| Course | NUR-7100 Testing, Assessment, and Evaluation |
|---|---|
| Module | Module 5 |
| Paper type | Evaluation paper: formative assessment and feedback |
| Length | About 1,026 words, 6 pages |
| Format | APA 7 student paper |
| School | Thomas Edison State University |
| Program | M.S. in Nursing, Nurse Educator |
| Updated | October 2026 |
Free sample paper for NUR 7100 Module 5
A Grade Is Not Feedback: Redesigning Formative Assessment in an Online Pathophysiology Course
Student Name
M.S. in Nursing, Nurse Educator, Thomas Edison State University
NUR-7100: Testing, Assessment, and Evaluation
Mentor Name
Month Day, Year
A Grade Is Not Feedback: Redesigning Formative Assessment in an Online Pathophysiology Course
Grades Without Guidance
The course and its students are invented. An online pathophysiology course for registered nurses completing a BSN enrolls about 40 students each term. Each week has a reading, a recorded lecture and a graded quiz; there are two papers and a final exam. Students receive their quiz scores automatically and their paper grades with a rubric and a few comments, usually two weeks after submission. The course evaluation shows students frustrated that they do not know why they lost points until too late to use the information. The course lead, studying for her own MSN in nursing education, set out to redesign the course's assessment around learning rather than grading.
Evidence for Formative Assessment
Black and Wiliam (1998) reviewed about 250 studies of formative assessment, assessment used to adapt teaching and learning while it is happening. Their conclusion was that better formative assessment brings real gains in learning, typically between 0.4 and 0.7 standard deviations, more than most interventions in education achieve, and that low-achieving students benefited most. They found that formative assessment worked when it gave students information about how to improve, involved them in assessing their own work and led teachers to adjust their teaching. Grades alone, without comments, did little to improve learning and could reduce motivation for some students.
A Model of Feedback
Hattie and Timperley (2007) argued that useful feedback tells students three things: the goal they are aiming at, how far they have come and what to try next. They described four levels at which feedback works: on the task itself, on the process behind it, on students' regulation of their own learning and on the person, the last usually in the form of praise. They found that feedback about process and self-regulation was most powerful for deep learning, task feedback helped when it was specific, and praise directed at the self rarely improved learning.
Principles of Good Feedback Practice
Nicol and Macfarlane-Dick (2006) argued that feedback should help students become self-regulated learners. They proposed seven principles: good feedback helps clarify what good performance is; facilitates self-assessment; delivers high-quality information about learning; encourages dialogue between teacher and students and among peers; encourages positive motivation and self-esteem; gives students chances to narrow the distance between their work and the standard; and provides information that teachers can use to shape teaching.
| Source | Principle | Redesign feature |
|---|---|---|
| Black and Wiliam (1998) | Formative assessment raises learning, especially for weaker students | Ungraded practice with explanations each week |
| Hattie and Timperley (2007) | Feedback on process and self-regulation is most powerful | Comments that explain reasoning and next steps |
| Nicol and Macfarlane-Dick (2006) | Seven principles, including closing the gap | Draft-and-revise papers; feedback before the final version |
Redesigned Quizzes
Weekly quizzes become practice quizzes that students can take as often as they like before a deadline, with the highest score counting for a small share of the grade. Each question gives an explanation after the student answers, describing why the correct answer is right and why each distractor is wrong in terms of the physiology involved. A short weekly summary shows the course lead which concepts most students missed, and she records a five-minute video each Monday addressing them.
Staged Assignments
The first paper, a pathophysiology case analysis, is now submitted in two stages. Students submit an outline with their proposed explanation of the patient's findings in week four and receive comments within five days, focused on their reasoning and where to go next. The final paper, due in week seven, is graded with the rubric, and students write a short note explaining how they used the feedback. Students also review one peer's outline using guiding questions, which helps them see other approaches.
Writing Feedback That Works
The course lead wrote feedback guidance for herself and two adjunct instructors. Each comment should name what the student did well with a specific example, identify the most important problem in the reasoning and suggest a next step. Comments about the student's intelligence or effort, such as "great job," are avoided in favor of comments about the work. Feedback is returned within five days.
An Example of Feedback
One student's outline explained a patient's edema by saying the heart was "weak." The old feedback might have been a deduction and the comment "needs more detail." The new feedback named what she had done well, that she had linked the edema to the patient's heart failure, identified the main gap, that she had not explained the mechanism of rising venous pressure and fluid moving into tissues, and suggested a next step, rereading the section on capillary forces and adding one sentence on how they explain the patient's swollen ankles. Her final paper included a clear explanation, and her note said the specific suggestion had shown her what to look for.
Self-Assessment
Before submitting each paper, students rate their work on the rubric. The course lead compares self-ratings with her own and comments on large differences, helping students calibrate their judgment.
Workload
The redesign shifts faculty time from grading final products to commenting on drafts. Rubric comments are kept short and focused, and recurring comments are saved in a bank to save time.
Measuring the Change
The course lead will compare final exam performance and paper rubric scores with the previous year, track how often students take practice quizzes and whether their scores rise, and ask in the course evaluation whether students used feedback to improve their work. Adjunct instructors will review a sample of each other's comments each term against the feedback guidance.
Limits
Most of the evidence on formative assessment comes from school settings, and online adult learners may respond differently. Repeated practice quizzes can be gamed by guessing. Faster feedback depends on manageable enrollment.
Conclusion
Students had grades but not the information needed to improve. Black and Wiliam's review showed the power of formative assessment, Hattie and Timperley's model shaped what feedback should say and Nicol and Macfarlane-Dick's principles guided a course design in which students act on feedback before it counts. Practice quizzes with explanations, staged papers and timely comments make assessment part of learning.
References
Black, P., & Wiliam, D. (1998). Assessment and classroom learning. Assessment in Education: Principles, Policy & Practice, 5(1), 7-74. https://doi.org/10.1080/0969595980050102
Hattie, J., & Timperley, H. (2007). The power of feedback. Review of Educational Research, 77(1), 81-112. https://doi.org/10.3102/003465430298487
Nicol, D. J., & Macfarlane-Dick, D. (2006). Formative assessment and self-regulated learning: A model and seven principles of good feedback practice. Studies in Higher Education, 31(2), 199-218. https://doi.org/10.1080/03075070600572090
Reading the NUR 7100 Module 5 assignment instructions
Formative and summative assessment of learning are named in TESU's catalog description of NUR-7100, and since TESU shares the syllabus only inside the course, module five becomes a formative assessment and feedback paper. Plan a paper that describes a course's current assessment and its effects on students, reviews evidence on formative assessment and feedback, applies a feedback model to what comments should say, redesigns assessments so that students can act on feedback before it counts and plans self-assessment and faculty workload. Some sections ask for a feedback analysis of comments the writer has given in practice. Check whether the brief expects a revised syllabus or assessment schedule as an appendix and whether online settings must be addressed. Include an example of feedback before and after the redesign.
How this NUR 7100 Module 5 example is built
An invented online pathophysiology course in which students receive grades two weeks late opens the paper. Black and Wiliam's review, Hattie and Timperley's three questions and four levels and Nicol and Macfarlane-Dick's seven principles are explained, each paired with a redesign feature in a short table. Practice quizzes with explanations, staged papers with peer review, feedback guidance, self-assessment and workload strategies are described. The last sections weigh the limits and sum up. Annotations note the redesign tied to evidence and practices that apply the feedback model. An example of one student's feedback and a plan to measure the change complete the paper. Workload strategies keep the redesign sustainable for faculty.
NUR 7100 Module 5 rubric: what earns full marks
Formative assessment papers score well when they show how the course currently assesses and what that does to students, when they use accurate use of research on formative assessment and feedback, a feedback model applied to the content of comments, assessments redesigned so students can act on feedback, self-assessment and attention to workload. Mentors notice when feedback avoids praise of the person in favor of comments on the work. Staged assignments show understanding of closing the gap. Admitting that much of the evidence comes from schools shows careful reading. Review articles should be cited with full journal titles. Showing an actual comment and how the student used it makes the feedback model concrete.
NUR 7100 Module 5 help: mistakes that cost marks
Feedback papers often promise more comments without changing when students receive them; give feedback before the work counts. Another common gap is praise that does not tell students what to do next. Tell the student the goal, their progress and one concrete next step. Ask students to show how they used feedback. Keep comments short and timely. A free first draft of a feedback redesign for your own course is available with your brief, following the pathophysiology example. Show one real or realistic comment and what the student did with it. Return comments within a set number of days.
Write yours, or have the desk draft it
This paper is an original model document written by our desk, not a submitted student paper and not an official Thomas Edison State University document. Read it for the moves, then write your own to the instructions in your classroom. If you want one built to your exact prompt and rubric, the first custom sample is free and arrives in 24 to 48 hours.
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NUR 7100 Module 5 questions, answered
Where can I find a free NUR 7100 Module 5 sample paper?
The formative assessment paper for an invented online pathophysiology course, from practice quizzes to staged papers, is shown in full on this page.
Does formative assessment improve learning?
Black and Wiliam's review found substantial gains, with typical effect sizes of about 0.4 to 0.7, especially for low-achieving students.
What are the three questions of effective feedback?
Hattie and Timperley's questions ask what the goal is, how the student is progressing toward it and what should come next.
Which level of feedback is least effective?
Praise aimed at the person ("you're smart") rarely helps; comments on the work and the process behind it do more.
What are principles of good feedback practice?
Nicol and Macfarlane-Dick proposed seven, including clarifying good performance, encouraging self-assessment and providing chances to close the gap.