Keele Research Repository

Authentic assessment, understood as a form of assessment in which students demonstrate the applicability of the skills and concepts they have learned in a real-world context, is increasingly prized in an instrumentalist higher education environment that views university as a training ground for the workplace (Armitage et al., 2016). While traditional assessment practice in law typically involves an applied aspect, it would be judged as lying at the lower end of the ‘continuum of authenticity’ (Mueller, 2006). In this highlight, I therefore propose the adoption of mooting not only as a more authentic, but also effective and efficient assessment practice. I consider how far mooting fulfils the essential characteristics of an authentic assessment (Ashford-Rowe, Herrington and Brown, 2014) and stands to offer a more inclusive and engaging learning experience for students. This approach to assessment could be adapted to suit various law modules both within and beyond Keele.