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A Guide to:

Effective Marking and Feedback

‘The acid test of effective formative assessment, is

not how well written the strategies are, or how

many good techniques are in use, but the extent to

which pupils are, as a result of our work, actively

engaged in thinking, learning and assessing that

learning’

Shirley Clarke

South Dartmoor Learning Together

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The Context:

At South Dartmoor, we have put marking and feedback at the core of our improvement planning,

making it a priority for all staff. Providing quality feedback is crucial for student engagement,

reflective thinking and progress in learning.

So, it seems like a good time to capture our best practice and put together a guide to what works

well when it comes to marking, assessment and feedback. This guide is packed with practical

advice and examples gathered from ‘Book-Looks’ in lessons to cross curricular work scrutinies.

Marking and feedback is one of the most crucial and impactful processes we can do as a teacher;

to show our students we value their learning; to reflect upon our own effectiveness as teachers; to

make strategic decisions around ‘next steps’ planning; to have the opportunity to share in a

personalised learning dialogue with each individual child that we teach.

Professor John Hattie has identified feedback as the major factor in pupil progress. This mirrors

the findings of Paul Black and Dylan Williams. Feedback is the core component of Assessment for

Learning; Assessment for Learning is the core component of ‘personalised’ learning.

So what does meaningful, manageable and motivating marking and feedback look like? How can

we all provide feedback that supports our learners in making outstanding progress whilst

managing our workload?

Marking Strategy (Formative Marking):

There are three main types of feedback that teachers can use and students can expect to see:

1. Acknowledgment marking – checking that the work has been completed and that there are no

obvious mistakes that need correcting; this will support the quality feedback that is given at key

points in the learning journey.

2. Quality teacher feedback (written or via learning conversations) – assessment without levels

which identifies what works well; what are the ‘next steps’ to improve; how is the student expected

to ‘respond’ to the feedback; what is the student’s core / ongoing target; what evidence is identified

that the student has made progress.

3. Quality student feedback (written or via learning conversations) – peer and self-assessment,

using specific and agreed criteria; students should be ‘guided’ through the process to ensure

outcomes focus on where students are now, where they need to be, what they can do to get there

and ultimately, what progress has been made.

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Written Feedback:

WWW and EBI:

What Works Well is an opportunity to celebrate success and progress in learning. This should

identify for the learner specific skills or knowledge where progress has been made in relation to

the aims and objectives of the curriculum study or in relation to personalised target setting. This is

also an opportunity to highlight where learning goals have been achieved through using coloured

highlighters or pens and even ‘progress’ stamps, such as a ‘smiley’.

The best practice for using Even Better If is to be specific; the use of command verbs, directing

students to ‘do’ something, ensures that learners act upon the advice rather than ‘considering’ the

feedback without responding to it. Marking out a space to respond can help to highlight the need

for a response. The danger: when comments are framed in such a way that suggests ‘this could

be even better if you had done……’, it leaves little expectation that learners will act on the advice.

Making Revisions and changes:

Plan, Do, Review is a visible thinking routine used widely across our curriculum. As part of this

best practice, use of a REWIND symbol automatically signposts for learners that they are required

to return to previous learning and make necessary revisions in order to improve the quality of their

learning outcome. In Maths, this would be corrections, whereas in English it could be additions!

This process is a vital part of working towards ‘mastery’.

Consolidation and application:

In order to build mastery, students need to consolidate the learning they have done; this may

involve applying skills in different contexts, through having a specific focus for the next stage in the

scheme of learning. Another, best practice model is where the learner is set a consolidation task to

complete in response to the feedback received. A PLAY symbol signifies this for the learner and

supports them in securing key learning.

Reflection:

Where the process of feedback involves reflection, teachers set interesting questions to engage

learners in ‘thinking’. Best practice opens opportunities for students to ponder, such as ‘What

would happen if….’ or ‘In what ways….’. Questions also act as a dialogue between teacher and

learner. Sometimes, they can be used as a quick checking mechanism for knowledge and

understanding. A QUESTION MARK symbol signposts this effectively and tells the student a

response is needed.

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Targets:

Where target setting connects closely with the learning objectives for schemes of learning, we see

our best practice. It is signposted by use of a TARGET symbol. Targets are primarily established

as Learning Goals which are to be achieved over time, in the majority of cases. In some areas,

these are identified as a Core Target, being carried with the student on their learning journey. A

range of approaches are used to identify progress in a target: smileys, progress stamps, book

marks labelled with the target and an evidence box and highlighting. Where it is easy to see when

progress is evident and has been identified, it acknowledges the successful outcomes for the

learner, which is highly motivational.

Marking for Literacy:

It isn’t helpful for you or the students to have every spelling, punctuation and grammar error

corrected in every extended piece of writing. However, best practice includes:

Correcting subject specific terminology, key words or high frequency words

Identifying key words for students to self-correct where they have been modelled

Feedback which requires students to check back through their work to identify (if they can

do this independently) and correct obvious errors in spelling, punctuation and grammar

Using clear and recognisable symbols for Literacy marking supports learners in being able to self-

correct and supports teachers in being able to identify literacy targets. Please utilise the following

common symbols:

Literacy Symbol Meaning

Sp in margin and word

underlined

Spelling error to be corrected

Punc in the margin and ? above the location

Punctuation error to be corrected

Circle the error Missing or misplaced capital letter to be corrected

// in text and Para in

margin New paragraph or Mark where new paragraph should be

above the stand out

word, phrase or sentence Accurate / Quality point; skills; use of language

Sense in the margin and

? above the unclear

section

Unclear expression; Does not make sense; Can be due to missing words or word order; Rewrite

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Peer and Self-Assessment:

Best practice can be seen when learners are clear about the success criteria against which they

are evaluating progress. Performance criteria needs to be accessible for all learners if they are to

be actively involved in setting personal targets, identifying next steps in learning and ascertaining

how they can best be taken. Best practice also shows that where learners define the assessment

criteria themselves, then motivation, engagement and understanding are beneficial outcomes of

the peer and self-assessment process.

Peer-Assessment

Best practice shows that peer-assessment should be developed first to gain a deeper

understanding of what constitutes progress and success. Creation of a ‘safe’ learning environment

is crucial; the role of ‘critical friend’ is helpful in this process. Where learners are equipped with

appropriate language, the outcomes are more impactful:

“The best part of your ….. is when you……”

“Your second paragraph does not meet the criteria for the top band because….;

consider……”

“The reason this is successful is because…..”

“Next time, you should …….”

I like ……because……; have you thought about…..?

Peer-assessment of understanding is also effective; asking a learning partner questions for

revision purposes can support this process.

Self- Assessment

Once learners are experienced peer-assessors, they can engage in positive self-reflection. Best

practice identifies and celebrates progress and successful outcomes and recognises opportunities

for improvement.

Regular peer and self-assessment should be an extension of the teaching, learning and

assessment, rather than a one off exercise.

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Learning Conversations:

Learning Conversations are a valuable form of formative feedback. Where verbal feedback is

given during a learning conversation, some departments use a stamp or ‘LC’ symbol to identify

this process has taken place. Best practice can be seen where students have recorded key points

from the dialogue to support acting upon it during their next learning steps.

Marking Symbols:

It is apparent from student voice that our students find marking symbols hugely helpful in

‘signposting’ where they are expected to respond to feedback and what form that response should

take. Best practice is seen where students are very clear what each symbol means, and symbols

are consistent across the different subject areas. The symbols listed below are the agreed cross-

curricular symbols. This is by no means a definitive list and departments retain creative control of

any additional symbols that are useful for their particular subject or style of learning.

Marking Symbol

Meaning

Play: Now do this task to progress your learning.

Rewind: Make revisions and changes on a previous piece of learning. Target: A smart (core) target to take forward with you and to reflect back on regularly. Next steps: Here is a follow-up learning opportunity or challenge to ‘stretch’ learning further.

Reflect and respond to this question: Think deeply and write your response down. This may be used for teacher/student dialogue.

A Learning Conversation has taken place: student ‘distils’ and records the main points or actions discussed.

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Appendix – Exemplar Marking and Feedback:

Signposting Feedback

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Tracking Progress:

Peer-Assessment

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Feedback Fortnight:

Responding to Feedback

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Learning Conversations

Marking for Literacy

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‘Next Steps’ Marking:

Explicit Target Setting Explicit reference to Learning Habits

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Colour-Coded Feedback and Evidence

of Improvement

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Learners as ‘active’ participants in

the feedback cycle

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Self-Assessment Exemplars