Disentangling the Octopus: Strategies to Diagnose and Reduce Assessment Overload

This narrative review presents an Assessment Overload Framework for defining and understanding forms of assessment excess and their impact on students, faculty, administrators, and staff.

Assessment overload is a complex, multilayered challenge that contributes to curricular overload. A metaphor is used to enhance understanding of this complexity. Four dimensions of assessment overload are introduced, including perceived overload, planned overload, imbalance, and expansion. To aid in identifying the type of overload and possible actions, each dimension's driving forces and management strategies are provided, along with examples for each dimension. Assessment of, for, and as learning are discussed as contributing to assessment overload. To help with diagnosing and reducing overload, the people-process-product framework is examined, and strategies for rebalancing assessment are aligned with it.

Systematic review of assessment practices at the course, program, and institutional levels can help identify redundancies, enhance efficiency, and prioritize high-impact assessment practices. Although there is no one-size-fits-all solution to assessment overload, intentional approaches can help reduce burden and foster sustainable assessment practices.