Assessment for learning: a new paradigm

Assessment and feedback of students in the online environment Lesson 1. Setting the scene: Introduction to assessment for learning Assessment for learning: a new paradigm

Reflection question

Take a moment and think about a time when you were a student.

How did teachers assess you?
How did that help you learn?

As students, for many years we have received many marks and comments that teachers used to assess us. Do any of these sound familiar?

As teachers, we are used to assessing students, just like our teachers used to assess us when we were younger. However, we must ask ourselves the following question: how does my assessment help my students learn? Or even better: how could my assessment help my students learn?

What is assessment for learning?

Assessment for learning (AfL) is an approach to teaching and learning that aims to gather evidence on how well pupils have mastered specific aspects of subject matter. In AfL, the assessors create meaningful feedback, which the assessed actively use to improve their learning.

This is why it is called assessment FOR learning, because teachers make use of the assessment activities to contribute to their students’ learning.

When teachers adopt this approach to assessment, the whole teaching-learning process is transformed. In AfL, assessment and learning are tightly connected: there is not one without the other. Students need assessment to continue learning, so they don’t just “receive” feedback, they make use of it. They also start to “think like a teacher”. They think more actively about where they are now, where they are going and how to get there. Therefore, they become more involved in their learning process and they gain self-confidence; they know exactly what they are expected to learn and to what standard.

Assessment for learning... is that formative or summative?

This is the big question that us teachers ask when we want to implement assessment for learning. “If we adopt the approach of AfL, do we have to use formative assessment all the time?” “Can we still use summative assessment?” “And what if my school requires all teachers to have final term exams, can I still implement assessment for learning?”

Traditionally, AfL has been associated to formative assessment because it focuses on learning throughout the process, using assessment practices such as questioning, feedback, peer-assessment, self-assessment. On the other hand, summative assessment focuses on measuring student attainment at the end of a learning sequence or period, using assessment practices such as tests, exams or essays in controlled conditions. However, any of these strategies can also support AfL, as long as their ultimate use is to help students progress in their learning.

Here are some ideas that might inspire you!

You might still be asking yourself this question: “So, as a teacher, should I use formative or summative assessment?”; “What is better for my students?”. Well, you should keep in mind that:

What happens in Assessment for Learning?

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