For years, I held a very teacher-centered view of assessment. I would grade student work and use that to modify lessons and pull small groups. Students would receive a grade, which would then motivate them to work harder. Later, I started realizing that my feedback could help students determine what they knew, what they didn’t know, and what they needed to do next. Here, assessment shifted from a teacher task to a conversation between the teacher and the student. However, it remained one-sided until I started implementing self-assessments and peer assessments. I was skeptical at first. I thought students would cheat or, at a minimum, that they wouldn’t take the process seriously. I wasn’t sure their peer assessment feedback would be accurate.
To my surprise, students took the process seriously. They provided practical peer feedback and engaged in honest self-reflection. There were some growing pains (a topic I’ll be exploring in the next two weeks) but the key word there is growing. I watched my students grow in their self-awareness and metacogniton. I watched them grow into more self-directed learners. Meanwhile, this student ownership freed me up to provide better, more individualized feedback, through student conferencing.
In my latest article, I explore what happens when students own the assessment process. It’s the first in a three-part series on empowered assessment.
Empowering Students to Own the Assessment Process
Assessment is all around us. If you’re a skater at a skate park, you’re engaging in self-assessment every time you reflect on your progress and plan next steps. If you’re a runner training for a marathon, you look at time splits and compare it to your goals. If you’re a musician, you’re engaging in assessment every time you listen to yourself play and make modifications on your approach. As an author, you engage in self-assessment when you revise your work.
It’s not always individual. Often, assessment happens in community. If you’re a chef, you’re engaging in peer assessment when you ask a trusted fellow chef, “how does this taste?” If you’re an artist you might ask for an extra set of eyes on a particular project. If you’re an engineer, you might observe users to see if your design is working. If you do any kind of creative work, both self-assessment and peer assessment are vital for improving your craft.
It helps you refine your process and helps you improve your products. Assessment helps us figure how what we know, what we don’t know, and what steps we need to take in the future to master a skill or understand a concept at a deeper level. But what does this mean in the classroom? It starts with self-assessment. Here students engage in goal-setting: where they set goals, plan their approach, and keep track of the progress. They also engage in self-reflections. Here, they can reflect on their learning process but also focus on the strengths and weaknesses of their products, which then leads to new iterations. A similar option is a student survey with multiple choices, checkboxes, and Likert scales. In some cases, students might use a self-assessment rubric. Students are able to look at the progression from emerging to mastering with specific descriptions in various categories. They are able to gain an accurate view of how they are doing, while also having a clear picture of where they need to be. Students might also use checklists. These can be a powerful diagnostic tool that students use before, during, and after a task. When projects are done, they can present their work in a portfolio, where they reflect on what they’ve learned.
Peer assessment is also important. One option is the 20-minute peer feedback system. This begins with one student sharing their work or pitching an idea while the other student actively listens. It then moves into a chance to ask clarifying questions, get feedback, respond to feedback, and chart out next steps.
Another option is structured feedback with sentence stems. Or you could do a feedback carousel. Each group gets a stack of sticky notes and offers anonymous feedback as they move from group to group. Or you could keep it more open-ended with peer coaching. Students interview each other about the process, guide reflection, and provide feedback. We often think of classroom assessment as a conversation between teachers and students. But in life, students won’t always have a teacher to grade their work or provide them with necessary feedback. This is why we need self-assessment and peer assessment. The more we can integrate this into our lessons, the better prepared our students will be for the creative life.
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Let's Work Together!
I would love to work with your school, district, or conference! You might be interested in keynotes or workshops on intentional tech integration (including AI), deeper learning, PBL, and empowering students and improving student agency (including student ownership of the assessment process).
I still have limited availability this fall but I still have some spots open. I'd also love to do something more in-depth throughout the school year. My workshops include access to my self-paced courses so participants can continue their professional learning after the day's event.
Please reach out to me at john@spencereducation.com or fill out the form on my speaking page, and I'll get back to you as soon as possible. I can send you a PD catalog with all the details.