Self-assessment

Self-Assessment refers to training students to evaluate their own work for the purpose of improving it. To become capable evaluators of their work, students must have a clear target the opportunity to help create a definition of quality work feedback the opportunity to correct or self-adjust their work before they turn it in. Self-Assessment also includes reflective activities in which students are prompted to consider the strengths and weaknesses of their work, make plans for improvement, or integrate the assignment with previous learning.

Students learned how to improve their work when they participated in reflective activities, the remaining element of Self-assessment. Reflective thinking has historically been promoted as a central part of learning.

In order to support student learning, classroom assessment needs to involve students deeply in the assessment process, provide specific, descriptive feedback during the learning, and include evaluative feedback as required to communicate and report progress over time. This helps build a shared language that everyone can use to describe growth and learning.

There are several essential elements of the classroom assessment process that supports student learning. To ensure success for all learners, especially those who struggle, students need to know what they already know, what needs to be learned and what success looks like. Students also need to learn how to guide their own learning through being involved in setting and using criteria, giving themselves feedback for learning (self-assessment), setting goals, collecting evidence and communicating that evidence of learning to others.

In order to communicate learning meaningfully to a variety of stakeholders, teachers involve students in collecting and organizing a broad range of evidence or proof of learning. Further, as teachers review evidence of learning from three different sources (observations of students engaged in learning, conversations with students about their learning, and reviewing their products (i.e. notebooks, tests, quizzes, projects, assignments, electronic data), they compare each student's learning not to other students but to the learning destination. This requires that teachers not only understand what students need to know and do but that they understand the level of quality appropriate for the course or grade level.

When students are engaged in the assessment process, they learn to self-monitor their way to success. Teachers achieve deep student involvement through assessment activities that provide assessment data and help students understand what is important and what quality looks like.

Why Is Student Self-Assessment Important?

Now that so much assessment is situated in daily classroom life, there are numerous opportunities to engage students in the assessment process. They can compare their work over time, create evaluation criteria for a project, discuss their strategies for reading difficult texts, work with peers to evaluate and revise a piece of writing, and judge their reading preferences and habits by reviewing their reading journals. When students are collaborators in assessment, they develop the habit of self-reflection. They learn the qualities of good work, how to judge their work against these qualities, how to step back from their work to assess their own efforts and feelings of accomplishment, and how to set personal goals.. These are qualities of self-directed learners, not passive learners. As teachers model, guide, and provide practice in self-assessment, students learn that assessment is not something apart from learning or something done to them, but a collaboration between teachers and students, and an integral part of how they learn and improve. Intentionally involving your students in the assessment process helps students to become lifelong learners. 

Students as Active Partners

Involving students in the assessment and evaluation process is an essential part of balanced assessment. When students become partners in the learning process, they gain a better sense of themselves as readers, writers, and thinkers. As students reflect on what they have learned and on how they learn, they develop the tools to become more effective learners.

Students need to examine their work and think about what they do well and in which areas they still need help. To guide students in understanding the process of self-evaluation, you may want to have them complete a Self-Reflection/Self-Assessment sheet of your own.

Once students have reflected on their learning, they are ready to set new goals for themselves. As they work toward these goals, they should be encouraged to reflect on their learning journey at regular intervals. You might have students record their observations during these periods of self-reflection to help reaffirm their goals and motivate them to move toward meeting each goal. With practice, students who self-assess become more conscious learners, able to apply knowledge of their learning needs and styles to new areas of study.

As students become more active participants in the assessment process, they will begin to evaluate their strengths and attitudes, analyze their progress in a particular area, and set goals for future learning.

Self-Assessment Methods

Self-assessment can take many forms, including:

· writing conferences

· discussion (whole-class or small-group)

· reflection logs

· weekly self-evaluations

· self-assessment checklists and inventories

· teacher-student interviews

These types of self-assessment share a common theme: they ask students to review their work to determine what they have learned and what areas of confusion still exist. Although each method differs slightly, all should include enough time for students to consider thoughtfully and evaluate their progress.

When students understand the criteria for good work before they begin a literacy activity, they are more likely to meet those criteria. The key to this understanding is to make the criteria clear. As students evaluate their work, you may want them to set up their own criteria for good work. Help them with the clarity of their criteria as they assess their own work.

Students' observations and reflections can also provide valuable feedback for refining your instructional plan. As your students answer questions about their learning and the strategies they use, think about their responses to find out what they are really learning and to see if they are learning what you are teaching them.

As students participate in the self-assessment process, they will have many opportunities to collect pieces of their writing and react to things they have read. Individual student conferences can help guide these periods of self-reflection and reinforce the idea that collecting and evaluating work are important steps in self-assessment.