Analysing the Effectiveness of Changes to Assessment Methods between Full Fee Paying International and Domestic Students within a First Year Undergraduate Management Course

Research previously undertaken into assessment methods in an undergraduate management course led to a restructuring and rescheduling of assessment tasks for the 2012 academic year. This paper compares the changed assessment methods and student results within a first year undergraduate management course offered within the business faculty of an Australian university in 2012 with those of previous years. The first year management course is generally compulsory for those studying for a commerce or management degree in Australia. The assessment results of full fee paying international students were compared with those of domestic students during the first teaching semester of 2012 and compared with students taking the same course in 2009, 2010 and 2011. This analysis compares 572 domestic and 201 international students’ numerical results in semester one 2012 for two constructed response assignments and their results for an examination comprising multiple choice questions. The findings did show that the new assessment regime removes part of the bias against international students. On average, international students were found to achieve lower results than domestic students for constructed response assessment tasks, but slightly higher or similar results to domestic students for multiple choice question examinations. The results of this study align with earlier research indicating that international students may know or be able to memorize the content of the course, but are less successful when they express their course knowledge in writing, especially when under the pressures of exam conditions. These findings have implications for instructors who are trying to provide a level playing field for both domestic and international students