Assessment to support learning in the teaching process.
 

As stated by Pollard et al. (2014, p. 352), Assessment for Learning, or Comprehensive Developmental Assessment (Kratochvilova, 2011), is a comprehensive way of working that involves the learner and the teacher and integrates assessment, learning, and teaching. It does not only support learning and what is to be learned in a certain time, but also focuses on how to learn. It represents a learning culture in the classroom that helps the learner to develop their metacognitive skills and sense of responsibility. James at al. (2007, in Pollard et al., 2014, 353-354) named three main principles of Assessment for Learning that emerged from the research of the Learning How to Learn project:

 (a) Making learning explicit, that is, clarifying to learners the learning objectives, the form of the quality outcome, how it is assessed, the results achieved and the opportunities for improvement in a dialogue between teacher and learner.

b) Promoting autonomy in learning implies that learners take responsibility for their learning.

A key feature is the ability to assess their work and progress with understanding (self-assessment) and to make decisions about how to proceed with their learning. This skill is developed gradually through experience and quality feedback from the teacher.

(c) Concentration on learning turns attention to the natural need to learn, to the value of learning, and to the process of learning.

Kratochvilova calls these principles the building blocks, and W. Dylan (2011) talks about five principles or strategies of formative assessment. If you look at Figure 1 in the previous Chapter 4 - The Comprehensive Developmental Assessment Model (adapted from Kratochvílová et al. , 2012), you will find the principles listed above. Similarly, you can understand them more by watching the conference recording, which you can find a link to in the interactive curriculum.

1. Objective(s)

The definition of educational objectives and their communication to the learner is a necessary starting point for teaching. Goals at different levels of generality (general, sub-goals, operational goals) subsequently influence the teacher's and students' choice of instructional strategies, which are translated into students' learning activities and activities and influence the way in which the teacher and students seek to gain information about the extent to which students are approaching the stated goals (see Black, 2009, p. 9). Teachers derive learning objectives from the desired outcomes of the school curriculum and the level of the pupils. The teacher should have clearly articulated what outcomes he or she wants to bring the pupils to at the end of the teaching unit. If the objectives are clear, he/she is able to present them to the pupils in an appropriate way and guide the teaching process using strategies that will support their achievement at the end of the unit.

It is not a matter of formally naming the objectives to the learners or writing them on the board or in the preparation. Working with objectives should be meaningful. The learning objectives (key objectives) should be communicated to pupils by the teacher in a way that is understandable to the pupils or presented in some other way. Teachers can introduce pupils to the quality work of pupils in other classes, look for quality requirements together, draw the objective from previous activities. There are many possibilities, but it is important that each pupil understands the objective and knows what is expected of them. From the goals set together, personal goals (for individuals) or group goals can be set in relation to the needs of the pupils. Personal goals can be short term or long term. Their length depends on the age of the pupils, their level of development, their aptitudes, the broader goals they are working towards, their own efforts, and their intrinsic and extrinsic motivation. Personal goals should be communicated to pupils in a clear way, in a language they understand, be acceptable to the pupil, be achievable and be continuously evaluated. By participating in the evaluation of the personal goals set for their further development, the pupil takes responsibility for their learning.

2. Assessment criteria

If pupils know the objectives, they should know how to know that they have achieved them. What do they need to know and to what quality?  The assessment criteria help teachers and pupils to do this. A criterion is a description of some component of the work or the feature (quality) whose quality is being monitored. A criterion is "a name for a characteristic that occurs in several diverse objects but takes on different degrees of value from case to case" (Slavik, 1999).

Criteria can be grouped together to form a set of criteria for a particular activity, skill, or competency. The criteria help to concretize the performance of the learner, his/her results.

Criteria can be defined for key competences; expected outcomes of school curriculum subjects; product - the result of an activity; the process in which the product is created; methods and procedures of learning.

It always depends on the age of the pupils, their maturity, experience and the experience of the teacher. However, the principle that the criteria are known to the pupils before they are assessed should always apply.

The work with criteria complies with the requirements of Decree 48/2005, as amended: assessment should be unambiguous, comprehensible and comparable to the predefined criteria. The obligation to formulate assessment criteria is also referred to in the RVP ZV.

Why formulate criteria? (Kratochvílová, 2011).

- They help both the teacher and the pupils to know the whole and its sub-elements and the relationships between them, making them aware of the content or process that the pupils are expected to master.

- They help the teacher and pupils to evaluate performance (using different means - numbers, grades, points, words and different ways of assessment...).

- They help to find the positives in the pupil's performance and point out improvements in a completely non-violent way.

- They support all assessment functions.

- They involve the pupil's personality in the assessment process, guide him/her towards self-regulation of learning and make him/her responsible for his/her results.

- They provide the pupil with support for self-assessment. How can a teacher avoid the risks associated with the chosen assessment method?

3. Descriptive feedback

The basis of formative assessment and assessment for learning is assessment that provides the learner with essential information for assessing their performance (cognitive-informative function). To fulfil this function, sentences such as "You are clever", "You did well", "You are an excellent reader"; "That is a nice picture"... are not enough. In this case, we are talking about a labeling evaluation that completely denies the cognitive-informational function and the corrective-conative function. Such evaluation is superficial, general and functions as a means of extrinsic motivation in a positive or negative sense. It has an unhealthy effect on the pupil's self-concept. If a pupil is praised, he or she develops a positive image of him or herself based on general phrases, unsupported by concrete results; if he or she is evaluated negatively, he or she gradually begins to identify with this negative image and stops believing in his or her abilities, in good results and in possible change. "Everything is useless anyway, I can't do it." (self-fulfilling prophecy).

For this reason, we prefer descriptive language in assessment, describing a specific action, result, behaviour of the pupil, thus providing sufficient information to the pupil. By focusing primarily on the positives of the pupil's performance, we also strengthen the motivational function of the assessment. To do this, we often use adverbs and verbs (see example):

You can read with understanding, you can find important information in the text. Read more and more, you will find many interesting things in books that will help you to learn (Example of descriptive language from a verbal assessment written for a Year 4 pupil).

In order to provide formative feedback, teachers also need to collect information about the learning process and student performance. In this case, they apply in practice the methods and tools of pedagogical diagnosis. They are also helped by feedback from pupils, i.e. their self-assessment.

Example of descriptive language with informative, conative/corrective and motivational functions:

You worked well with paired consonants, which you distinguish well. Your essay has a hilarious story with a gradation and some tension at the end. You have met its scope. Don't forget to use commas before the conjunctions "but" and "that". Similarly, repeat the forms of the words 'when' and 'someone', which you are sometimes unsure of. It may help you to prefer shorter sentences to complete sentences in the style exercise. Write your texts in a neat handwriting that is easy to read. You have made a great effort in this respect. You have given reasons why you feel comfortable in your CJ lessons.

 Self-assessment is an assessment given to a pupil through which the pupil compares his/her performance against a set target. He compares his knowledge, skills and attitudes at a certain stage of his education with the desired state in order to effectively influence and guide his further learning and development (Kratochvílová, 2011, 2012).

Self-assessment (as well as teacher assessment) is a means as well as an end of teaching. Together with the teacher's evaluation, it forms an integral whole that influences the student's self-image, the formation of his/her self-concept and healthy self-esteem. It is a skill that needs to be gradually developed in the pupil. It cannot be assumed that a pupil can do a good self-assessment on his/her own. It is our responsibility to create a framework for self-assessment:

- appropriate conditions - classroom climate, peer relationships, safety, belonging

- space - time

- appropriate tools - criteria, indicators - indicators of success, quality, combining means and forms of assessment.

All this presupposes that the teacher must be convinced of the importance of self-evaluation and transmit his/her positive attitude towards it to his/her environment - pupils and parents. Not all parents perceive it as positive that pupils evaluate themselves. Not all parents accept that a pupil's self-evaluation is 'corrected' or supplemented by the teacher.

Pupil self-assessment is even legislatively "anchored" in the text of Decree No 454/2006, which requires schools to set out in their school regulations the principles and rules for pupil self-assessment.

This means that pupil self-assessment can no longer be a haphazard activity that teachers engage in superficially and only when they have time, but must be a fully planned and systematic activity that is a normal part of teaching.

For such self-assessment, it is necessary to create appropriate conditions and to build on the knowledge of your environment, which means:

- the gradual creation of a cooperative atmosphere in general (between pupils and teacher, but also between teacher and parents)

- the teacher's consistent communication of the aims of joint activities and activities in a simple and understandable way

- quality assessment used by the teacher, based on descriptive language that serves as a model for pupils and parents

- attempting to formulate criteria together on the basis of the preceding (age-appropriate)

- to lead pupils to attempt self-assessment in accordance with jointly developed criteria

- gradually leading the pupils to individualise their self-assessment, to make it more precise and concise, with the teacher's constant care and assistance

- guiding pupils to understand that evaluating others and oneself leads to a better understanding of mistakes and errors and facilitates correction or correction

- continuously guiding pupils to see that evaluation is a positive process, not criticism at all costs

- guiding children to think critically, to nurture and deepen personal identity - self-confidence and healthy self-esteem.

Teaching children 'objective' self-evaluation therefore requires a lot of time and a sequence of activities by which pupils learn this skill. It is done not only orally but also in written form. It is up to the teacher to choose the written tools, e.g. self-assessment sheets for certain activities to be filed in a portfolio, self-assessment books.

Example of a self-assessment written by a Year 5 pupil.

Figure 2. Example of a pupil's self-assessment. 

From the above examples it is clear that not only the pupil is involved in the process of self-evaluation, but also the teacher and parents:

Pupil:

- expresses "how I see myself" in descriptive language

- has the opportunity to realise "what I can do to improve my work"

- can have discussions with the teacher and parents about what approaches to take for his/her further development.

Teacher:

- assesses the pupil's ability to judge himself

- obtains feedback from the pupil's perspective (where the pupil feels insecure, deficient)

- chooses procedures for the development of the pupil's personality and self-esteem.

Parents:

- assess the pupil's ability to judge himself

- get the opportunity to talk to the child about his/her achievements at school

- can help the child to motivate and plan his/her learning, thus promoting a healthy self-concept.

The importance of self-assessment increases if we want to give the pupil some responsibility for his or her learning.

However, self-assessment processes must be compatible with teacher assessment and together they must form a whole towards assessment for learning.

4. Summative/formative evaluation

If we have done our best together with the pupils to master the set objectives (outcomes of the school curriculum), an evaluation of the learning outcomes, i.e. summative assessment, is in order. This can be expressed in various forms: classification/mark, verbal, a combination of both, graphical... It is up to the teacher to consider which form of assessment to use in a given situation. It is up to the teacher to decide how to work with the summative results and to continue to use them for formative purposes.

We recommend:

- Formative use of grading - use the grade in most cases to express the student's achievement as information for the student (not as a mere entry in their "notebook" or "student book").

- Use verbal assessment continuously in the learning process as formative, relying on descriptive language; be a model in using appropriate language for pupils.

- Make both grades and verbal assessments criterion-referenced (relate grades to criteria and do not emphasise comparisons between pupils) - this is more informative and allows you to highlight items where pupils have succeeded, even if they have done less well on other items.

- Always focus first on what the pupil can do; assess the motivational function of the following sentences: a) "Today you have already managed to spell y correctly in fifteen of the listed words and have made mistakes in five so far." b) "You have made five mistakes in the listed words."

- Use individual relational norms in grading; always take into account the actual conditions in which the grade is to be applied, especially in relation to the student's personal situation.

- Link the assessment to the pupil's self-assessment.

- Keep an ongoing record of pupils' results (record book, card index, record slips, etc.); the texts recorded will help you to make the pupil's results more concrete.

Summary - or what can we do to improve assessment?

- Assess only what we have taught the pupils.

- Strengthen formative assessment throughout pupils' learning.

- Include a wider range of performance in assessment.

- Define expected pupil performance as learning objectives - clearly and comprehensibly articulated,

communicate them to pupils.

- More tailor the learning process to the needs of individuals.

- Involve the pupil as a partner in the assessment process.

- Use different ways and means of assessment activities.

- Assess effectively - quantity does not mean quality.

- Assess in a balanced way, in a structure appropriate to the structure of the objectives and content of the lesson.

At the same time, the following should apply:

- The learner knows what he/she is supposed to learn and why he/she is learning it - meaningfulness of learning.

- He knows what he is going to do in order to learn something.

- He knows how he will demonstrate what he has learned.

- He knows by which criteria he will be assessed.

- Can assess his own progress and the outcome of his work.