This thesis reports on research that explores the factors that influence academic assessment practices. It specifically looks at this phenomenon from the perspective of a group of academics who all teach first year courses offered at a multidisciplinary science faculty at a large Queensland university. This research is significant because assessment comes with high stakes for students and can be especially daunting for first year students. Planning and implementing quality assessment tasks are expected of all teaching academics, and so gaining some insight into how academics carry out this crucial role and the factors that influence their practice is important. Furthermore, a review of extant literature reveals a gap in the research around how science academics plan and design assessment. A phenomenological approach has been adopted to conduct this study using semi-structured interviews to gather data from nine participants who represent a cross-section of the faculty teaching staff. The data has been analysed by applying inductive coding to reveal the main themes discussed by the participants.