Assessment for Learning: A Comprehensive Guide

Assessments have become integral to today's teaching, learning, and data-driven decision-making efforts. If assessment is to be a positive force in education, it must be implemented properly. It cannot be used to merely sort students or to criticize education. Its goals must be to improve education. This article aims to provide a detailed understanding of "assessment for learning," its principles, practices, and its relationship with other forms of assessment.

Distinguishing Assessment for Learning

Do educators distinguish between assessments for learning and assessments of learning? Catherine Garrison and Michael Ehringhaus, PhD, authors of Formative and Summative Assessments in the Classroom, point out that the more information we can gather about students as they engage and advance in the learning process, the more equipped educators are with vital insight and data to adjust instruction and intervention plans.

Assessment for Learning Defined

Assessment for learning is a process where teachers seek and use evidence to decide where learners are in their learning, where they need to go, and how best to get there. The emphasis here is on using assessment practices to gather information, which can then be used to make judgments about teaching decisions and directly improve learning. The emphasis is on those assessments, which are used to directly help with learning. The term ‘assessment’ is being used in the general sense of ‘gathering information to make a judgement’. This approach to assessment is known as formative assessment, as it ‘informs’ learning.

The Core Principle: Building on Prior Knowledge

Assessment for learning begins with finding out where the student is in their learning. Classroom teachers gather evidence to help them understand what their students already know and what they need to learn. Building on what learners already know is the most effective way of learning - the psychologist David Ausubel observes: ‘The most important single factor influencing learning is what the learner knows already. Ascertain this and teach him accordingly’[i].

Classroom Dialogue as a Tool

Classroom dialogue is a powerful source of finding out what students know. What happens when a teacher asks the class a question and gets an unexpected answer from a student? The temptation is to move on to someone else, who may then give the correct answer. What if, instead, the teacher stays with this student and tries to find out how this answer was arrived at? Was it a different interpretation of the question, a misunderstanding of a word, or interference from a first language? This is the teacher using assessment to help the learning process, both the teacher’s (who finds out more about the student’s understanding), and the student’s (who makes explicit the reasoning behind the answer). Good questions from the teacher are at the heart of classroom dialogue.

Read also: Enhancing Student Growth

The Importance of Wait Time

Other classroom research has studied how much thinking time we give our students after we ask a question. The surprise finding was that teachers waited for less than one second before they took action. One assessment for learning practice is to introduce ‘wait time’ in which the teacher deliberately allows more time for thought. This will often be combined with ‘pair and share’ activities which invite students to talk to each other about the answer before the teacher chooses someone to answer.

The Role of Tests and Quizzes

Are classroom tests and quizzes part of Assessment for Learning? Yes, but these assessments will only be formative if there is a follow-up to the responses - ‘why did you choose this answer?’. Simply giving a mark or marking responses as right or wrong does not contribute to the learning process - unless students are asked to work out why an answer is wrong. Summative assessments (for example, published tests) can also be used formatively, if the responses are used to diagnose what students have understood so that further learning can take place.

Key Practices in Assessment for Learning

Another important assessment for learning practice involves helping students understand what they are learning, why they are learning it, and how this new learning will contribute to their progress. This means that teachers themselves have to be clear about what is being learned, and how a lesson contributes to progress. This is more than knowing what the class will do in a particular lesson, it’s about what students will learn from these activities. And it’s not enough for the teacher to be clear, the students themselves need to be aware of the learning intention - what the lesson is seeking to achieve.

Defining Learning Intentions and Success Criteria

Knowing the learning intention is only part of the story, students also need to know what successful learning will look like, the ‘where they need to go’ of assessment for learning. This involves making clear to the students the success criteria, what is involved in a successful performance.

The Use of Exemplars and Modeling

Teachers may also provide anonymous examples of other students’ work, some successfully meeting the success criteria, some falling short. Groups may then be asked to use the criteria (no more than four) to judge ‘which the better performance and why?’.

Feedback as a Powerful Tool

Feedback becomes one of the most powerful forms of learning when it helps learners close the gap between their current and the desired performance. Feedback is a two-way process, it is not simply the teacher giving advice to students, our students are continuously giving us feedback - about what they understand, about misconceptions and about what engages them. While effective feedback has a powerful effect on learning, much of what we call feedback does not ‘close the gap’ - it may even have a negative effect on learning.

Characteristics of Effective Feedback

It is specific and clear. When a 14-year-old Norwegian was given the feedback ‘write more’, he responded: ‘If I knew more I would have written it - I don’t know what more to write. Teachers should tell me what is missing’[iii]. He was right. To be effective feedback needs to provide specific advice on how to improve. (‘What words could you use instead of ‘nice’ in your report?’).
It is well-timed. Choosing the right moment to give feedback is a teaching skill. Often it will be best as the student is doing the work so as to move it in the right direction. With more fluent performers it may come afterwards - music teachers don’t usually interrupt in the middle of a practice piece, they wait and then go back to the problem. Allowing time for students to work on the feedback is also important. The same Norwegian study also found: When students are given time to respond and the teacher follows up on the feedback, it is treated as positive. If they are not given time to act on the feedback, they see it as negative and critical.
The feedback is clearly linked to the learning intention and success criteria. If the focus of the learning has been made clear to the student, then the feedback should be directly linked to this. As teachers, we are tempted to give feedback on other aspects of the work as well, particularly presentational features such as spelling, punctuation and grammar. This distracts from the main learning, and we may give so much feedback that the student does not recognise what is the most important. A helpful practice here is to think in terms of ‘medals and mission’[iv] - recognition of one or two aspects of the work that meet the criteria (medals) and one instruction on what can be done to improve the work (mission).
The feedback focuses on the task, not the learner. When the focus is on the quality of the work, students can see what they need to do to improve further. ‘This work hasn’t progressed much from the last piece, what further improvements could you make?’. This allows the student to reflect and become a more resilient learner. When feedback is directed at the self (‘you’re a brilliant student’; ‘you’re a disappointment’) students respond by protecting their reputation. With ‘star’ students this may mean, in order to preserve their reputation, never failing - so they look for the safe route and take no risks.
It gives prompts in a way that moves the learning forward. Students will be at different stages in their learning: For beginners, we may need to provide concrete examples of what is needed (‘here are two ways you could organise your report’); With progress, the feedback is aimed at giving the student more structure (‘scaffolding’) - ‘can you see how to organise the points you make?’. As the learner becomes more proficient, the feedback reminds learners about what they already know, expecting them to use their skills: ‘Remember that the conclusion should link back to the opening paragraph’.
Good feedback offers strategies rather than solutions. To be given the correct answers is not helpful if the students don’t know why these are correct. Even when given time to respond to the teacher’s comments, they may make the corrections mechanically and without understanding. Effective feedback challenges, requires action, and is achievable. If feedback does not encourage students to think and to act on their work, it will be unsuccessful, the is no closing of the gap. It also means the time the teacher has spent preparing it has been wasted.

Assessment in Project-Based Learning (PBL)

This chapter aims to describe the assessment practices used in a PBL (project-based learning) approach, adopting an integrated view, where teaching, learning, and assessment are student-centered. It explores the assessment methods, moments and participants in the teaching and learning process. Assessment procedures, criteria, and tasks will be carefully presented, as well as the benefits and constraints which they entail. Based on the significant and consolidated experience acquired with the implementation of PBL, since the year 2005, in this context, along with the scientific research produced to continuously evaluate and improve this learning approach, authors will present guidelines for the successful implementation of student-centered assessment practices in the context of PBL approaches in higher education.

Assessment for Learning vs. Assessment of Learning

Assessment plays a crucial role in the education system, providing valuable insights into students’ progress and understanding. Two key approaches to assessment, often distinguished in educational circles, are Assessment of Learning (AoL) and Assessment for Learning (AfL).

Assessment of Learning assists teachers in using evidence of student learning to assess achievement against outcomes and standards. Sometimes referred to as ‘summative assessment’, it usually occurs at defined key points during a teaching work or at the end of a unit, term or semester, and may be used to rank or grade students. The effectiveness of assessment of learning for grading or ranking purposes depends on the validity, reliability, and weighting placed on any one task.

Assessment for learning involves teachers using evidence about students’ knowledge, understanding, and skills to inform their teaching.

Assessment of Learning (AoL)

Assessment of Learning, often referred to as summative assessment, is designed to evaluate students’ overall achievement and proficiency at the end of a learning period. This type of assessment typically takes the form of final exams, standardized tests, or end-of-term projects.

Endpoint Evaluation: AoL occurs at the conclusion of a unit, course, or academic year.
Assessment strategies are designed to confirm what students know, demonstrate whether or not they have met curriculum outcomes or to certify proficiency and make decisions about students’ future. It usually takes place at the end of a task, unit of work,

Assessment for Learning (AfL)

Assessment for Learning, also known as formative assessment, is an ongoing, interactive process that takes place during the learning journey. Unlike AoL, AfL is not focused on assigning grades or determining final outcomes.

Continuous and Informative: AfL occurs throughout the learning process, allowing for continuous monitoring of students’ progress.
Student-Centered: AfL emphasizes the active involvement of students in the assessment process.
Flexible and Adaptive: AfL is flexible and adaptive, allowing educators to adjust their teaching strategies based on the ongoing assessment data.
Formative Assessment: Assessment that takes place during teaching to make adjustments to the teaching process. The main goal of this type of assessment is to monitor, guide, improve, support and regulate student learning.

Contrasting Purposes

Purpose: The primary purpose of AoL is to evaluate and measure the overall achievement of students, often assigning grades or determining eligibility for further education or employment.
Assessment measures if and how students are learning and if the teaching methods are effectively relaying the intended messages. Hanna and Dettmer (2004) suggest that you should strive to develop a range of assessments strategies that match all aspects of their instructional plans. Instead of trying to differentiate between formative and summative assessments it may be more beneficial to begin planning assessment strategies to match instructional goals and objectives at the beginning of the semester and implement them throughout the entire instructional experience. The selection of appropriate assessments should also match course and program objectives necessary for accreditation requirements.

A Holistic View

Rather than view assessment of/for/as learning as hierarchical it may be more effective to view assessment of/for/as learning more holistically as more of an interplay of assessment within the learning environment. While some learning theorists may desire to craft a potential learning environment that uses assessment as learning, the reality we face, and that our learners face is not theoretical. We live in a world where we use credentialing exams and other forms of standardized testing and while we have seen a recent move toward implementing formative feedback most educators’ reality reveals that assessment of learning dominates. Moving toward assessment for learning and assessment as learning will only be possible if we look at the bigger picture. We need to help educators to recognize that we are not asking for a full pendulum swing away from assessment of learning to assessment as learning with assessment for learning somewhere in the middle. We must also acknowledge that our teaching and learning environment are dramatically influenced by the assessments we use. If we consider assessment of/for/as learning as an integral part of the learning environment and we look to fully integrate assessment as part of the learning process then we do our learners justice by helping them to experience a balance in the assessment of/for/as learning. While this more focused examination of assessment of/for/as learning may provide a novel perspective for some, we have been incorporating the assessment of/for/as learning inter-relationship in the creation of our significant learning environments and when we give learners choice, ownership and voice through authentic learning. This assessment as learning perspective is a practical way to move into what the researcher Mizerow would argue is transformational learning. Mizerow (2000 & 2010) argues that you do not learn things until you tell someone about what you have learned.

Diagnostic, Formative, and Summative Assessments

Assessment is the process of gathering data. More specifically, assessment is the ways instructors gather data about their teaching and their students’ learning (Hanna & Dettmer, 2004). The data provide a picture of a range of activities using different forms of assessment such as: pre-tests, observations, and examinations. Once these data are gathered, you can then evaluate the student’s performance. Evaluation, therefore, draws on one’s judgment to determine the overall value of an outcome based on the assessment data. There are three types of assessment: diagnostic, formative, and summative. Although are three are generally referred to simply as assessment, there are distinct differences between the three.

Diagnostic Assessment

Diagnostic assessment can help you identify your students’ current knowledge of a subject, their skill sets and capabilities, and to clarify misconceptions before teaching takes place (Just Science Now!, n.d.).

Formative Assessment

Formative assessment provides feedback and information during the instructional process, while learning is taking place, and while learning is occurring. Formative assessment measures student progress but it can also assess your own progress as an instructor. For example, when implementing a new activity in class, you can, through observation and/or surveying the students, determine whether or not the activity should be used again (or modified). A primary focus of formative assessment is to identify areas that may need improvement.

Summative Assessment

Summative assessment takes place after the learning has been completed and provides information and feedback that sums up the teaching and learning process. Typically, no more formal learning is taking place at this stage, other than incidental learning which might take place through the completion of projects and assignments. Rubrics, often developed around a set of standards or expectations, can be used for summative assessment. Rubrics can be given to students before they begin working on a particular project so they know what is expected of them (precisely what they have to do) for each of the criteria. Rubrics also can help you to be more objective when deriving a final, summative grade by following the same criteria students used to complete the project. High-stakes summative assessments typically are given to students at the end of a set point during or at the end of the semester to assess what has been learned and how well it was learned. Grades are usually an outcome of summative assessment: they indicate whether the student has an acceptable level of knowledge-gain-is the student able to effectively progress to the next part of the class? To the next course in the curriculum? To the next level of academic standing? Summative assessment is more product-oriented and assesses the final product, whereas formative assessment focuses on the process toward completing the product. Once the project is completed, no further revisions can be made.

Assessment as Learning

Assessment as learning occurs when students are their own assessors. If we want to encourage our learners to become more autodidactic it would then seem reasonable to shift from assessment of learning to assessment for learning and ultimately get to assessment as learning.

Fostering a Learner's Mindset

Even though constructivist learning theorists for many decades promoted the benefits of self-directed learning or autodidactism it wasn’t until the COVID crisis of 2020 and the mass forced remote learning that most educators had realized that too many students were not suited or prepared to learn online. Why? Justin Reich (2020) points to research in his book, A Failure to Disrupt: Why Technology Alone Can’t Transform Education, which shows that the learners who are most successful in an online or blended environment that requires self-pacing and personal motivation are those who are already successful in school. These self-directed, self-motivated, and academically prepared learners will succeed in any learning environment because they know how to learn and assess the quality of their own work. The problem that we face is that the vast majority of students are dependent on their teachers to direct their learning and to administer standardized testing. If autodidactic learners are able to learn in any type of environment then we should be asking how do we help our learners become autodidacts and adopt a learner’s mindset. Our research in the Digital Learning and Leading (DLL) program at Lamar University, our experience in the School of Instructor Education at Vancouver Community college over the past several years, and several decades of related research and experience in a wide variety of learning environments have confirmed that if you create a significant learning environment where you give your learners choice, ownership, and voice through authentic learning opportunities (CSLE+COVA) you can incorporate assessment FOR/AS learning which can help shift a learner toward a learner’s mindset. We have also learned through our experience and research that incorporating feedforward or educative formative assessment will also help to continue that shift toward the learner’s mindset. Unfortunately, all too often there is a very different learning environment that our students experience in the courses and programs I have developed and instructed than the type of the learning environment that my students are able to create for their learners in their organizations. Finding the right balance between assessment of learning, assessment for learning, and assessment as learning is one more factor that plays a significant role in the learning environment.

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