“Assessment for learning” culture
in the classroom… and beyond
Linda Allal
University of Geneva
linda.allal@unige.ch
L. Allal, June 15, 2011
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Outline
1.
2.
3.
4.
Assessment for learning
Assessment for learning (AfL) culture
AfL culture in the classroom
AfL culture… beyond the classroom
L. Allal, June 15, 2011
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1. Assessment for learning (AfL)
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
Concept introduced by the Assessment Reform Group (ARG),
UK, 1999, as a priority for classroom assessment
Definition (2002): "Assessment for Learning is the process of
seeking and interpreting evidence for use by learners and their
teachers to decide where the learners are in their learning, where
they need to go and how best to get there.”

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Widespread influence  International network : Chester (UK),
2001; Portland (USA), 2005; Dunedin (NZ), 2009;
Bergen/Solstrand (NO), 2011
Definition (2009): "Assessment for Learning is part of everyday
practice by students, teachers and peers that seeks, reflects upon
and responds to information from dialogue, demonstration and
observation in ways that enhance ongoing learning."
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1.1 Key characteristics of AfL

AfL is formative assessment :
assures adaptation of teaching and learning activities in ways that
enable students to attain intended learning outcomes (Bloom, 1968)

In particular, formative assessment that:



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Is embedded in ongoing instructional activities
Fosters active student involvement in assessment (selfassessment, peer assessment, metacognitive reflection)
Concerns not only cognitive aspects of learning, but also
affective and social aspects (motivation, attitudes toward
learning, cooperation in learning)
At the heart of AfL: “interactive” formative assessment (Allal, 1979;
Allal & Pelgrims Ducrey, 2000); “informel” formative assessment (RuizPrimo, 2011)
(See review by Wiliam, 2011)
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1.2 Assessment for vs. of learning
Distinction, made from the beginning in relation to concepts
introduced by Bloom et al. (1971):


Assessment for learning
(actively supports student
learning)
Formative assessment


Assessment of learning
(aimed at grading, reporting,
accountability)
Summative assessment
3rd distinction: assessment as learning
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1.2 Assessment for vs. of learning

Limitations of this distinction:
- Assessment for : a purpose or function of assessment
- Assessment of : an object of assessment

Assessment for learning (as a purpose) must necessarily start
with assessment of one or more aspects of learning (as an
object): learning progression, learning strategies, learning outcomes,
attitudes towards learning,…

Compatibility or even synergy between AfL and summative
assessment ? (Allal, 1991; Harlan, 2005 ; Wiliam, 2000)

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Studies of classroom practice show there is a zone of overlap
between formative and summative assessment
Three cases in this interface that support student learning and can
be considered as part of AfL
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1.3 AfL encompassing formative assessment &
some cases in the formative-summative interface
Classroom assessment
Assessment for Learning
Formative
assessment
Summative assessment
A
B
C
External Assessments
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1.3 Cases of AfL in the formative-summative
interface
A.
Information from formative assessment taken into account in
determining a summative assessment F S
e.g., teacher takes into account observations of a student during math
workshops, in addition to test results, when determining the student’s math
grade in report card
B.
Information from a summative assessment is used in a
formative manner S  F
e.g., assessments of biology reports (included in semester grades) are used to
organize new instructional activities aimed at enhancing comprehension and
correcting errors
C.
An assessment incorporates phases or components that have a
formative function while leading to a summative outcome
e.g., preparation of a writing portfolio, with intermediate tasks of self-assessment
and peer assessment, which when finished is the basis for a final grade
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1.3 AfL encompassing formative assessment &
some cases in the formative-summative interface
Classroom assessment
Assessment for Learning
Formative
assessment
Summative assessment
A
B
C
External Assessments
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2. Assessment for Learning culture
Two meanings of classroom culture and school culture:
culture as a general, socially transmitted framework common to
all/most classrooms and schools (Cuban, 1984; Gallego & Cole,
2001; Mehan, 1997)
culture as a contextualized, socially constructed framework
elaborated in each classroom or school (“microculture” - Erickson,
1988; Seeger et al., 1989)
My focus here:
Assessment for Learning culture as constructed
in classroom and school settings
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2.1 Conceptual frameworks
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Shepard (2000): The role of assessment in a learning culture (social
constructivist conceptions of learning)
Birenbaum, Kimron & Shilton (2011)
Nested relationships between:
- Assessment for Learning
- Classroom assessment culture
- School-based professional learning community
Framework for our research in Geneva:
the perspective of “situated” learning and cognition
- Vygotsky (1978): scaffolding and the role of tools in the mediation of
learning
- Wenger (1998) : dialectical relation between the individual and the social in
a community of practice
- Cobb et al. (1997): “taken-as-shared” meaning of concepts elaborated in
classroom interactions
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2.2 Components of AfL culture
Key components of assessment culture in a situated perspective:
Assessment practices:
 Transactions between actors (teachers, students): face-toface interactions & indirect exchanges
 Roles of the actors in assessment
Assessment tools: co-elaboration, appropriation
“Taken-as-shared” meaning attributed to different aspects of
assessment:
goals, criteria, expectations, norms, values
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3. AfL culture in the classroom

Interactive formative assessment as the
foundation of AfL culture in the classroom

Aspects of the interface between formative &
summative assessment that contribute to AfL
culture in the classroom
Illustrations drawn from research in Geneva
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3.1 Formative AfL culture in the classroom
Assessment practices
Transactions between teacher and students & their respective roles
Whole-class
discussions
Discussions of mathematical problem-solving procedures in 2
third-grade classes, observed for an entire year
(Mottier Lopez & Allal, 2007)
 Paula’s class: the teacher carries out active scaffolding of
individual student’s explanations; she evaluates all the students
proposals
 Luke’s class: the teacher asks many open-ended questions (What
to you all thing of that?); he often engages students in the
evaluation of other students proposals
2 different AfL cultures: both support student learning, in different
ways
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3.1 Formative AfL culture in the classroom
Assessment practices (transactions teacher-students & roles)
Excerpt Luke’s class
Problem: 47 cinema tickets sold at 18 francs each
Students work in pairs on finding the solution.
Whole-class discussion:
Several students explain that they tried adding 18 (iteratively) 47 times.
Fabian announces he has found a “trick”: I counted the 47s, I put 18 times 47
Teacher: 47 tickets at 18 francs, and he, he did 18 times 47. What do you
think about that?
Some students agree with Fabien, others disagree:18 times 47 won’t give the
same thing as 47 times 18. The teacher asks the students to explain.
There are several direct exchanges between students without the teacher’s
intervention.
Finally, a student suggests: Well, you have to calculate it.
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3.1 Formative AfL culture in the classroom
Assessment practices (transactions & roles)
Individual
teacher-student interactions:
scaffolding and interactive regulation in the learner’s ZPD;
adjustment of the task allows a student with learning difficulties
to participate in a classroom writing project
(Allal & Pelgrims Ducrey, 2000)
Peer
interactions in small groups:
5th-grade students’ text revision is enhanced through their
participation in practices of peer assessment, i.e., reciprocal
and joint revision of the drafts produced by the students
(Allal et al., 2005)
,
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3.1 Formative AfL culture in the classroom
Assessment tools
Co-elaboration
of tools
Interactive elaboration of a Writing Guide and subsequent
text production and revision carried out by the students in 3
fifth-grade classes (Allal et al., 2005)
 In the class with the most active student involvement in the
elaboration of the guide and in brainstorming of ideas, the
students subsequently carried out more advanced forms of
text revision (more transformations of semantics and text
organization, in addition to correction of spelling)
Appropriation
of tools provided by the teacher, the curriculum
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3.1 Formative AfL culture in the classroom
Taken-as-shared meaning (student roles)
Emergence of “sociomathematical norms” that govern student
participation during in whole-class discussions of problem solving
(Mottier Lopez & Allal, 2007)
Norms common to both classes:
Ex., Propose and explain a different procedure than those already given
by other students
Norm specific to Paula’s class:
Ex., Re-explain or pursue the explanation of another student’s procedure
Norm specific to Luke’s class:
Ex., Express opinions about other students’ proposals, their relevance
and effectiveness
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3.2 Summative-formative interface & AfL culture
Assessment practices
Analysis of 10 sixth-grade teachers’ practices regarding the determination of
grades and comments in student report cards: focus on “borderline” cases
that reveal how teachers’ professional judgment is formulated
(Allal & Mottier Lopez, 2008)
Teachers’
aim: establish the most valid assessment possible of
student competency with respect to curriculum objectives by taking
into account not only test results but also other sources of
information (often from formative assessments)
Teachers’ use of information in the report card: a basis for
discussions with students and parents about the students’ future,
about how to attain their goals (a “macro-formative” use of
summative data)
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3.2 Summative-formative interface & AfL culture
Example: Grading practices of Alice
To determine Karim’s second trimester math grade, Alice takes into account:

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
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Classroom test results: variable, from
excellent…to totally insufficient
Daily records: investment often minimal
(esp. homework)
Informal observations from math
workshops: understands math concepts
quickly
Summative tests
Information
from formative
assessments
Discussions with Karim
“He has dreams, he says he’d like to become a
doctor, but at the same time he doesn’t invest
much in his schoolwork.”
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3.2 Summative-formative interface & AfL culture
Example: Grading practices of Alice (cont.)
Karim’s grade is recorded in his report card
Alice has a discussion with Karim about his
grades in relation with what he wants to do next
year (7th grade) or in the future and how to
achieve his goals:
Despite recurrent family problems, how can you set
aside time and space for homework? Is there a way to
use time at school to get ahead on homework? How
important is math if you want to become a doctor?
What is required to enter and stay in the academic
track of secondary studies?
L. Allal, June 15, 2011
Summative reporting
Use of summative
data in a
discussion with a
“macro-formative”
purpose
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3.2 Summative-formative interface & AfL culture
Taken-as-shared meaning
Example: meaning of “fairness” in assessment
Classroom forum: meets each week to discuss and solve problems;
each class member can submit questions or problems (anonymously)
Alice submits the question: “Does the teacher have
favorites?”

discussion about “fairness” in assessment (especially
summative assessment):
- signs of favoritism & confrontation of interpretations
- taking into account differences among students while still assuring fair
and equitable assessment
,
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4. AfL culture… beyond the classroom
Beyond the classroom, 3 major influences on
teachers’ practice of Assessment for Learning:
The
school’s culture of assessment
The values promoted by the teachers’ professional association
The policies adopted by the school system
,
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4.1 School assessment culture
Aspects of school culture that support teachers’ practice of
Assessment for Learning:
Elaboration of shared conceptions of assessment and their
communication to parents
Open dialogue about assessment problems, about difficulties
encountered with students and with parents
School-based professional development activities based on
analysis of assessment practices
Development of school projects promoting formative assessment
and qualitative aspects of summative assessment
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4.1 School assessment culture
Examples from Alice’s elementary school
Assessment practices, tools & values
Shared decision to not give grades on tests and class work;
common explanation given to parents by each teacher
Shared instruments: Files in the teachers’ meeting room with all
the summative tests used in the different classes
Periodic meetings (of teachers, school nurse, psychologist, school
director) to discuss the situation of students who encounter
particular difficulties and the ways to support their learning and well
being
A school-wide perspective on assessment: It is important to take
into account differences among students while still assuring equity
of assessment
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4.2 Values promoted by teachers’ professional
associations
Position papers & Code of deontology can support:
Emergence of AfL culture in schools
Individual teachers’ practice of AfL (in schools where AfL culture is
absent or weakly established)
Example: items from the Code of deontology of the Teachers’
Association of French-speaking Switzerland
“The teacher:
Presents clearly her/his pedagogical objectives and is able to adapt them, if
necessary, to the particular situation of the student
Undertakes all appropriate actions to assure the optimal development of each
student
Demonstrates critical thinking, autonomy, and a sense of responsibility
Works to promote collaboration with colleagues and others in her/his school…”
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4.3 Influence of policy on AfL culture
Resources provided by the school system that can support AfL:
school-based professional development
resources for school initiated projects
participation of teachers in research projects
Constraints imposed by the school system that can support AfL:
grading systems and report cards that allow a place for teachers’
professional judgment
guidelines that encourage formative assessment and forms of
summative assessment that contribute to learning
curriculum objectives that prepare students for the future and are
attainable
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Conclusion:
AfL culture in a socially situated perspective
School system
resources & constraints:
curriculum objectives,
guidelines, in-service ed.
School assessment culture
Classroom assessment culture
Professional
association:
deontology
Assessment for
Learning culture
practices (transactions, roles), tools,
taken-as-shared meaning
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Thank you
linda.allal@unige.ch
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