The impact of peer assessment design on interpersonal processes: A systematic review

Peer assessment can have a very positive impact on students’ learning. However, it also poses some challenges such as trust issues, concerns about its fairness, feelings of discomfort, etc. It is known that the interpersonal processes of peer assessment can affect its outcomes. However, it is less clear how peer assessment should be implemented to prevent this. In this article, we reviewed 27 studies that have investigated how the instructional design elements of peer assessment influence interpersonal processes. A literature search was carried out on Scopus, PsycINFO, and Eric with a search string composed of three parts with keywords linked to (1) peer assessment, (2) educational contexts, and (3) interpersonal processes. The 14,552 retrieved records were screened in terms of the inclusion criteria, which resulted in 27 studies being included and analysed through a narrative synthesis. The results revealed that the three most commonly-investigated design elements were privacy, format, and training. Privacy seems to have a positive impact on some interpersonal processes, but a detrimental effect on others. Concerning format, studies suggest that increased amounts of guidance are associated with a positive impact on interpersonal processes, but this result must be interpreted with caution due to the limitations of the studies’ research designs. The use of training seems to be beneficial in minimising the negative effects of interpersonal processes. Finally, no conclusion could be drawn on three other design elements that were only investigated in one study each, and with weak research designs. These results allowed us to draw important recommendations for practitioners implementing peer assessment and to identify gaps and needs that could inform future research.