Self and peer assessment

The criteria for evaluating any learning achievements must be made transparent to pupils to enable them to have a clear overview both of the aims of their work and of what it means to complete it successfully. It is very difficult for pupils to achieve a learning goal unless they understand that goal and can assess what they need to do to reach it. So self assessment is crucial to learning.

The argument proposed by the AfL team is that peer assessment can be a stepping stone to self assessment - that peer and self assessment feed each other and improve the quality of teacher-pupil communication about learning.

While peer and self assessment can make important contributions to the quality of pupil learning, they do need to be carefully introduced and managed.

Here are some ground rules for peer assessment:

• We share our ideas and listen to each other
• We talk one at a time
• We respect each other's opinions
• We give reasons to explain our ideas
• If we disagree we ask 'why'?
• We try to agree in the end

(Mercer, 2000: 162)

 

• The criteria for evaluating any learning achievements must be made transparent to pupils to enable them to have a clear overview both of the aims of their work and of what it means to complete it successfully. Such criteria may well be abstract—concrete examples
  should be used in modelling exercises to develop understanding.
• Pupils should be taught the habits and skills of collaboration in peer-assessment, for these are of intrinsic value. Futhermore, peer discussion can help self-assessment by helping pupils to see their own work more objectively – through the eyes of their peers.
• Pupils should be encouraged to keep in mind the aims of their work and to assess their own progress to meet these aims as they proceed. They will then be able to guide their own work, and so become independent learners.