Student Involvement In Assessment Research Articles

Profiles of teachers’ assessment techniques and their students’ involvement in assessment

ABSTRACT Two aspects of formative assessment practices in the Dutch and Flemish educational context were explored: the degree to which secondary mathematics teachers implement a variety of assessment techniques in their classrooms, and the extent to which their students are involved in assessment practices. By developing profiles based on the combination of these aspects of formative assessment, we were able to distinguish various developmental stages in teachers’ implementation of formative assessment. Compared to their Flemish colleagues (n = 83), Dutch teachers (n = 120) used a wider variety of assessment techniques and stimulated student involvement in assessment more. Features of the educational context, such as the availability of teacher professional development for formative assessment, possibly influence development towards use of formative assessment practices in the classroom. The profiles can be used to inform teacher professional development initiatives, as they give insight into the current status of teachers’ assessment practices.

Student involvement in assessment and power relations: teacher’s perspective

ABSTRACT Student involvement in assessment is considered essential to assessment for learning (AfL), mainly for developing a shared understanding of what it means to be a competent learner. However, translating AfL into practice has been difficult because teachers are reluctant to co-share assessment responsibilities with students. Thus, this paper explores secondary teachers’ perceptions of student involvement in assessment and feedback from the angle of power relations and highlights the conflicting positions and challenges of inviting students into the decision-making process and negotiations on assessment. The data set was purposefully collected from three focus groups of teachers from three upper secondary schools in Iceland. The findings indicate that power relations influence teachers’ perception of student involvement. Power relations are mediated by teachers’ positions and their knowledge, language, and space. Moreover, the findings show that developing relationships of trust is critical in creating a space for dialogue and student involvement.

Student involvement in assessment: learning experiences for behavior change

The purpose of this study was to obtain data on the situation of learning experiences carried out by teachers in changing student learning behavior by involving students in assessment. The research method used is a qualitative survey method and uses a 5-choice questionnaire that was built and developed from the student assessment concept of David M. Johnson, with a population of primary school teachers in West Jakarta totaling 100 teachers. The research findings provide information that the structure of the learning experience carried out by the teacher to help student behavior learning outcomes through student assessments is in a condition that is not yet effective and a basic literacy assessment model needs to be developed.The conclusion of the study shows that the teacher's ability to condition student involvement in assessment as a learning experience for behavioral change is effective in aspects of academic learning and the focus of assessment.

English Language Teachers’ Perceived Classroom Assessment Knowledge and Practice: Developing and Validating a Scale

This study sought to develop and validate a classroom-based language assessment literacy scale to measure teachers’ perceived classroom-based assessment knowledge and practice. Exploratory factor analysis revealed that the scale items clustered around four factors: (a) purposes of assessment and grading, (b) assessment ethics, (c) student involvement in assessment, and (d) feedback and assessment interpretation. Moreover, the scale was administered to 348 Iranian English as a foreign language teachers. The findings showed that the majority reported to be literate in classroom-based language assessment and agreed to the allocation of more space to classroom-based language assessment in teacher education courses. The findings suggest that the newly-developed scale can serve as a valid and reliable tool to explore language teachers’ classroom-based assessment literacy.

Students’ Perceptions of Involvement in the Assessment of Oral Competence in English as a Second Language

This mixed-method study examined students’ perceptions of involvement in the assessment practice of oral competence in English in Norwegian upper secondary schools. Student involvement in assessment can be seen as a key factor when it comes to enhancing students’ learning outcome and motivation. Previous research has, however, shown that student involvement and the assessment of oral competence in English as a second language classes have been challenging. Surveys (N = 116) and two focus group interviews (N = 8) were used. The findings revealed that the students wanted to be more involved in the assessment practice. Moreover, the students saw this increased involvement as a way to enhance their oral competence in English. The students expressed uncertainty as to what they were assessed by. The implications of this study suggest that increased involvement in developing goals and criteria and more dialogue-based feedback are beneficial measures for strengthening students’ learning outcomes.

Students’ perceptions of assessment practices in upper secondary school during COVID-19

ABSTRACT During COVID-19, distance learning has given students around the world unforeseen challenges, including the way their learning is being assessed. Assessment for learning (AfL) can contribute to the development of students’ strategies to meet unknown challenges as lifelong learners. The purpose of AfL is to inform learning, and it can play a significant role in achieving lifelong learning strategies, such as self-regulation, effectiveness and independent learning. This article presents qualitative findings from a study examining students’ perceptions (24 students) of teaching and assessment practices in upper secondary school in Norway in the spring of 2020. The findings show that students valued individual teacher feedback to support learning. The students experienced flexibility in teaching practices, and moreover, they were trusted to do the work they were told. However, regarding assessments, they felt it was unfair and that student involvement in assessment was lacking. There was little variation in the assignments, which were mostly individual, written assignments. An important message is that they missed collaborating with other students and that many of them were left alone with their schoolwork.

Participación e implicación del estudiante en la evaluación: implicar a todo el estudiante en la búsqueda de la justicia y el bien social

En este artículo ofrezco una perspectiva sobre la participación de los estudiantes en la evaluación informada por la teoría crítica y sustentada por un compromiso con una mayor justicia social dentro y a través de la educación superior. Se basa en trabajos anteriores sobre la evaluación de la justicia social para argumentar que la participación de los estudiantes en la evaluación debe ser considerada más ampliamente, no solo que los estudiantes realicen determinadas tareas. En lugar de ello, debemos pensar en el estudiante como una persona completa, socialmente situada y en las formas en que la participación en las tareas de evaluación fomenta tanto el bienestar individual como el social. Hay tres corrientes en el argumento propuesto. En primer lugar, la investigación sobre la evaluación debe hacer más para problematizar la naturaleza del conocimiento y que la comprensión de las complejidades del conocimiento en la educación superior tiene vínculos tanto con las experiencias de nuestro estudiante como una persona completa, como con justicia social. En segundo lugar, los propósitos de la evaluación deberían orientarse hacia la noción de teoría crítica de un bien común, en la que el bienestar individual y social están dialécticamente interrelacionados. Por último, al pensar en la participación del estudiante en la evaluación. debemos ir más allá de la fusión del mundo real con el mundo del trabajo, que figura en gran parte de la literatura sobre la evaluación auténtica. Propongo, en cambio, la importancia de entender el ámbito económico como una esfera amplia y heterogénea que no puede desarticularse del ámbito social.

Collaborating with Students to Create Law Assessment: A Case Study

Many students are driven by their perceptions of assessment, and consequently, assessment can be used as a tool to enhance the learning process. The increased focus on student-centred learning in this context has resulted in student involvement in assessment. However, the literature in law focuses primarily on self-assessment and peer assessment, or criteria and marking, rather than student involvement in the creation of assessment content. This article investigates collaborative assessment in the context of legal education by undertaking a case study of staff collaborating with students to create the content of assessment in the undergraduate law subject ‘Evidence’ at the Queensland University of Technology. The case study found through surveys that when students have a degree of choice in the creation of assessment, they feel more confident, engaged and motivated to complete the assessment. Students felt this enhanced their learning experience. This study adds to the literature on student involvement in assessment by specifically considering collaborative assessment in law, which can then inform teaching practices with the aim of enhancing the learning experience for students.

Mentoring and tutoring your students through self-assessment

This paper describes practical procedures in mentoring/tutoring students through self-assessment (SA) to establish and maintain partnership in learning. High school teachers (n = 10) allow their students (N = 515: 359 males) to engage in activities that help them identify standards and/or criteria to apply to their work and make judgements about the extent to which they have met them. Although there are issues with student involvement in assessment and it is known/accepted that staff has the final say, students are mentored and tutored through a laddering process of decision-making that involves the use of SA modules. Detailed procedures for conducting SA training sessions and ways of formatively and summatively evaluating progress are presented in an easy-to-follow format. A final question and answer section further clarifies issues that some readers may have. Parents, teachers, students and other stakeholders may benefit from the methods outlined in this paper.

Business Students' Views of Peer Assessment on Class Participation

The purpose of this project was to introduce peer and self assessment on tutorial class participation to a marketing unit at Curtin Sarawak. This assessment strategy was introduced with desire to improve class participation and increase student involvement in assessment. At the end of semester, a questionnaire was used to gather responses from a sample of 77 students about their opinions on the peer assessment practice. Students agreed that the practice promotes a sense of ownership, engagement and personal responsibility of the learning experience. But at the same time, many experienced some stress in the assessment process and found it not easy to evaluate their peers. The study found students do not reject peer assessment strategy.

Learning‐oriented assessment: conceptual bases and practical implications

This paper focuses on the potential of the learning aspects of assessment. The term ‘learning‐oriented assessment’ is introduced and three elements of it are elaborated: assessment tasks as learning tasks; student involvement in assessment as peer‐ or self‐evaluators; and feedback as feedforward. I also indicate how learning‐oriented assessment was promoted at the institutional level through a reflective analysis of a major funded project. Implications for practice are discussed through a focus on how learning‐oriented assessment can be implemented at the module level.

Learning‐oriented assessment: a technology‐based case study

This paper focuses on reconfiguring assessment processes so that they support a learning function, in addition to the more traditional measurement function. In the first half of the paper we discuss a framework for ‘learning‐oriented assessment’ derived from a project carried out in Hong Kong. We conceptualize learning‐oriented assessment as containing three key components: assessment tasks as learning tasks; student involvement in assessment; and explicitly forward‐looking feedback. The second half of the paper presents an action research case in which the first author implemented some of the principles of learning‐oriented assessment within a module in a teacher education context. The module, focusing on multimedia and web authoring, was taught through blended learning with an emphasis on peer learning and project‐based learning. A particular feature was the interplay between students’ learning experiences and the module assessments.

The Use of Observational Diaries in In-Training Evaluation: Student Perceptions

In health science education clinical clerkships serve the twofold purpose of guiding student learning and assessment of performance. Evidently, both formative and summative assessment procedures are needed in clerkship assessment. In-training evaluation (ITE) has the potential to serve both assessment functions. Implementation of effective ITE, however, has been shown to be problematic, partly because integration of assessment functions may have negative consequences for teaching and learning. This study investigates student perceptions of the impact of an integrated assessment approach, seeking to refine criteria for effective ITE. In the curriculum of Maastricht Midwifery School (MMS), clerkship assessment is based on ITE serving both assessment functions. The ITE model is based on principles of extensive work sampling, and frequent documentation of performance. A focus group technique was used to explore student perceptions on the impact of the ITE approach on student learning and supervisor teaching behaviour, and on the usefulness of information for decision making. Results indicate that the assessment approach is effective in guidance of student learning. Furthermore, students consider the frequent performance documentation essential in clerkship grading. Acceptance and effectivity of ITE requires a learning environment which is safe and respectful. Transparency of assessment processes is the key to success. Suggestions for improvement focus on variation in evaluation formats, improvement of feedback (narrative, complete) and student involvement in assessment. ITE can fulfill both its formative and summative purposes when some crucial conditions are taken into account. Careful training of both supervisors and students in the use of ITE for student learning and performance measurement is essential.

Student involvement in assessment: a project designed to assess class participation fairly and reliably

This article describes a project designed to ensure that class participation in a large introductory commercial law course is assessed fairly and reliably. The subjectivity often associated with this type of assessment is minimized by involving students in the specification of clear criteria and the assessment process as they were asked to assess themselves and their peers. Formative feedback is given mid‐way through the semester so that students have the opportunity to take remedial measures where necessary and teachers can reinforce positive behaviour. The data are analyzed to determine the relationships between the assessments given by the students, their peers and tutors. There is evidence of some gender bias in Week 13 that is not consistent with the final marks. Finally, the combining of the individual assessment of the criteria is shown to be a good estimate of the final class participation mark given by the tutors and the students.

Language learning

Language learning

Student involvement in assessment

Dominique Sluijsmans belicht in haar proefschrift een belangrijk onderwerp, namelijk selfen peer assessment. Juist deze vormen van assessment zijn binnen studentgericht onderwijs een geschikt leermiddel om de actieve betrokkenheid van de student te vergroten en om de student voor te bereiden op het geven van feedback in de toekomstige beroepspraktijk.

Exploring Business Skills: an innovative approach to promoting lifelong learning

The article describes an innovative module designed for the HND Business Studies/Administration courses in the Nottingham Business School. Several features of particular interest, for example an explicit focus on skills development, incorporation of lifelong learning values and skills, vertical integration within an overall programme and horizontal integration with same level modules, non‐standard approaches to and methods of teaching and learning and student involvement in assessment are highlighted and examined in detail. The context which gave rise to the module is also explored as is the module development process. This provides some valuable and transferable insights. Early experiences of implementing the module are also included and form the basis for examining some of the operational implications of adopting innovative approaches. Although not primarily concerned with arguing a particular theoretical position, the article makes reference to appropriate literature to both support and assess the rationale of such a module.