ASSESSMENT

Student Self-Assessment: Strategies for Success

31 March 2024/ By Zineb DJOUB

In traditional teaching and learning, decisions concerning what counts as knowledge and what needs to be learned and assessed lie in the teacher’s hands. Yet, with the internet, knowledge can be accessed and students can decide on their own what needs to be retrieved. We as teachers, should not be the only assessors, but plenty of opportunities need to be provided for our students to assess themselves through integrating self-assessment. This assessment approach can be a powerful tool for fostering deep learning. Nevertheless, when it comes to incorporating it into practice, we may not always make the right choices regarding the method and its appropriate use.

So, to support you in harnessing the benefits of self-assessment, this blog post aims to guide you through the process by providing the necessary strategies and tips. But, to achieve such a goal, we need first to understand the objective and nature of self-assessment.

What is self-assessment?

Self-assessment is an alternative assessment where students are involved in making judgments about their achievement or work based on specific standards and/or criteria and setting decisions to make further progress in learning.

This means that to learn from self-assessment, students not only have to gather evidence of their learning but also analyze their work in terms of the goal/standard; make decisions about what they need to do to improve; know what to do to close the gap; and monitor their progress towards achieving this.

So, self-assessment is not simply a self-grading process where students assess their performance against a set of criteria, but it involves making judgments on how learning needs to improve.

Reflection is, thus, the core element of self-assessment since it underpins all its stages. It is not only about questioning one’s abilities, but it is also the gateway towards negotiating plans, and criteria and making decisions towards achievement.

Self-assessment benefits

Self-assessment can encourage students to take charge of their learning and develop their autonomy. This is because it enables them to diagnose their weak areas and gain insights into their overall ability and their skills profile.

As a result, students get sensitive to their own needs instead of relying entirely on their teacher’s opinions.

There is also evidence that self-assessment leads to changing students’ perceptions about the value of their assessment. Ross et al. (1999) data shows the reasons behind students’ preferences for self-assessment instead of being assessed by the teacher alone.

These students expressed that involving them in setting assessment criteria allowed them to understand what was expected from them, enabled them to communicate information about their performance, and got information that could be used to improve their work.

Further, research shows that self-assessment contributed to positive achievement effects. It was found that students with self-monitoring performed better than those with feedback only from the teacher (McDonald & Boud,2003; Schunk,1996). This is mainly if they are provided with training or direct instruction on how to self-assess (Ross et al.,1999).

Self-assessment also opens up opportunities for communication which values students’ voices and invites teachers to share control of assessment with students.

Listening to students’ views, choices and decisions in learning while discussing and evaluating their effectiveness and value in groups is likely to boost students’ self-esteem and encourage them to do their best to improve.

Self-assessment examples for students

Various self-assessment methods/tools are available that you can adapt and customize based on your classroom’s subject area, grade level, and specific learning objectives.

Here are some examples of these methods.

Journals/learning logs

Students record daily or weekly reflections on their learning, challenges, and achievements. This helps them track their learning journey over time. You can include prompts or questions to help make students’ reflections more structured.

Learning portfolios

A portfolio is a collection of students’ work (e.g., notes, assignments, audio-video recordings, etc.) that reflects their development, achievement, interest, and motivation in the form of notebooks, box files, loose-leaf binders, and scrapbooks.

This allows them to track their progress, showcase their achievements, and reflect on their growth over time.

Self-evaluation checklists

Self-evaluation checklists include items that you’ve already introduced to students (what they’ve learned).

Students use them to check out what needs to be included in a piece of work. So, they serve as useful reminders of specific expectations and can support students to focus on tasks when working independently.

Examples of tasks: writing assignments, presentations, science experiments, math problem-solving, project-based learning, and physical education activities.

Reflection sheets/Exit tickets

These are used at the end of lessons or units to encourage students to reflect on what they have learned, what questions they still have, and how they can apply their knowledge.

They include questions or prompts such as: What have I learned today? What am I finding hard or challenging about the assignment? How can I meet my goals?

To learn more about this self-assessment tool, check out my Exist Ticket Journal for All Subjects

Technology tools

Digital tools and platforms for self-assessment exist, such as online surveys, digital portfolios, self-assessment quizzes, and blogs. These tools can enhance accessibility, organization, and engagement in self-assessment activities.

Self-assessment strategies

It’s important to understand that there are two types of responsibilities when implementing self-assessment: shared responsibility and individual responsibility.

We share the responsibility by providing guidance, creating a supportive environment, designing assessment tools, offering feedback, and facilitating opportunities for self-assessment.

Individual responsibility pertains to the specific duties and actions that each student takes within the self-assessment process, including actively engaging in self-assessment activities, reflecting on their learning, setting goals, evaluating their progress, and using feedback to improve.

To integrate effectively these key aspects of self-assessment, here are the essential strategies you need to implement.

# Identify the assessment objectives

Before selecting any assessment tool and setting the assessment tasks, you need to be aware of the need to identify first the assessment objectives of a given course. The assessment objectives should address both course goals and students’ needs and interests.

Relating these objectives to the assessment process is decisive in defining the assessment criteria and deciding the assessment content, the kind of assessment tool that can fit such objective, the way it needs to be integrated more effectively, and the assessment conditions required.

# Provide clear expectations

Students’ reluctance to assess themselves is expected, mainly in contexts where they are not familiar with this process.

So, it’s necessary to clarify the objective of using a given self-assessment procedure in relation to the subject being taught and the assessment criteria on which students’ assignments or performance will be judged.

You can provide them with examples of self-assessment work which have been marked and commented on. Students can also decide which criteria should be used to assess a particular task.

# Train students

Students’ training in assessing properly their work is of paramount importance.

You should make the cycle of recording, self-assessment, and reflection a routine part of the learning experience while teaching strategies for reflection, goal-setting, self-monitoring, self-evaluation, and providing coaching, repetition, and reinforcement.

# Align self-assessment practices with exams

Self-assessment must be the means through which students learn and engage in the course and thus prepare well for its exams.

Therefore, it is important to align self-assessment practices with exams in a way that improves students’ understanding and reinforces their learning.

For example, if exams require students to demonstrate critical thinking skills, self-assessment activities should include prompts or tasks that encourage students to analyze, evaluate, and synthesize information independently.

Additionally, incorporating self-assessment questions or tasks similar to exam questions can help students become familiar with the exam format and build confidence in their abilities.

# Offer timely and constructive feedback

Providing timely and constructive feedback on students’ work and supporting them with guidance through interaction and dialogues are essential components of self-assessment.

In effect, you need to keep ongoing communication with students within a climate of openness and trust. Herein, their needs, interests, and learning expectations are voiced and their involvement in making sense of your feedback is enhanced.

Still, teacher’s feedback, in this context, does not entail negotiating the obtained mark and questioning the assessment reliability, but comparing their actual performance with the required performance, seeking your guidance, identifying the learning gap, and reflecting on how to close that gap.

In conclusion, self-assessment is a powerful tool for promoting students’ accountability, fostering metacognition, and learning progress. By embracing this assessment approach, we pave the way for a more engaging, meaningful, and student-centred educational experience.

So, let’s harness the power of self-assessment to cultivate lifelong learners equipped for success.

References

McDonald, B., & Boud, D. (2003). The impact of self-assessment on achievement: The effects of self-assessment training on performance in external examinations. Assessment in Education, 10(2), 209-220.

Ross, J. A., Rolheiser, C., & Hogaboam-Gray, A. (1999). Effect of self-evaluation on narrative writing. Assessing Writing, 6(1), 107-132.

Schunk, D. H. (1996). Goal and self-evaluative influences during children’s cognitive skill learning. American Educational Research Journal, 33(2), 359-382.