Student Involvement in Assessment of their Learning

Abstract

In the debate on assessment as a vehicle to promote student learning many contributors focus on formative feedback as the key ingredient for its success. This chapter claims, however, that student involvement in the assessment of their learning is at least of equal importance. Student involvement in assessment is paramount in raising students’ interest and motivation for taking an active part in the advancement of their learning achievements. However, little is yet known about the implications of students’ participation in the construction, administration, and evaluation of their own accomplishments, and in appraising (each others’) performance. This analytic review considers the findings from research on student involvement in (peer) assessment with respect to student learning. The analysis focuses on student engagement and participation as manifested in the subsequent steps of the assessment process. The resulting overview indicates the difficulties students are experiencing in appraising their accomplishments, and highlights the opportunities to expand the involvement of students in different phases of the assessment cycle. From these findings, lessons can be drawn for future research as well as for the design and construction of assessments that may increase student involvement in monitoring their own learning.