Using Student-Involved Classroom
Assessment to Close Achievement
Gaps
Rick Stiggens & Jan Chappuis
(2004). Theory Into Practice.
Winter 2005, PP 11-18.
Two Challenges
1. Prevent young students
from “giving up” by
fostering confidence in
their ability to succeed in
school.
2. Help students who have
abandoned all hope for
success overcome their
feelings of defeat.
Self-efficacy vs Self-confidence
Self-efficacy and Self-confidence
are not the same thing.
Self-efficacy is the belief one
holds in his or her ability to be
successful.
A student can have a high level of
self-confidence and still not
believe he or she can be
successful academically.
Academic Self-efficacy Often
Matures in Small Increments
Small, incremental successes can
often lead to incremental
increases in a student’s
confidence.
Increases in confidence can lead
to greater effort.
Greater effort will often lead to
additional success.
Success, as perceived by the
student must be genuine.
Three Classroom Assessment Tools
Three uses of classroom
assessment that (if done right)
can encourage student selfefficacy thus leading to
achievement successes:
Student involvement in recordkeeping.
Student involvement in the assessment
process.
Student involvement in communicating
about their progress.
Involving students in recordkeeping.
If students have a clear understanding
of the instructional intentions (i.e.,
learning targets) they can (with
guidance) be taught to monitor their
own progress.
Involve the students themselves in
identifying the criteria for success.
Show the students how to keep
records and chart their progress
toward the learning targets.
Student Self-Assessment
Over time, and with help and
guidance, students can learn to
validly evaluate their own work.
This requires clear evaluation
criteria.
Portfolios can play an important role
here.
Evaluating their own performance
gives students a sense of control.
Student Communication About Their
Performance
Innovations such as studentled conferencing adds
further to a student’s sense
of control over his or her
learning and success.
Showing a parent where he or
she is in the progression
toward the learning targets
helps the student assume
responsibility for learning.
The Positive Impact of Formative
Classroom Assessment (Assessment
FOR Learning) has been Supported by
Research
Bloom’s early research that showed
a large advantage in achievement
for students exposed to
classroom assessment practices
that supported learning.
Black and Wiliam’s review of
research literature that showed
large positive advantages with
formative classroom assessment.
Four Important Conditions for
Effective Classroom Assessment
FOR Learning
1.
Clearly articulated learning
targets.
2. Well-defined criteria, including
standards, for success.
3. Accurate assessment and
continuous access to valid
feedback.
4. Student involvement in
communicating assessment
results.
Clearly Articulated Learning
Targets.
Students need to have a
clear understanding of:
where they are supposed to
go,
where they are presently in
relation to that journey,
and
how they can get there.
Well-defined Criteria, Including
Standards, for Success.
Students need to know what is
expected of them and what
evidence will be used to gauge
whether or not they meet
that expectation.
This means that teachers,
themselves, must be clear
about their instructional
intentions.
Accurate Assessment Results and
Continuous Access to Valid
Feedback.
Assessments of learning must
match the learning targets.
The assessment tasks need to
be representative of the
content domain.
Scores on assessments must
lead to valid inferences about
the student’s progress toward
the learning targets.
Student Involvement in the
Communicating Assessment
Results.
Continuous communication about
assessment results is a critical
component of assessment FOR
learning.
Teachers need to know where
students are on the learning
continuum.
Students need to know where they
are on the learning continuum.
Parents need to know where their
children are on the learning
continuum.
In Conclusion…
Carefully planned and crafted
classroom assessments can play a
major role in supporting and
reinforcing learning by helping
students:
–
–
–
Realize incremental success.
Understand what it is they are
supposed to accomplish and how that
accomplishment will be measured.
Involving students in their own
assessment and learning.