The inclusion of peer assessment in an overall programme of assessment can offer benefits to learning. In the current study students' perceptions of peer assessment were evaluated and their ability accurately to assess others' work measured. From a cohort of first-year undergraduate psychology students, data regarding positive and negative aspects of the peer assessment process allowed a 21 item peer assessment questionnaire to be developed. Fifty-seven participants completed the questionnaire, and two weeks later marks given by those students during a peer assessment exercise were compared to marks awarded by experienced tutors for the same pieces of work. Findings from a comparison of student and tutor marks are discussed in terms of students' critical evaluation skills.
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