Raising Standards through Formative Assessment

What is Assessment for Learning?

1

Sources of evidence



Research review of Black & Wiliam

 Many rigorous studies show that standards are raised by formative assessment.

 Effect size 0.4-0.7

 The positive effect is greater as the range of the formative feedback is expanded.



King

’

s project work with schools

  Standards were raised Teachers happy about the way they had changed 2

Formative Assessment



An assessment activity can help learning if it provides information to be used as

feedback

, by teachers, and by their students, in assessing themselves and each other are engaged.

,

to modify the teaching and learning activities in which they



Feedback is two-way



Student to teacher

 

Teacher to student Feedback can be



oral or written



short term or medium term

3

Questioning Problems

I’d become dissatisfied with the closed Q&A style that my unthinking teaching had fallen into, and I would frequently be lazy in my acceptance of right answers and sometimes even tacit complicity with a class to make sure none of us had to work too hard … They and I knew that if the Q&A wasn’t going smoothly, I’d change the question, answer it myself or only seek answers from the ‘ brighter students ’ . There must have been times (still are?) where an outside observer would see my lessons as a small discussion group surrounded by many sleepy onlookers.

James, Two Bishops School

4

Feedback in Discussion Questioning in Class



Questioning

My whole teaching style has become more interactive. Instead of showing how to find solutions, a question is asked and pupils given time to explore answers together. My Year 8 target class is now well-used to this way of working. I find myself using this method more and more with other groups 

No hands

Unless specifically asked pupils know not to put their hands up if they know the answer to a question. All pupils are expected to be able to answer at any time even if it is an ‘ I don ’ t know ’ .



Supportive climate

Pupils are comfortable with giving a wrong answer. They know that these can be as useful as correct ones. They are happy for other pupils to help explore their wrong answers further.

(Nancy, Riverside School

) 5

Changes in Questioning

 Teachers role : move from presentation to exploration of students ’ ideas, involving them in the exploration  Students role : more active, realising that learning depends on readiness to express and discuss, not on spotting right answers  Teachers spend more effort on framing questions to explore issues critical to development of students ’ understanding 6

Comment-only Marking

 132 low and high ability year 7 pupils in 12 classes in 4 schools  Same teaching, same aims, same teachers, same classwork  Three kinds of feedback: marks, comments, marks+comments  

Feedback

marks  comments  both

Gain

30%

Interest

none top +ve bottom -ve all +ve none top +ve bottom -ve [Butler(1988)

Br. J. Educ. Psychol.

,

58

1-14] 7

Feedback on Written Work Comment-only marking

8  Previously I would have marked the work and graded it and made a comment. The pupils only saw the mark and/or credit. After a credit they lost the motive to improve. Now they get a credit after we have gone over the work so they have an incentive to understand the work

Rose, Brownfields School.

Changes in Marking

 Teachers changed their view of the role of written work in promoting learning  Teachers were challenged to compose comments on written work which address the learning needs of the individual and reflect key aspects of the subject  Teachers had to give more attention to differentiation in feedback  Students changed their view of the role of written work as part of their learning 9

Peer marking

• We regularly do peer marking—I find this very helpful indeed. A lot of misconceptions come to the fore and we then discuss these as we are going over the homework. I then go over the peer marking and talk to pupils individually as I go round the room.

Rose, Brownfields School

• The kids are not skilled in what I am trying to get them to do. I think the process is more effective long term. If you invest time in it, it will pay off big dividends, this process of getting the students to be more independent in the way that they learn and taking the responsibility themselves.

Tom, Riverside School

10

Meta-Cognition and the Capacity to Learn

Learners need to know: • where they are in their learning • where they are going • how to get there Peer- and Self-Assessment help learners to think about their work in this way Shared understanding of success criteria are vital 11

Self- and Peer Assessment

 Criteria must be understood by students so they can apply them : modelling exercises are needed where these are abstract  Students must be taught to collaborate in peer-assessment, for this helps develop objectivity for self-assessment and is of intrinsic value  Students should be taught to assess their progress as they proceed keeping the aims and criteria in mind - so as to become independent learners  Peer- and self- assessment develop students as learners in a unique way 12

Formative Use of Summative Assessment

 Students should be engaged in a reflective review of the work they have done to enable them to plan their revision effectively.

 Students should be encouraged to set questions and mark answers to help them, both to understand the assessment process and to focus further efforts for improvement.

 Students should be encouraged through peer and self-assessment to apply criteria to help them understand how their work might be improved. This may include providing opportunities for students to rework examination answers in class.

13

Learning Principles - 1 Cognitive

14  Start from a learner ’ s existing understanding.

 Involve the learner actively in the learning process.

 Develop the learner ’ s overview, i.e. meta cognition: this requires a view of purpose, understanding of criteria of quality of achievement, and self-assessment.

 Social learning, i.e. learning through discussion, is essential.

Learning Principles-2 Motivation and Self esteem

 Those given feedback as marks are likely to see it as a way to compare themselves with others (ego involvement), those given only comments see it as helping them to improve (task-involvement): the latter group out-perform the former (Butler, 1987).

 Feedback given as rewards or grades enhances ego rather than task involvement.

 With ego-involvement, both high and low attainers are reluctant to take risks and react badly to new challenges, and failures simply damage self-esteem  With task-involvement, learners believe that they can improve by their own effort, are willing to take on new challenges and to learn from failure.

15  (see “

Self-Theories

” by

Carol Dweck

, 2000)

The students ’ role

 “ … a number of pupils … are content to ‘ get by ’ … Every teacher who wants to practice formative assessment must reconstruct the habits acquired by his pupils.

”  (Switzerland/Perrenoud 1991) 16