How is assessment used to support learning

The student needs to make a choice between cramming to pass an exam and the next day forgetting most of what was learned or distributing retrieval practice over time and being able to recall most of what was learned for days and months after the exam, and thus being prepared for the next course level or for employment. An example of distributed practice would be as follows: take a formative quiz; wait two days and retake; wait five days and retake; wait ten days and retake; wait thirty day and retake just before the final exam.

The time put into the distributed practice would be no more than the time put into cramming just before the final exam and would result in long term memory benefits plus less stress before taking the final exam because of being well prepared.

Flash cards can be a powerful tool for learning and for self-assessing learning. The best flash card method is the Leitner system. The Leitner system was introduced by Sabastian Leitner in the s and uses four or five boxes for the flash cards.

The first box contains the cards to be learned, and any card that is answered correctly in box one is moved to box number two. Any card in box two that is answered correctly is moved to box three, and so forth with the other boxes. When retesting, any card that is missed in any box is moved back to box one. Thus, the cards in the lower boxes, which the student knows less well, are reviewed more frequently than the cards in the higher boxes.

This method works because it requires spaced retrieval practice, which makes learning the material more efficient and effective. Reflection is about thinking back to an experience or what was learned.

It requires the student to remember what happened, what the student did, and how it worked out. Reflecting can work as a form of self-quizzing because it requires memory retrieval and thus is a form of retrieval practice. One key to addressing both of those issues that we understand at our Envision schools is the understanding that they are inextricably linked.

While in some circles, assessment is a top-down process done by teachers who decide where students are on the continuum of learning, we engage students directly in assessing their own progress. This is part of our Know, Do, Reflect approach to learning.

Here's an illustration of that process:. The reflection step in this on-going learning cycle is an essential element where assessment happens. Reflection invites students and teachers to recognize growth and accomplishments as well as identify opportunities for improvement and development.

It is not separate from the learning process: It is an integral step on the path to deeper learning -- it's assessment as learning. The assessment process itself helps students develop critical thinking and analysis skills. Students who assess themselves are learning and improving their cognitive skills while assessment is happening.

For example, in our classrooms, students are often asked to reflect on what they know before, during, and after a particular lesson, inviting them not only to chart a course for the progress they want to make but also to understandwhat they already bring to the classroom. Evidence from assessments can be directly beneficial to students. When assessment activities are aligned with instructional activities and content standards, teachers can provide students with information about which concepts and skills they need to learn.

Then teachers can use assessment results to help students understand what they already know and what they still need to work on [v]. Reduced test anxiety is one of the potential benefits of practice testing. High-stakes statewide assessments can make students nervous. However, preparing students using low-stakes assessments with similar formats and questions can be instrumental in making them feel more comfortable when they are in formal assessment settings.

Furthermore, practice testing does more than teach test-taking skills and calm nerves. Frequent in-class practice can help students understand their mastery of the content, which, in turn, can help reduce test anxiety. As students prepare, they will become more comfortable answering different types of questions and, therefore, develop proficiency with learning goals [vi].

Quality assessments can Improve long-term recall for students Inform instruction or curriculum Provide evidence of learning Provide the opportunity to reduce test anxiety in students and help build content mastery By approaching the topic of assessment more broadly, school and district leaders can help students and their parents to understand better the benefits of assessment.