Unit 4: Self-assessment

Objectives for Unit 4

Understand the definition of self-assessment

Integrate self-assessment in instruction

cooperate peer-assessment and self-assessment to facilitate students' learning

What is a self-assessment?

Self-assessment is “a process during which students reflect on the quality of their work, compare it to explicitly stated criteria, judge how well their work reflects the criteria, and make appropriate revisions” (Andrade & Brooke, 2010, p. 75). Andrade (2010) classified self-assessment as a formative process which provides useful feedback for student to improve, and she also claimed that “self-assessment is related to increases in elementary and middle school students’ self-efficacy and in the quality of their writing” (p. 79). Self and peer assessment "promote lifelong learning, by helping students to evaluate their own and their peers achievements realistically, not just encouraging them always to rely on (tutor) evaluation from on high" (Brown, 1996).

How to integrate self-assessment in instruction?

In self- and peer-assessment, students are involved in monitoring and making judgements about aspects of their own or peer’s learning. The same as using peer-assessment, when integrate self-assessment in instruction, one must articulate learning goals and criteria. The opportunity of revising for improvement is also needed.

Here is an example of cooperate self- and peer-assessment in a understanding performance of essay writing.

Understanding Performance: Write essay about Native Americans. Assessment: Use peer- and self-assessment for the essay. The steps are showed as follow:

Introduce and co-construct rubrics with students. Articulate what is expected in the essay.
Introduce the ladder of feedback to students. Emphasize how to assess others’ essays step by step. If it is the first time students do peer-assessment, teacher join students, and do all the steps with them, making an exemplary model.
Students grade peers’ essays and give comments and suggestions.
Students have a week to revise their essays according to the feedback they get from peers. Then they self-assess their works and give themselves a grade as self-assessment.
Teacher review students’ essay and grade them with comments.
Students have a week to revise and process self-assessment again.
Submit final essay. Teacher gives final grade.

This is not a excellent model, but it well demonstrated one of the ways in which self- and peer-assessment can be involved in.

Self-reflection

Based on what you have just learned, design integrate self- and peer-assessment for your class. Assess your design by these criteria:

Clearly articulate the goals or targets
Support reflection on strengths and weakness
Identify opportunities for improvement
Allow time for revision.(Andrade, 2012)