The document discusses how formative assessment can help develop learner independence and autonomy. It explains that involving students in assessing their own progress against clear learning targets and success criteria promotes independence. Formative assessment identifies gaps and directs next steps. It should be fair, valid, and provide feedback to motivate students. The document advocates using formative assessment to monitor individual progress, focus teaching, and raise self-esteem through positive feedback and showing steps for improvement.

1. Assessment for
Learning

2. Assessment for
Learner
Independence
Thoughtful use of a variety of
assessment practices in the classroom
can help students develop increasing
autonomy as learners:
• involving students in the construction
of learning targets, and in the formal
and informal assessment of their
progress (Clarke, Timperley and
Hattie).
• providing exemplars, or very clear
criteria for success (McGee and
Fraser 2008).
• opportunities to assess progress
through specific activities, and in
general, with input from self, peer
and teacher assessment.
This assessment can then be used to generate the next
learning step, or locate gaps between the work completed
and the success criteria.

3. I am an independent learner in my daily life and I use all of
these techniques to further my skills. I taught myself to sew by
finding suitable exemplars and having in mind the success
criteria for each item I created. I used critical self-assessment
and sought opinion from peers to find the gaps in my
knowledge and ‘next step’ projects to further my abilities.

4. Assessment as a Great Motivator
Positive feedback after assessment, knowing how to improve
and having clear direction for what learning steps to take next is
a truly motivating force. This can take many forms:
• Visual evidence of assessed achievement such as progress
charts, displayed work or written comments.
• Verbal comments, presentation to the class for peer
assessment.
• Affirmative comments and a supportive classroom
environment positively promote ‘next step’ learning.

5. While visiting at my homeschool I have been involved in many
aspects of classroom lessons and management. The teacher
has taken the time to critically analyse my actions, and has
provided me with verbal feedback that is both positive, and
also shows me where there are gaps. This has allowed me to
continually make adjustments to what I am doing, and has
motivated me to continue to learn and improve

6. Fair Assessment
Assessment must be fair to give the teacher an accurate
understanding of her students’ achievement. For assessment to be
fair students must know what the success criteria consist of. Students
must all have had access to learning material, and the means of
assessment itself must not disadvantage anyone taking part.
Assessment must also be valid and measure the learning that has
taken place (McGee and Fraser).

7. While at University I had a lecturer who was a notoriously
difficult marker. We were given a question, but no
rubric, nor did he provide feedback with the grade. Not
knowing the success criteria meant that the grades felt
arbitrary and could not be relied on for an accurate
measure of our understanding of the subject.

8. Formative Assessment as a
Learner-Centered Tool

9. By making formative assessment central to classroom practices
educators have the ability to carry out lessons that are relevant
to the specific needs of their students (McGee and Fraser).
• Formative assessment focuses on the learner’s individual
strengths, and shows areas which need improvement
(Clarke, Timperley and Hattie).
• Formative assessment allows teachers to focus on how well
students are learning and can make responsive adjustments to
pedagogy (McGee and Fraser).
• Teachers can use assessment to recognise all forms of
achievement and set individual targets (Clarke et al).
Individual assessment can be made
using observation and interaction with
the student as they work. It can also be
made by a comparison of students’
work against the achievement
objectives and standards.

10. Formative Assessment
Monitors Progress

11. Rather than using only summative assessment to measure
final achievement, it is more beneficial to monitor the progress
of students before and during learning programmes. This
allows the teacher to identify students who are not achieving
well, and to monitor her own teaching. This can be done by
comparing students’ work against national standards, using
classroom observations to clarify students’ learning and the
teacher’s efficacy, and listening to feedback from parents, and
other staff (Clarke et al.)

12. Formative
Assessment for
Raising Self-
Esteem

13. Formative Assessment to Raise Self-
Esteem
Self-esteem is one of the key factors in student achievement.
Success builds upon success, and formative assessment can support
this. For students who are struggling with an area of work, formative
assessment can provide positive feedback for what has been
achieved, raising self-esteem and providing motivation (Clarke et al).
Feed forward shows students the steps they need to take while
allowing them to continue to work towards their target, with self-
esteem in tact.
Assessment of this kind is often verbal when the teacher is viewing
students as they are on task. It must be relevant and authentic to
really make an impact on a learner’s self-esteem, and it must be
based on the task, and the progress the student is making towards the
target, and not directed at the student (Clarke et al.).

14. References
Clarke, S., Timperley, H., and
Hattie, J., (2006), Unlocking Formative
Assessment, Hodder Education, Auckland, New
Zealand
McGee, C., and Fraser, D., (2008), The
Professional Practice of
Teaching, Cengage, Melbourne, Australia
http://assessment.tki.org.nz/Assessment-in-the-
classroom/Assessment-for-learning-in-
principle/Principles-of-assessment-for-learning