Read the passage carefully and answer the questions that follows

Assessment is central to almost all forms of education around the world, and in recent years, a wider variety of assessment has tended to be used. One such form of this change is the use of peer and self‐assessment. Self‐assessment can be defined as "the ability to critically assess one's own work" (Brew, 1999) and peer assessment as "making judgments about, or commenting upon, each other's work". As with all assessment methods, both have their own strengths and weaknesses. It can be argued that peer and self‐assessment with careful initiation and moderation are effective methods of assessment. However, this brief note will argue that in the high stakes environments of most educational settings, these methods are inappropriate, as the making is unreliable.

Peer and self‐assessment have become increasingly common as methods of assessment. particularly in further and higher education. They are used as methods to reduce the marking loads of teachers and it is claimed, to enhance group work and the critical thinking skills of students. It is also claimed that if marking criteria are discussed and agreed at the start, students' marking does not differ significantly from teachers. In studies where the assessment of different teachers is compared, and also in studies where teacher's and peer's and or self‐assessments are compared, it has generally been found that, provided criteria are discussed and agreed in advance, marks tend to be similar. Thus, it could be argued that with the right initial training, there is no difference between work being marked by a teacher or a student.