Learning for Students

ensure students are prepared for the summative event. Cassandra Erkens (2013), while talking about the balance between formative and summative assessment, states:

The summatives should simply serve as a public celebration of how much learning has happened along the way. In this light, formative assessments might actually be the more “dull” because like the hard work of daily practice, they represent the little parts or scaffolding that can only lead to the big game.

With a common understanding of assessment purpose and use comes valuable learning for teachers. Through this lens, teachers should be designing an assessment process that will elicit the evidence necessary to answer the aforementioned questions. Teachers will no longer just evaluate student work; they will learn about what students know, how they learn best, what they do not know, and what needs to come next to coach them forward. For example, when creating an assessment that they intend to use formatively, teachers might focus on common misconceptions and develop an assessment that will give them the data to provide accurate in-class interventions the following day.

When teachers define assessment and its purpose for students, they invite them to feel more comfortable with being active participants in the learning process. Meaningful assessment practices open up the communication between teachers and students and organically allow for more conversations centered on learning.

The key to using assessment formatively and ensuring student involvement and learning is what D. Royce Sadler (1989) refers to as the feedback loop. As the teacher provides feedback, the student then responds to that feedback, creating the loop. Imagine that a high school English language arts student hands in a writing assignment and the teacher responds in the following way:

I really like the start you have with your analysis of the text. Remember that our focus is on using examples from the text to support your analysis. Can you please revisit that and distinguish what textual evidence you identified to support your analysis? Come show that to me when you are done. Great start, and I can’t wait to see your next steps!

Notice that the teacher starts out with complimenting the student’s work and then redirects him back to the targeted learning. The teacher then asks him to move his work forward by identifying textual support for his analysis and asks him to check in again. The teacher focuses not on what is missing or a grade but instead on next steps in order to improve the student’s work. This changes the focus from what was

to what comes next. In this situation, the student does not hear an evaluation or any negative remarks on his work; he hears the support of a teacher on what he needs to improve. This moment of assessment is learning for the student as he returns to his work to improve it.

Assessment should give students solid and empowering information on their strengths and point the way to their individualized next step to move forward. Formative assessment can significantly contribute to building student confidence and self-efficacy (Brookhart, 2013). When students succeed, their confidence rises. Thus, formative assessment should lead to what comes next instead of identifying what was wrong in student work; to assess is to move learning forward. When teachers keep the focus on growth, students tend to see misunderstandings and setbacks as a natural part of learning (Heritage, 2008; Shepard, 2000). This has the potential to change the overall classroom culture to one of vulnerability and learning, while allowing students to understand more about themselves as learners.

Through assessment, students must understand that they can and will learn, no matter where they start. Learners understand more about how they learn and how they can use the support of a teacher when they feel challenged or stuck. Following are some recommended guidelines to communicate about assessment with students and to guarantee students see assessment as a process of learning and growth.

• Show that assessment is there to support learners: Tell students that assessment is not always a moment to make a judgment but a moment to collect data to figure out how to better support them. Judgment will take place only after they receive ample time to practice and master the skill.

• Highlight that assessment is a vulnerable process: When asking students to engage in formative work, remind them that mistakes and questions are welcome and that errors help them grow.

• Teach learners about the feedback loop: Do not provide feedback unless there is a plan to have students act on it in order to create a culture of learning and feedback.

Defining and using assessment is truly a collaborative process. While this journey may start in a single classroom, it is essential to have a common and shared understanding within teacher teams. Many schools define themselves as PLCs, but all of these ideas can and should be used within any type of collaborative team.