Dear Colleagues,

This Special Issue of Education Sciences focuses on research and practice concerning assessment and evaluation in higher education. Based on the assumption that assessment and evaluation are crucial processes for the advancement of higher education, this Special Issue intends to contribute to this line of research.

Recent research on assessment in higher education shows that the most favored assessment methods continue to be examinations within a one-and-only timeframe. Therefore, despite policy recommendations, student assessment continues to be mostly focused on a unique episode and much less aimed at promoting the development of students’ competences, which remain, in most cases, outside of the assessment process. The impact of assessment methods and tasks on students’ learning processes, including their motivation, engagement, and approaches to learning, is an important issue to be discussed. Assessment should be seen as an educational development process, rather than a final outcome or winning post. For these reasons, this Special Issue welcomes submissions regarding the different dimensions and forms of assessment within higher education. This includes topics related to assessment methods (formative and summative), assessment purposes (assessment of/for/as learning), rubrics assessment, and the assessment of learning outcomes (knowledge and skills). In this line of study, we also acknowledge the need to develop research on the assessment of active learning approaches and new pedagogical methodologies, based on student-centered assessment practices, which include, but are not restricted to, self- and peer-assessment and other assessment methods that engage students directly and on their own.

Currently, the challenges, strengths, and opportunities of online and virtual assessment, which were topics already on the research agenda, are now of greater concern due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, with implications for all stakeholders. It is, therefore, relevant and urgent to produce new and alternative forms of assessment, also regarding distance learning, for higher education practitioners and stakeholders.

This Special Issue also understands the need for the continuous improvement, development, and evaluation of higher education institutions (HEI). For this reason, we welcome research on the evaluation of HEI’s organizational management processes, the evaluation of teacher performance, performance appraisal processes, the evaluation of HEI performance, pedagogical innovation in HEIs, curriculum changes, the evaluation of training programs, and the evaluation of institutional and inter-institutional practices of innovation.

Original and unpublished works reporting on empirical studies, research articles, reviews, case studies, and concept papers discussing this topic will be considered for acceptance in this issue. We look forward to your contributions!

Dr. Sandra Raquel Gonçalves Fernandes
Dr. Marta Abelha
Prof. Dr. Ana Teresa Ferreira-Oliveira
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a double-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Education Sciences is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.