Peer Assessment of an Individual's Contribution to a Group Project

In an optometry subject which utilised group projects, students complained that awarding the same mark to all group members was often not a fair reflection of individual effort. Accordingly, an examination was made of procedures for assessing the contribution of an individual to a group project. A classification system for such schemes is given. One subject in the optometry course used a system which modified the group mark by a two-part weighting factor. A detailed evaluation and critique of this scheme is given. A simpler scheme with a one-part multiplicative weighting factor was derived from the best elements of the initial scheme. The simplified scheme is described and examples of the calculations given. Its use in another subject in the same course is described and evaluation data presented.