Classroom assessment advice 7–10
Strategies that are useful in knowing where students are now, and where to next, in the context of classroom practice.
When planning and programming, consider formative assessment strategies that assist to know where students are now and where to next. [1]
Learning intentions and success criteria
Learning intentions and success criteria assist you to articulate the purpose of a learning task and to make judgements about the quality of student achievement. They help students focus on the task or activity taking place, the related learning, and provide a framework for reflection and feedback. Online tools can assist implementation of this formative assessment strategy.
Evidence-based strategies
Eliciting evidence-based strategies allows you to determine the next steps in learning and assists you in evaluating the impact of teaching and learning activities. Strategies that may be added to a learning sequence to elicit evidence include all student quick writes, exit tickets, mini whiteboards (actual or digital), Kahoot!, Socrative, and quick quizzes to ensure that individual student progress can be monitored and the lesson sequence adjusted based on formative data collected.
Feedback
Feedback is designed to close the gap between current and desired performance by informing teacher and student of their next steps (AITSL 2017). AITSL provides a factsheet to support evidence-based feedback.
Peer feedback
Peer feedback is a structured process where students evaluate the work of their peers by providing valuable feedback in relation to learning intentions and success criteria. It can be supported by online tools.
Self-regulated learning
Self-regulated learning opportunities assist students in taking ownership of their own learning. A variety of strategies can be employed and some examples include reflection tasks, Think-Pair-Share, KWLH charts, learning portfolios and learning logs.
The primary role of assessment is to establish where students are in their learning so that teaching can be differentiated, and further learning progress can be monitored over time.
Feedback that focuses on improving tasks, processes and student self-regulation is the most effective. Students engaging with feedback can take many forms including formal, informal, formative, summative, interactive, demonstrable, visual, written, verbal and non-verbal.
What works best update 2020 (CESE 2020a)
[1] Black P and Wiliam D (2009) Developing the theory of formative assessment, Educational Assessment Evaluation and Accountability, 21:5–31.