The power of self assessment

What is assessment?
Assessment takes place within a classroom and includes diagnostic and formative feedback throughout the instructional period to improve learning. It reflects how well a student is achieving curriculum expectations. Self-assessment occurs when a student assess their own learning. This helps the student reflect and critically evaluate their learning process.

Educators have a document called Growing for Success that outlines the Ministry of Education's assessment, evaluation and reporting policy for educators who teach Kindergarten to grade 12. Within this document it discusses the various forms of assessment. Assessment for learning is defined as when teachers provide descriptive feedback to the students. Assessment as learning occurs when teachers provide their students with the tools for them to develop their capacity to be independent learners who are able to set goals, monitor progress, determine next steps and reflect on their learning. Lastly assessment of learning happens at the end of a learning period, and the teacher summarizes the learning that took place.

Pros and Cons to self-assessment
Students should be completing self-reflections within the classroom to help them identify areas that they need to improve. As a class, educators and students should create a success criteria for the upcoming assignment where it is clear, and detailed what the students will be evaluated on. This will help students become successful in their learning. Students can complete a self assessment in any grade.

Advantages and disadvantages of self-assessment 

Retrieved from Center of Education Innovation

This video describes the importance of self-assessment and ideas how to incorporate it into the classroom. 

     A recent article from the Globe and Mail discussed that high school students can take part in negotiating their final grades. An Ontario high school located in Caledon, ON will be working on a pilot project that is allowing students in grade 9 to sit down at the end of the course and have a discussion with their teacher in terms of their final mark. This strikes interesting points, however as an educator myself I wonder if it will work out.