Student Involvement in Assessment

Abstract

There are two obvious ways that English learners can be involved in classroom assessment processes—namely, peer assessment and self‐assessment. These two types of assessments involve learners in evaluating themselves and others on their performances on classroom tasks, such as homework assignments, presentations, quizzes, and tests. There are also less obvious ways in which English learners can be involved in the assessment process, such as in creating benchmarks for learning—a task that has been traditionally assumed by teachers. This entry discusses the reasons why it is important to involve learners in both creating benchmarks and criteria for assessments, as well as participating in self‐ and peer assessment. The entry also outlines some of the benefits of involving learners in classroom assessment, presents guidelines for implementation, and offers practical suggestions for using specific assessments in the context of an English language teaching classroom.