We interviewed four assessment experts in higher education, and we asked them their opinion about several elements and assessment. The first question we asked our experts was, why do we assess higher education? Assessment is so important because it drives the students' learning, and learners will do anything to pass the assessment. So, basically, there's a very fundamental driving force from the assessment to learning. Unfortunately, that is not always a positive thing because what we see a lot, learning approaches that are not so desirable. For example, many assessment practices is a series of hurdles and simply learners move from hurdle to hurdle. They are very important because they create a kind of moment for reflection for students. Students have been working on a certain task, they want to accumulate any kind of knowledge, and then at the set moment in time, they have the opportunity to show what they know or to show what they want to know. And, of course, apart from that, there is a formal reason when we build courses. We build these courses according to certain intended learning outcomes. We want to accomplish something. An assessment, in any way, is particularly needed to determine to what extent we succeeded in realizing these intended learning outcomes. I think the most important function is that students have a stage or an opportunity given by the assessment to show what they are capable of with the material they have learned for. So showtime. Yes, show us what you learned. I think that assessments and exams, they serve multiple purposes, actually, I think in higher education. First of all, assessments and exams, they show to students what level of competency they should acquire within a given course or a given program actually. So it gives them a head start or a view on what they should acquire in the long run or in the short run actually. Further on, assessment programs also define the sort of pace in which students should study to acquire this level of knowledge and skills actually. So a very well-thought-out assessment program is important for them to study in a pace that is both attainable but also as quick as possible because it's getting more and more important that you study within a given timeframe. Studies increasingly costly, so students should be aware and should be guided along their curriculum perfectly. So these are the two main goals I think assessment serve, and the third one is the more I think generally accepted one is that assessments make sure there is evidence of learning, of achievement, which is very important for the stakeholders in society as a whole, in education in general, being governments providing funds, being parents providing money, being peer students in having evidence of achievement. So these are the three main things I think the assessments and exam serve in higher education. It's stimulating reflection on previous accomplishment with a clear view of what has to be done next. So that also creates, in the educational career of students, a certain kind of closure at that moment but a really good kind of assessment, particularly during courses when you have for example an assessment somewhere halfway to course, a good one shows to students what they have to do next. Well, traditionally, there are two types of functions of assessment. They are called the summative approach to assessment and the formative approach to assessment. Summative, meaning you finish off an education program by assessment and it counts, whereas formative assessment is more feedback-oriented and often doesn't count. I'm very much in favor in mingling both functions. I'm very much in favor of providing more formative assessment in summative exams. And if we look at the type of information that we have in the assessment systems, then one might conclude that that is pretty reductionistic. There's not much information in the system. At the end of the bachelor program, you have to show that you have achieved the intended learning outcomes of the study you have been doing. Yes, that's why we need assessment. Yes, and also needed for the students to know if they're on track and if they have gained intended learning outcomes because when we don't offer assessments we know from experience, they don't study and then the deepening of knowledge and insights stays out. In this particular time in history, let me put it this way, it's simply very important at least in higher education in the Netherlands to study in an efficient and effective way within a limited timeframe just because of money restrictions and other kinds of restrictions. So it's very important to guide students to show them what the pace of study should be, and exams are very well suited vehicle to do just this thing. Of course, there are all kinds of ideas of personalized learning and all kinds of these ideas of individual learning in which students can choose for themselves when they study, when they do exams, but in my opinion, in this time in history, given regular higher education as we have it, so not the distance courses, not the self-paced courses, it is this function is very important.