Not every child is able to self-assess their learning in the classroom. Oftentimes students think they have a better understanding of a concept than they actually do, and therefore rate themselves higher than they are actually performing in the classroom. At this time, the teacher has observed the students writing fours for themselves for every skill, even before the skills have been taught. Instead of marking themselves with a zero or a one which is where they are performing, they will rate themselves a four. Other students will mark themselves a two or a three when they are at a four rating. They are able to verbally teach another student how to do a skill or perform a task. The self-assessments are to identify areas of strengths and areas of weakness. Both of these circumstances present a challenge for the teacher and the learner. The goal is to ensure that all children be aware of their own learning needs and strengths within each unit.

Self Assessment

Self-assessment could mean that students simply check off answers on a multiple-choice test and grade themselves, but it involves much more than that. Self-assessment is more accurately defined as a process by which students 1) monitor and evaluate the quality of their thinking and behavior when learning and 2) identify strategies that improve their understanding and skills. That is, self-assessment occurs when students judge their own work to improve performance as they identify discrepancies between current and desired performance. This aspect of self-assessment aligns closely with standards-based education, which provides clear targets and criteria that can facilitate student self-assessment. The pervasiveness of standards-based instruction provides an ideal context in which these clear-cut benchmarks for performance and criteria for evaluating student products, when internalized by students, provide the knowledge needed for self-assessment. Finally, self-assessment identifies further learning targets and instructional strategies (correctives) students can apply to improve achievement.

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Thus, self-assessment is conceptualized here as the combination of three components related in a cyclical, ongoing process: self-monitoring, self-evaluation, and identification and implementation of instructional correctives as needed. Essentially, students identify their learning and performance strategies, provide feedback to themselves based on well-understood standards and criteria, and determine the next steps or plans to enhance their performance

The Self-Assessment Process

Self-monitoring, a skill necessary for effective self-assessment, involves focused attention to some aspect of behavior or thinking. Self-monitoring students pay deliberate attention to what they are doing, often in relation to external standards. Thus, self-monitoring concerns awareness of thinking and progress as it occurs, and as such, it identifies part of what students do when they self-assess. A second component of self-assessment, self-judgment, involves identifying progress toward targeted performance. Made in relation to established standards and criteria, these judgments give students a meaningful idea of what they know and what they still need to learn. The standards are benchmarks and the criteria are guidelines for interpreting the level of performance students have demonstrated. The development and application of criteria in evaluating current performance enable meaningful evaluations, as long as the criteria are appropriately challenging. Students who are taught self-evaluation skills are more likely to persist on difficult tasks, be more confident about their ability, and take greater responsibility for their work. The third essential step is that students choose subsequent learning goals and activities to improve partially correct answers, to correct misunderstandings, and to extend learning. Because students at this stage need skills in determining learning targets and further instruction that will enhance their learning, they should be aware of options for further goals and instruction. Once the appropriate “instructional correctives,” as they are referred to, are complete, students resume self-monitoring. The growing literature on formative assessment has implications for self-assessment. Formative assessment can be defined as employing appropriate activities to provide feedback to enhance student motivation and achievement during instruction as students learn. Providing helpful information as learning occurs contrasts with providing feedback solely after instruction. There is substantial evidence that appropriate formative assessment activities relate positively to student motivation and achievement.

Academic performance

Student performance is measured using grade point average (GPA), high school graduation rate, annual standardized tests and college entrance exams. A student's GPA is typically measured on a scale of zero to four with higher GPAs representing higher grades in the classroom. Graduation rates are collected by state and federal education officials as a baseline measurement of secondary education performance. Each state conducts annual tests at the elementary, middle and high school levels to determine student proficiency in subjects like English and mathematics. These tests are also used to comply with federal education standards. School districts also track student performance on the ACT and SAT to determine readiness for higher education

Self assessment and academic performance

Self-assessment has been found to be a powerful educational tool for learning. Students are encouraged to participate in a legitimized, elaborated, and systematic process that supports learning. The students take ownership of their learning. Participating in self-assessment helps prevent unfair judgments. Students are also more highly motivated and engaged when they understand the criteria and standards. Through participation in this collaborative community, students are more cooperative and able to peer evaluate and support each other’s learning. Self-assessment has been found to have a profound impact on students’ performance in the classroom. Assessment involves two inter-related activities. First, there is a development of knowledge and an appreciation of the appropriate standards which may be applied to any given work. Students learn something and know what counts as good work. Second, there must be a capacity to make judgments about whether or not the work involved does or does not meet these set standards. By students participating in their own learning, and thereby understanding this knowledge, they are capable of then assessing if they met the standards of learning. Research has shown that classroom based assessment suggests that student learning and higher task performance are achieved by providing task oriented feedback to students. Students elicit discussion through their assignments and discussions. The teacher gathers evidence during this time of progress towards the goal. In addition, there has been a considerable interest in understanding and advancing evidence based practices that facilitate, validate, and support the involvement of students with cognitive disabilities in meeting standards of learning within the general education classroom. By promoting self-determination as a means of meeting these learning demands, more students can effectively progress in the general education classroom. By teaching problem solving skills, decision making, and self-directed learning strategies, more students can make progress within the standards of learning. By teaching goal setting, decision-making, and choice making, students are learning the components of self-directed learning and self-determined behavior. There has been an established literature base for validating the effect that teaching these components has on students with cognitive disabilities. Students with cognitive disabilities can learn to direct their learning and instruction in the context of learning within a general education classroom. It is interesting to note that there have been studies completed that found students with cognitive disabilities did not make the same gains in self-contained classrooms as they did within general education classrooms with same age peers. For example, one study was done in a middle school where they taught five middle school students a specific set of learning behaviors to be exhibited each day during their learning. These behaviors were called “classroom survival skills”. These behaviors included being in class when the bell rang, having appropriate materials for learning, greeting the teacher and other students, asking and answering questions, sitting up straight and looking at the teacher and other students when they made comments, and using a planner. Positive behaviors were noted during the study as well as positive changes in their learning. In a similar study of four high school students, they taught the students to set goals, monitor their work completion, and evaluate their performance towards their goals. Improvements were noted for all students.