My Six Principles of Assessment

Following are a list of six Principles of Assessment that I believe to be the most important in the Primary Classroom.  

1) Be fair and equitable for all learners by:
a) catering to the diverse range of students in the classroom and being mindful of individual needs, for example, disabilities, learning disorders, cultural beliefs, language barriers etc.
b) make adjustments or modifications to suit individual students when needed.
c) share 'success' criteria by clearly outlining what it is that students are expected to achieve and checking to make sure students understand what is required, (e.g. thumbs up/down, traffic lights, 'think-aloud', share, discuss and provide examples.)

2. Be interactive in nature, with a focus on:
a) discussions
b) quality questions
c) effective individualised feedback

Quality Questions should:
- be strategic and identify key questions for your lesson – planned in
  advance
- use a mix of open-ended questions that require higher-order thinking,
  and closed questions that required a set answer (refer to Blooms
  Taxonomy).
- leave sufficient wait time for students to answer
- use prompts or other questions to clarify
- use incorrect responses as a tool to develop ideas, probe thinking within
  a supportive learning environment
- give all students an opportunity to answer and experience success
- encourage students to ask questions
- encourage students to ‘think’ for themselves
- enable and value all student contributions
- find out what students know and can do so that teaching can be
  adapted/adjusted

Effective Individualised Feedback:
- provides information about what has been done
- targets learning, links to improvement
- promotes students' ‘thinking’ about their learning
- evaluates the quality of action or task performed
- comment only feedback most of the time
- marks and grades – some of the time
- gives guidance on how to improve, i.e. models desired outcomes
- is specific – not vague
- allows time for students to make improvements
- values student work
- maintains and builds confidence and self-esteem


3. Teach and Incorporate Peer and Self Assessment, and student and teacher Reflective Practices
The use of self assessment helps to build student knowledge of how to self-assess, teaches students to learn from their own mistakes, helps improve self-esteem, self awareness and self worth, involves honesty from the students and assists to build a trusting relationship between teacher and student.

By incorporating Peer Assessment students not only learn from their discussions with peers, but they also learn to critically evaluate others’ work, and in the process, reflect on their own. They also learn how to give and receive warm and cool feedback using appropriate language.


To be able to 'self-assess' students need:
- an understanding of what constitutes high quality work (e.g. examples shown, discussed, explained)
- evaluative skills to compare their work with a higher standard (e.g. using a graphic organiser or checklist)
- a set of strategies they can use to modify their own work (e.g. using an editing checklist for written work)

Examples of Teacher Reflection:
- was my teaching effective?
- what needs improving?
- what else do students need to learn?

Examples of Student Reflection:
- what did we learn today and how well?
- what else do we need to learn?
- what are my strengths and weaknesses as a learner?

4. Be authentic and engaging
a) create assessments that students’ relate to and understand
b) provide opportunities for assessment to be real-life and purposeful

5. Valid and Reliable
a) does the task assess what has been explicitly taught in the classroom?
b) does the task generate evidence of learning that is required of the curriculum intent?
c) do assessment criteria link to the reporting framework? (QCAR)
d) does the task (or modified assessment) provide opportunities for
    different kinds of learners to demonstrate their achievement?
e) are the questions and layout user-friendly and unambiguous?

6. Make Judgements and Celebrate Success by:
a) recording and reporting on student achievement
b) creating opportunities for students to celebrate and showcase their learning:
    - personally - by reflecting on their own achievements
    - in front of peers during an assembly
    - as part of a classroom or school event for their parents/friends
      (e.g. art show)
    - or out in the community, (e.g. a shopping centre display)

References:

Black, P. and Wiliam, D. (2001), ‘Inside the Black Box: Raising Standards through Classroom Assessment’, Kings College London School of Education.

Carless, D. (2007), University of Hong Kong, 'Conceptualizing Pre-Emptive Formative Assessment', Assessment in Education, Vol.14, No. 2, July 2007, pp. 171-184

Davis, S (2011), ‘EDED20459: Assessment & Reporting, online courseware, CQ University, Rockhampton, QLD, extracted from http://moodle.cqu.edu.au/course/view.php?id=17306


Davis & Dargusch, as cited in Lynch & Knight (2010)

Krause, K.L., Bochner,S., Duchesne, S. & McMaugh, A. (2010) ‘Educational Psychology for Learning and Teaching’ (3rd Ed), Cengage Learning Australia.

Lynch, D. & Knight, B.A. (2010) ‘The Theory and Practice of Learning Management: A Text for the student of Learning Management’, Pearson Originals, Australia.