The purpose of the current comparative multiple-case study was to understand graduate students' perceptions of the collaborative construction of course assignments. Data were gathered from the graduate student interviews, class observations, and relevant student artifacts. With this collected data, six case studies were generated. The study revealed that being able to design assignments based on student perceived goals gave these participants a sense of control over their own learning. This in turn encouraged them to take responsibility for their own learning and motivated their involvement. However, some participants expressed that their previous experiences of being dependent on teachers to make decisions for them made it difficult to be fully involved in the assessment process. The current study also claims that student lack of self-confidence in their knowledge and power relations between students hindered some participants from giving feedback to their peers on the assignments. The study draws attentions to the need for a partnership between faculty and graduate students in assessment. In such partnership, the instructor and students jointly own assessment.