Assessment and Feedback

Formative assessment also know as assessment for learning is about the involvement of students in the learning process. It follows a loop of specific characteristics which starts with sharing the learning objectives or goals, followed by, effective questioning, self and peer assessment techniques and finally using marking and feedback techniques. Clarke (2005) and qcda.gov.uk

The following blog looks at assessment and feedback.
I will follow this posting with a blog on effective feedback.

I've just read an interesting article Peterson, E., & Irving, E. E. (2008). Secondary school students' conceptions of assessment and feedback. Learning and Instruction, 18(1), 238-250.
Peterson (2008) uses the work of Hornby to define assessment as having four main roles. Those of summative, formative, certificating and evaluative.
This evaluative assessment I interpret as being a way for parents, teachers schools students to judge the success of the system. accountability.
This New Zealand based article focused on Year 9 and 10 Secondary School students and their conception of assessment and feedback. A repeated theme in the article is that students think that assessment and feedback are inextricably linked and that assessment should be used for improving learning.

What is interesting in this article and relevant to this blog thread are the discussions that focus on "lack of student accountability and the impact of assessment".

This research concluded that although students understood that assessment could be used to help improve their learning, little evidence was found that they independently acted on it. (p244)
Instead of accepting responsibility for learning, students shifted the responsibility to the teacher by blaming or getting angry. Statements like "the teacher doesn't like me" and "being meant" were added to make the point.
Students measured their results against their friends and if the results were positive, they attributed it to their effort. (Not the teachers)
What I take as an important point here is that as teachers we must do something with the feedback we give our students. We must teach them the skills to act on the feedback we give them. Our responsibility and accountability is to give students process feedback, that is information that they can use to improve their work. We must then give the time to let students use that feedback.
"Grades are important but not enough" Students want outcome feedback along side corrective feedback that is constructive and guided. I take this on board and intend to slow my teaching down so students have time to appreciate my feedback and utilise it successfully.

What do you think? (This is good practice and should be happening!!!)

But alas to often Secondary School teachers are so pressured (teaching the knowledge) for the summative assessment they brush over the important stuff.
This knowledge drive is enhanced in Health and Physical Education as it is 100% internally assessed at Years 11, 12 13. That's Level 1, 2 and 3 of the Achievement Standard qualification system and Level 6,7,8 of NZC.

CHEERS SANDY