What about Self Assessment?

Until I read the article 'Inside the Black Box' (Black and Wiliam, 2001) I really hadn't considered self-assessment as an important component of primary school assessment. However, now that I reflect on that, I think it is obvious just how important a component 'self-assessment' really is.

Most primary school students would undertake elements of self assessment automatically, without even realising they are doing it. For example, each time they raise their hand to answer a question, they may be gauging their fellow students' response/s to compare it to the response they had in their own mind.  Did I think the same thing? Was I right or wrong?, How was I right or wrong? Why didn't I understand that? Do I need to ask a question?

According to Black and Wiliam (2001, p.7), "pupils can only assess themselves when they have a sufficiently clear picture of the targets that their learning is meant to attain".

Similarly, when we are completing our university assignments, we like to know what the expectations are so we can achieve them. Personally, I begin to feel anxious and a little overwhelmed if I don’t have a good understanding of what is expected. I then ask questions or seek to clarify by other means (i.e. read through the forum questions and responses) until I do have a clear understanding of expectations. The same applies to young students, however their age can often mean that they don’t know how to seek clarification or lack the confidence to ask questions – so they need to be given clear guidelines from the outset and then taught how to ask questions to clarify their understanding.

From personal experience I have seen that providing students with clear guidelines about what is expected really helps to ease stress, frustration and anxiety in the students, as well as increase the likelihood of good outcomes.

My son, who is in year 5 and likes to do well at school, has come home this year on several occasions feeling very concerned and anxious that he doesn’t understand a project or homework requirement. I have encouraged him to go back to the teacher and ask him to re-explain or clarify what is required. On one occasion I had to write a note on my son’s behalf as he was being made to feel like a nuisance in class whenever he asked a question to clarify his understanding. I have made a mental note to maintain my patience and clarify task requirements for my students in the future.

In the end, my son felt happier and confident to complete his project because he knew what he was expected to do and he achieved a good result.

As we develop our set of six 'Assessment Principles' I think that clear guidelines or 'criteria for success' for all student tasks needs to be taken into account, along with the incorporation of student self-assessment.