Effectiveness of Peer Assessment and Peer Feedback in Pakistani Context: A Case of University of the Punjab

Oct 15, 2026

Study examines whether implementing peer assessment and peer feedback improves overall English essay writing skills and specific writing subskills for second-language learners in Pakistan. A quasi-experimental Multiple Baseline Time Series design collected data across five essay-writing interventions, using two undergraduate groups from the University of the Punjab. Essays and peer-given assessment scores supported content analysis. Results show only slight gains in some subskills, with no substantial overall achievement versus traditional teacher-based assessment, suggesting usefulness only when combined with teacher assessment after training.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages22

Reading Time55 min

AccessFree to download

Introduction

Peer assessment and peer feedback as learning-oriented assessment

Definitions and theoretical basis

Reported benefits in higher education

Reported limitations and critiques

Effectiveness of Peer Assessment and Peer Feedback in Pakistani Context: A Case of University of the Punjab Nadia Majid*and Muhammad Islam** Abstract Writing an effective essay in English is a serious challenge for most of the students, despite its academic importance, in Pakistan. The methodology used to teach writing skills is ineffective and the assessment criteria is outdated. In this regard, peer assessment and peer feedback practices have proved to be fruitful in enhancing the writing skills of second language learners. Therefore, this study aimed to examine whether there is any improvement in the overall writing skills as well as the specific subskills of writing after implementing peer assessment and peer feedback practices. A quasi-experimental design, called Multiple Baseline Time Series design, was used to collect data from the students during five interventions of essay writing, peer assessment and peer feedback process. Two intact groups of undergraduate students were chosen, through cluster random sampling, as experimental and control groups, from Center for Undergraduate Studies at University of the Punjab. The data collected, was in the form of essays written by the students and the scores given by the peers during peer assessment. Those scores as well as content analysis of the essays helped the researcher to analyze the results of the study. The findings reveal that although there was a slight improvement in a few subskills of writing, yet in the Pakistani context, these assessment practices failed to present any substantial learning achievement overall , as compared to traditional teacher-based assessment practices. Therefore, the study concluded that in our context, these assessment practices may be productive, if they are implemented with teacher’s assessment, after thorough training of the teachers as well as students. Keywords: Peer assessment, peer feedback, essay writing, second language writing skills, quasiexperimental study, content analysis. *College of Art and Design, University of the Punjab, [Lahore Email: nadia.majid29@hotmail.com](Lahore Email: nadia.majid29@hotmail.com) **Assistant Professor, Institute of Education and Research, University of the Punjab, Lahore Introduction Peer assessment and peer feedback practices have been a crucial part of educational settings for more than three decades. However, the recent trends in assessment have attached a significance to these assessment practices, in promoting learning. For instance, there is a great emphasis on goal-oriented learning to encourage lifelong learning in the students. The movement ‘Assessment for Learning’ has become widespread which emphasizes the importance of engaging students in the assessment practices and involving them in feedback processes. Zhang (2018) explains that there is an urgent need for a more effective approach, through which students receive richer feedback, engage in bidirectional communications and advance their writing as well as learning capabilities. In this regard, peer assessment and peer feedback have gained relative popularity, in enhancing the writing skills. Literature provides substantial evidence of peer assessment and peer feedback proving to be beneficial in improving the writing skills of students in various contexts in studies conducted across the globe (Gencha, 2018; Kuyyogsuy, 2019; Meletiadou, 2021a; Uymaz, 2019; Wu & Schunn, 2021; Zhang, 2018) . Topping (2017) defines peer assessment as an arrangement for learners to consider and specify the quality of a product, of other equal-status learners, which leads to learning further, by giving elaborated feedback to achieve a negotiated agreed outcome. In other words, peer assessment is a valuable pedagogical practice as it enables the learners to take part in assessment by evaluating their peers’ learning process and products (Bryan & Clegg, 2019) . In addition, analysing other students’work allows students to interpret the assessmen

FAQs

What was the main purpose of the study in the Pakistani university context?

To determine whether peer assessment and peer feedback implementation leads to improvement in students’ overall writing skills and specific writing subskills.

What research design and data sources were used?

A quasi-experimental Multiple Baseline Time Series design was used, with data collected through five essay-writing interventions. Data included students’ essays and peers’ assessment scores, analyzed through content analysis.

What were the key findings compared with traditional teacher-based assessment?

Findings indicated only slight improvements in some writing subskills, while overall substantial learning achievement was not demonstrated compared to teacher-based assessment.

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Guten tag