Why does assessment for learning work

One key to addressing both of those issues that we understand at our Envision schools is the understanding that they are inextricably linked. While in some circles, assessment is a top-down process done by teachers who decide where students are on the continuum of learning, we engage students directly in assessing their own progress. This is part of our Know, Do, Reflect approach to learning.

Here's an illustration of that process:. The reflection step in this on-going learning cycle is an essential element where assessment happens. Reflection invites students and teachers to recognize growth and accomplishments as well as identify opportunities for improvement and development.

It is not separate from the learning process: It is an integral step on the path to deeper learning -- it's assessment as learning. This also provides a vital step in being able to evaluate the quality of their own work and become more self-regulated learners. Giving effective feedback. Providing feedback that moves learning forward is a key, and complex, teaching skill. We know from research that feedback is hard to get right.

Some of the key features in quality feedback are:. In all this, the aim of assessment for learning is to encourage our students to increasingly think for themselves, and have the ability and desire to regulate their own learning. Download the paper today to learn about effective feedback, close the gap between where your learners are and where they need to be, and get access to exclusive professional development events!

Children in school are free-will beings who do not necessarily like or trust their classmates or teacher. They can feel threatened by the attitudes and behavior of those around them in the classroom environment. Students can and will lie about the qualities of their own work, their friend's work, or in response to injunctions from a teacher.

None of this should surprise us since adults also look to protect themselves from harm and to maximize their self-worth. Even when asked to evaluate their own work, students will deceive themselves about how good their work is and lie to others about it Brown and Harris, This can happen because, as novices Kruger and Dunning, , students are not as able to see quality as teachers, for example, and part of it comes from lack of safety and trust in the social environment.

Creating an environment in which students are encouraged and supported in telling and receiving the truth about their work without fear of recrimination or alienation from others is necessary and hard. A f L practices can and do contribute to the acquisition of those skills.

However, it does so by being a curricular and pedagogical practice, not an assessment process. To conclude, assessment is a separate entity i.

I certainly want A f L to co-exist with assessment; but I consider A f L to be an insightful pedagogical practice that ought to lead to better learning outcomes and much more capable learners.

However, given the threats to the validity of interpretations and judgments arising from these A f L practices, the approach to formative assessment embedded in A f L does not provide us with the verifiability and legitimacy that assessment requires. In A f L, much of the inferential process about what to pay attention to, how to interpret it, and what response to make is located in the mind of the teacher; it simply isn't available to others.

In contrast, assessments are expected to provide evidence of validity and reliability; this needs to be carried out in an open-space in which multiple eyes can examine the evidence and query the inferential processes behind the decisions.

There simply is insufficient time in an A f L pedagogy for inspection of inferences, so A f L does not meet the standards implied by validity expectations of systematic evidence gathering about learning.

A f L is an excellent but difficult teaching framework, but it is not assessment which depends upon verifiability for its legitimacy as a tool for decision-making.

All datasets analyzed for this study are cited in the manuscript and the supplementary files. The author confirms being the sole contributor of this work and has approved it for publication. The author declares that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest. Standards for Educational and Psychological Testing. Google Scholar.

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Fletcher, P. Johnston, and M. East and S. May Auckland, NZ: Pearson, — Assessment of Student Achievement. New York, NY: Routledge. CrossRef Full Text. The future of self-assessment in classroom practice: reframing self-assessment as a core competency. Suggate and E.

Reese London: Routledge , — Auckland, NZ: Dunmore Publishing. Singapore: Pearson Education South Asia. Butler, R. Are positive illusions about academic competence always adaptive, under all circumstances: new results and future directions. Crooks, T. McGraw, P. Peterson, and E. Baker Oxford: Elsevier , — Threats to the valid use of assessments.

Harris, L. Opportunities and obstacles to consider when using peer- and self-assessment to improve student learning: case studies into teachers' implementation. Not playing the game: student assessment resistance as a form of agency. Understanding classroom feedback practices: a study of New Zealand student experiences, perceptions, and emotional responses.

Analysis of New Zealand primary and secondary student peer- and self-assessment comments: applying Hattie and Timperley's feedback model. McInerney, G. Brown, and G. Hattie, J. London: Routledge. What is the best way to get started with AFL? Here are four straightforward ways to introduce AFL into your teaching.

Try out as many of these activities as you can. Afterwards, reflect on your experiences and consider how you can develop the technique to fit into your regular teaching schedule. Questioning and discussion: Think Pair Share What is it? Then each learner discusses their ideas with a partner before the conversation is opened to the whole class. This strategy encourages all learners to get involved in classroom participation. It gives them time to formulate their own ideas as well as an opportunity for all learners to share their thinking with at least one other learner.

What happens? You can use this routine after asking the class any open question. For example, after reading a chapter of a book, the teacher asks all learners to reflect quietly on a question about it for one or two minutes.

During this time learners record their own ideas on paper. Next, the teacher instructs them to turn to their neighbour, or a small group of neighbours, and discuss the question for several minutes. Then, the teacher calls on several pairs to tell the class what their ideas were. Feedback from the teacher: Comment-only marking What is it? Choose one piece of work per month on which to give detailed written feedback to your learners. The feedback should be focused on success criteria that the learners are made aware of.

Include specific praise about aspects of the work that the learner has done well and give learners specific targets for improving their work. Feedback can be given orally if you prefer. At the start of the next lesson, give back the work with the comments. Then allow time for the learners to improve the assignment, responding to your comments. After the learners have improved their work, you could give out grades so that the learners know what level they were working at.

Feedback from the learner: Traffic lights What is it? This technique is a quick way to find out how confident learners feel about a new concept or skill that has been covered in a lesson. You could give each learner a set of small coloured circles to hold up. Another way of doing this with several topics or concepts would be to give your learners a handout with a grid on which they can identify their understanding level with a smiley, sad or neutral face.

Peer feedback on an assignment What is it? This activity introduces learners to the peer feedback process. Learners give each other feedback about an assignment that they have just completed. These are the qualities that make a good piece of work such as the effective use of language or using evidence to support an argument in an essay.

The first time you try peer assessment with your class, it is useful to scaffold the activity so that your learners know what to do. While your learners are giving each other feedback, walk around the class to monitor the feedback that each pair is giving.

You can join in discussions to add your opinion if learners need some help giving feedback. At the end of the session, ask your learners how they found the experience. Encourage them by praising how they have done the task and emphasise how this process takes time and practice to be effective.

Here is some helpful advice for implementing AFL in your classroom:. Here is a printable list of interesting articles and websites on the topics that we have looked at. Glossary Active learning Learning which engages students and challenges their thinking, using a variety of activities. Assessment for learning Essential teaching strategies during learning to help teachers and students evaluate progress in terms of understanding and skills acquisition, providing guidance and feedback for subsequent teaching and learning.

Cold calling Questioning technique in which the teacher selects a learner at random to answer a question, instead of learners putting up their hands to answer a question.

Critical thinking The ability, underlying all rational discourse and enquiry, to assess and evaluate analytically particular assertions or concepts in the light of either evidence or wider contexts. Ego-specific feedback Feedback to the learner that focuses on their personal qualities. Feedback Information about how the learner is doing in their efforts to reach a goal. Feedback could also come from the learner to the teacher about how they feel the teacher could help them learn better.

Formative assessment Activity that provides students with developmental feedback on their progress during the learning programme and informs the design of their next steps in learning. Mixed ability A class that includes learners at several different levels of ability. Objectively Based on facts, and not influenced by personal feelings, interpretations or prejudice. Open question A question that cannot be answered with a one-word answer, e. By reflecting and evaluating what they have experienced and how, students and teachers can find ways of improving their learning.

Reflective practice The process through which the teacher continuously learns from the experience of planning, practice, assessment and evaluation and can improve the quality of teaching and learning over time.

Reinforce Strengthen or support understanding, skill or learning. Scaffold learning The teacher provides appropriate guidance and support to enable students to build on their current level of understanding progressively, to acquire confidence and independence in using new knowledge or skills.

Subject curriculum The content and skills contained within a syllabus applied across sequential stages of student learning. These stages normally refer to school year levels, and therefore a particular age of learner. Success criteria Success criteria summarise the key steps or elements the student needs in order to meet a learning intention. Summative assessment Typically end-of-learning assessment tasks such as examinations and tests, to measure and record the level of learning achieved, for progression to the next level or for certification.

Syllabus A complete description of the content, assessment arrangements and performance requirements for a qualification.