language of the different sections of the generic marking criteria, explained what would be expected for a bare pass and also for a top grade in each section. 

The second part of the document included definitions of words that students sometimes struggle to understand and apply (such as ‘clarity’ or ‘coherence’). It is essential that they understand these terms before they submit work, not just for understanding their feedback. The list was compiled partly using work by Dr Chahna Gonsalves (see below) and the HEA Developing Engagement with Feedback Toolkit (DEFT), with the remainder written by myself. Find an annotated example of a section of the style of document below.

Setting expectations early on 

In both instances where I have used these documents, they were introduced to Level 7 students on one of their first modules on their programmes. They were made available to students at the start of the module, along with all other assessment information. In class, students were given guidance as to how to use this document and, importantly, how to apply the principles to other assessments on other modules, where such documents were not provided.

These documents were not provided in isolation, but as part of a suite of support documents that provided clear assessment guidance overall. The documents should be clearly labelled and accessible from within the Module Moodle site.

Consistency in marking and feedback 

I currently run a large module, where I must calibrate between five and seven markers per assessment. I found that the introduction of this document helped to ensure better consistency between markers in terms of feedback style and resolving borderline decisions.

Staff said that they read them at the start, and felt they provided a structured framework and additional clarity for terms they were using in their feedback; it was helpful to have a bit more of an interpretation of the marking criteria in relation to these assignments specifically. There were no questions from students on this module regarding tangible context as to what the marking criteria actually mean, despite this being a common question on other modules.

Clarifying terminology for students previously educated abroad 

Students reported that the overall guidance on this module for assessments was incredibly helpful, with the advice also clarifying what was expected in other modules. In particular, they found that the bridge documents clearly stated the expectations for the assignment and helped with structuring their reports. The glossary is likely to be a great resource for anyone who has not previously been educated in the UK and is therefore not always familiar with the terms.

An adapatable framework 

The hard work was in finalising the framework for what I’d like this to look like. Since then, I’ve found it relatively easy to adapt to different assignments, using different marking criteria, and at different institutions. It forced me to really consider what is ‘basic’ and what is ‘outstanding’ (to again use the wording of the generic marking criteria in my department) and consider assessment design from a different perspective. I have found it is a valuable exercise to complete that is helpful to staff and students alike and supports quality assurance in our assessments.

Further resources

• Download Zoe's annotated example of a bridge document [Word]
• Using a co-created glossary of rubric language to foster assessment literacy and inclusive assessment practice, by Dr Chahna Gonsalves

Download the video transcript [Word]

This resource was updated in April 2024.