University teachers’ emotions about formative and summative assessment of students’ performances and assignments

Assessment of learning in higher education is an essential part of university teachers’ work. The aim of this study is to explore the emotions that academics experience in formative and summative assessment. The aim is also to examine whether academics’ emotions in assessment vary according to their disciplinary background. The data consisted of responses of 118 academics from a large multidisciplinary university who responded to a survey about assessment and emotions. Comparisons of emotions experienced in different assessment methods and purposes, and comparisons between academics from different disciplinary backgrounds were made by calculating medians and their 95% confidence intervals. The most intensive emotions evoked by both formative and summative assessment were contentment and joy, while the least intensive emotions were anxiety, shame and boredom. Hope was more experienced in formative than in summative assessment and despair was rare in the summative assessment. Academics from humanities and social sciences reported experiencing more compassion, despair and boredom during formative assessment and more anxiety, compassion and irritation during summative assessment than academics from natural and life sciences. The results of the study have theoretical and practical implications for researchers and educators in educational development programmes for academic staff.