The Central Role of Students in

Formative Assessment

Heidi Andrade, Angela Lui, Christopher Valle, Fei Chen

1

Purposes of this Presentation

• To make a case for students as valuable sources of

formative assessment information

• To propose general principles regarding the conditions

under which students can play a central role in formative

assessment processes

2

Outline

• Learners as agents: A bit of theory

• Peer and self-assessment: A bit of research

• Conditions under which students can play a meaningful role

in formative assessment

• Conclusions

LEARNERS AS AGENTS

Students as sources as well as recipients of feedback

Where am I going? How am I going? and Where to next? An ideal

learning environment or experience occurs when both teachers and

students seek answers to each of these questions. Too often, teachers

limit students’ opportunities to receive information about their

performances in relation to any of these questions by assuming that

responsibility for the students…. Students, too often, view feedback as

the responsibility of someone else, usually teachers, whose job it is to

provide feedback information by deciding for the students how well

they are going, what the goals are, and what to do next. (Hattie &

Timperley, 2007, pp. 88 & 101)

If formative assessment is exclusively in the hands of

teachers, then it is difficult to see how students can

become empowered and develop the self-regulation skills

needed to prepare them for learning outside university and

throughout life. (Nicol & Macfarlane-Dick, 2006, p. 200)

Students themselves can be thought of as the definitive

source of feedback, given their constant and instant access

to their own thoughts, actions, and works, and their easy

access to each other. (Andrade, 2010)

oPeer assessment

oSelf-assessment

Learners as Agents

• Peer assessment: A process during which students

consider the quality of a peer’s work, judge the extent to

which it reflects targeted goals or criteria, and make

suggestions for revisions (Topping, 2013)

• Self-assessment

Learners as Agents

• Peer assessment

• Self-assessment: A process during which students

reflect on the quality of their own work, judge the degree

to which it reflects explicitly stated goals or criteria, and

revise accordingly (Andrade & Boulay, 2003)

Learners as Agents

• No peer or self-grading.

• Given what we know about human nature, we

believe that peer and self-assessment should be

formative and not count toward formal grades or

scores.

Learners as Agents

Peer and self-assessment can prompt students to

internalize self-regulated learning processes

Model adapted from Barry J. Zimmerman (2002)

Forethought (goal setting)

Reflection(next steps)

Performance(progress

monitoring)

Research on Peer Assessment

• Generally positive relationships found between peer

assessment and learning, achievement, and social

skills, particularly in non-competitive cultures

• Increased and improved quality of help seeking, help

giving, and students’ attitudes about asking for help

• Beneficial to both the assessor and the assessed

Research on Peer Assessment

Consistency of peer assessment with teacher assessment:

oMixed results, depending on training, learning culture,

age, and gender

oFemale peer assessors tend to be more consistent with

teacher assessment than male students

oImproved consistency between peer and teacher

assessments with training in key assessment skills

oHigher consistency when PA is formative

Research on Self-Assessment

Positive relationships between self-assessment,

achievement, and learning:

•Median effect sizes = .40 to .45 (Brown & Harris, 2013)

•Training in diverse SA strategies led to learning gains

•SA is most effective when supported by rubrics, modeled

examples, and teacher guidance

Research on Self-Assessment

Consistency of self-assessment with teacher assessment:

o Generally weak to moderate positive correlations

o Self-assessment is more consistent with teacher ratings when it is:

• Scaffolded by the teacher

• Not counted toward a grade or score

• Done by older students; younger students tend to overestimate

• Done by high performing students

• Done regarding familiar, predictable tasks

Perceptions of Peer and Self-Assessment

• Student perceptions of PA depend on context and culture.

o The perceived value decreases in places that emphasize

summative assessment and competition

• Students report enjoying SA but have some concerns:

o Preference for teacher assessment and feedback

o Psychological safety when self-assessments are made public

Student and Teacher Perceptions of Peer and Self-Assessment

• The voices of students and teachers in IS223, Brooklyn, NY

(videos belong to Students at the Center, a Jobs for the Future Project)

– Peer assessment [0:00-1:30]

– Self-assessment [3:25-4:25]

Conditions for Effective Peer and Self-assessment

1. Mastery-oriented classroom

2. Clear learning goals and success criteria

3. Feedback

4. Opportunities to revise

Conditions for Effective Peer and Self-assessment

1.Mastery-oriented classroom: trusting, respectful

learning environment valuing constructive

critiques of work

Conditions for Effective Peer and Self-assessment

2.Clear Learning Goals and Success Criteria:

Clearly articulated learning goals and

expectations for a task should be shared with

students, so they can refer to them as they

provide feedback

Conditions for Effective Peer and Self-assessment

3. Feedback: focused on the quality of work, the extent to

which it meets criteria and expectations, and how to

close any gaps.

• Where are you/am I going?

• Where are you/am I now?

• How to close the gap?

Conditions for Effective Peer and Self-assessment

4.Opportunities for revision: using feedback to

improve quality of work and deepen learning

Summary

Effective peer and self-assessment require:

•Training, guidance, and support from teachers

•A mastery-oriented climate

•Clear goals and criteria

•Constructive feedback protocols

•Opportunities for revision

•Emphasis on feedback, NOT grades

Conclusion

• Under the right conditions, students can become useful

sources of as well as recipients of feedback

• As a result, students can learn more, get better grades

and test scores, and become more self-regulated

learners