The purpose of this study is to investigate whether there is any correlation between students’ self-reported (indirect) assessment and an objective disciplinary knowledge test (direct assessment). A survey including a self-reported assessment and an Economics knowledge test were conducted through the Web for Japanese students. The findings show that the higher a student’s self-reported academic progress, the higher the probability that the student will give correct answers to questions on the Economics knowledge test. This result is consistent with the theory that subjective and objective assessments positively correlate, as other writers have claimed.

Introduction

Higher education students are expected to develop 21st century generic and disciplinary skills such as critical thinking and problem-solving to make professional and everyday judgments and decisions; to deal with challenges; to be engaged, globally oriented citizens, and to ensure lifelong learning. There is a growing demand for objective, reliable, and valid assessments for this purpose. This question has been a central inquiry in higher education. Hence, the demonstration of learning outcomes as an ultimate goal of university education has been strongly emphasized in higher education policies, as well as demanded by society in general. Higher education institutions are facing this new reality. This perception is shared not only in higher education institutions but also in various academic disciplines in Japan. Higher education institutions have held countless discussions and taken several initiatives on measures to help students achieve the necessary learning outcomes and thus improve education.

The report Towards a Qualitative Transformation of University Education for Building a New Future announced in 2012 by the Central Council for Education newly introduced the need to establish an assessment policy. In the report, “assessment policy” is defined as policies adopted by higher education institutions regarding the goals, qualitative levels of achievement, and specific methods for assessing students’ learning outcomes. It is expected that assessment policies will make explicit the specific measurement methods (e.g., self-reported student survey, assessment tests to evaluate academic achievement, or learning rubrics) that will be used to assess students’ learning outcomes.

Further, quality assurance has become a national topic in Japan. Since the School Education Law was revised in 2017, each university has been required to publish three policies, namely its admissions policy, curriculum policy, and diploma policy.