Assessment for Learning:

Research-basedprinciples to guideclassroom practice

Assessment Reform Group 2002

10principles

is part of effectiveplanning

focuses on howstudents learn

is central toclassroom

practice

is a keyprofessional

skill

is sensitiveand

constructive

fostersmotivation

promotesunderstandingof goals and

criteriahelps learners

know how toimprove

developsthe capacity

for self-assessment

recognises alleducationalachievement

Assessment for Learning is the process of seeking and

interpreting evidence for use bylearners and their teachers to decide

where the learners are in their learning,where they need to go and how best to

get there.

Assessment for learning should recognise the full range of achievements of all learners

Assessment for learning should be used to enhance all learners’ opportunitiesto learn in all areas of educational activity. It should enable all learners toachieve their best and to have their efforts recognised.

Assessment forlearning develops learners’

capacity for self-assessment sothat they can become reflective

and self-managing

Independent learners have the ability to seek out andgain new skills, new knowledge and new understandings.

They are able to engage in self-reflection and to identify thenext steps in their learning. Teachers should equip

learners with the desire and the capacity to takecharge of their learning through developing the

skills of self-assessment.

Learners should receiveconstructive guidance about

how to improve

Learners need information and guidance inorder to plan the next steps in their learning.

Teachers should: pinpoint the learner’sstrengths and advise on how to develop

them; be clear and constructive aboutany weaknesses and how they might

be addressed; provide opportunitiesfor learners to improve upon their

work.

Assessment forlearning should

promote commitment tolearning goals and a shared

understanding of the criteria bywhich they are assessed

For effective learning to take placelearners need to understand what it is

they are trying to achieve - and wantto achieve it. Understanding and

commitment follows when learnershave some part in deciding goals

and identifying criteria forassessing progress.

Communicating assessmentcriteria involves discussing

them with learners usingterms that they can

understand, providingexamples of how the

criteria can be met inpractice and engaging

learners in peer- andself-assessment.

Assessment for Learning

Assessment for learningshould be part of effectiveplanning of teaching and learning

A teacher’s planning should provide opportunities for bothlearner and teacher to obtain and use information about progresstowards learning goals. It also has to be flexible to respond to initial andemerging ideas and skills. Planning should include strategies to ensure thatlearners understand the goals they are pursuing and the criteria that will beapplied in assessing their work. How learners will receive feedback, how theywill take part in assessing their learning and how they will be helped to makefurther progress should also be planned.

Assessment for learning shouldfocus on how students learn

The process of learning has to be in the minds of bothlearner and teacher when assessment is planned and when

the evidence is interpreted. Learners should become as awareof the ‘how’ of their learning as they are of the ‘what’.

Assessmentfor learning

should be recognisedas central to classroom

practice

Much of what teachers and learners do inclassrooms can be described as assessment.

That is, tasks and questions prompt learnersto demonstrate their knowledge,

understanding and skills. What learnerssay and do is then observed and

interpreted, and judgements aremade about how learning can be

improved. These assessmentprocesses are an essential part

of everyday classroom practiceand involve both teachers

and learners in reflection,dialogue and decision

making.

Assessment for learning shouldbe regarded as a key

professional skill for teachers

Teachers require the professionalknowledge and skills to: plan for

assessment; observe learning;analyse and interpret evidence

of learning; give feedback tolearners and support learners

in self-assessment. Teachersshould be supported in

developing these skillsthrough initial and

continuing professionaldevelopment.

Assessment for learningshould be sensitive andconstructive because anyassessment has anemotional impact

Teachers should be aware ofthe impact that comments,marks and grades can haveon learners’ confidence andenthusiasm and should beas constructive as possiblein the feedback that theygive. Comments thatfocus on the work ratherthan the person aremore constructive forboth learning andmotivation.

Assessment should takeaccount of the importance oflearner motivation

Assessment that encourageslearning fosters motivation byemphasising progress andachievement rather than failure.Comparison with others whohave been more successful isunlikely to motivate learners. Itcan also lead to theirwithdrawing from thelearning process in areaswhere they have beenmade to feel they are ‘nogood’. Motivation can bepreserved and enhancedby assessment methodswhich protect thelearner’s autonomy,provide some choiceand constructivefeedback, andcreate opportunityfor self-direction.

Research-based principles of assessment for learning to guide classroom practice

© Assessment Reform Group, 2002

ssessment for learning is one of themost important purposes of assessment. It is not the only purposeand is to be distinguished from

assessment of learning, which is carried out for the purposes of grading and reporting (ARG,1999). A review of research into classroomassessment (Black and Wiliam, 1998) has shownthat assessment for learning is one of the mostpowerful ways of improving learning and raisingstandards. Current research is adding furtherevidence in support of this claim and the empirical evidence is underpinned by theory from the psychology of learning and studies oflearning motivation.

While assessment of learning has well establishedprocedures, assessment for learning requires sometheoretical ideas to be put into practice if thepotential benefits are to be gained. In doing this, it is important to follow certain guiding principleswhich reflect the essential features of assessmentfor learning.

The Principles of assessment for learningpresented here have benefited from commentsfrom a wide variety of individuals and associations,whose help is gratefully acknowledged. Thisleaflet/poster is a further step towards changingassessment practice to safeguard the necessaryquality of learning experiences needed forachieving the goals of education.

This leaflet/poster was produced with support from the Nuffield Foundation

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The ARG members who produced these principles are

Professor Patricia Broadfoot University of Bristol

Professor Richard Daugherty University of Wales,Aberystwyth

Professor John Gardner Queen’s University,Belfast

Professor Wynne Harlen University of Bristol

Dr Mary James University of Cambridge

Dr Gordon Stobart Institute of Education,University of London

For further information about the work of the Assessment Reform Group, and to download copies of this leaflet/poster, please see http://www.assessment-reform-group.org.uk

The Assessment Reform Group (ARG)has played a key role in bringing theresearch evidence about assessmentfor learning to the attention of theeducation community through thecommissioned Black and Wiliam work,Inside the Black Box, and the follow-up, Assessment for Learning: beyondthe black box. In continuing itsendeavour to improve practice inassessment it has developed thePrinciples of assessment for learning.