Assessment For Learning: Make Sure You Know How To Use It For Optimum Student Progress

Assessment for learning is widely recognised by teachers and schools as a vital tool for teaching and effective learning. Over the past few decades, it has been subject to extensive research so will not be new to many educators. However, the Education Endowment Fund has found that many teachers and schools find it challenging to implement.

In this article we detail everything you need to know about how to implement assessment for learning successfully in your classroom and in your school.

What is assessment for learning?

Assessment for learning is the use of assessment to improve learning. The purpose of assessment for learning (AfL) is to gather information about a learner’s current understanding and use this to close the gaps between where they currently are and where they want to be.

Generally teachers do this by using assessment for learning to inform their planning or to inform the direction a lesson should go.

Teachers do this by adjusting their teaching strategies, including: 

• reteaching;
• providing scaffolding and support;
• addressing misconceptions;
• adding stretch and challenge.

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Some summarise assessment for learning as a three stage thought pattern or process for the teacher:

1. What does the student know?
2. How do I know that they know it?
3. What can I do next to provide support for the next stage?

It’s a constant process of making judgements on where students are so you can help them with their next stage. Assessment for learning also involves teachers empowering pupils to reflect on their own learning, to understand their success criteria and take the necessary steps to reach their learning goals themselves. This supports the development of students’ metacognitive strategies and helps them to take a more active role in their learning.

Impact of assessment for learning

Over the past few decades, several researchers have investigated AfL and its impact on student achievement. This includes the work of Paul Black and Dylan Wiliam who focussed on formative assessment in the classroom in their research, “Inside The Black Box”.

Another notable figure in AfL is John Hattie who recognised feedback as a strategy that brings about significant improvements in student performance, especially when feedback was about the student’s own work.

How is assessment for learning different from other forms of assessment?

The purpose of assessment for learning is different from assessment of learning, or summative assessment. Summative assessments are usually administered at the end of a learning period with the aim of evaluating students’ learning and include end of year tests and exams. In contrast, assessment for learning can occur at any stage of the learning process.

Assessment for learning is any assessment for which the first priority in its design and practice is to serve the purpose of promoting students’ learning. Such assessment becomes “formative assessment” when the evidence is actually used to adapt the teaching work to meet learning needs (Black et al., 2004).

Whether or not you find the distinction useful, there is a fundamental point here that assessment cannot be considered formative unless the evidence that is collected is used meaningfully. It is not the assessment strategies, activities or ‘things’ that you do that makes a difference to students’ learning, it is the changes you effect on your teaching in response to the evidence collected.

Read more: Formative and summative assessment

What does assessment for learning look like in the classroom?

Assessment for learning can take place at different stages of the learning process and with different stakeholders actively involved.

It’s important that teachers use a range of assessment for learning strategies and examples and use them at different stages of the learning process to gain greater insights into their pupils’ understanding.

Many teachers are well aware of the importance of effective questioning on learning outcomes and it is no doubt an important aspect of assessment for learning. However, the most successful classrooms will use a range of other assessment for learning strategies, including:

• Direct observation
• Feedback
• Self-assessment
• Peer-assessment
• The formative use of summative assessment

There are many different ways teachers can conduct classroom assessment and it will depend on the developmental stage, needs, strengths and weaknesses of your cohort.

Assessment for learning examples

Examples of assessment for learning are apparent in every maths lesson; the most effective tend to be teacher led, but there is also be place for peer and self assessment.

• Questioning
• Class quizzes
• Think pair share
• Mini whiteboards
• Admit and exit tickets

Whichever assessment tool you use for AfL, it is important that it is carried out with purpose, and that the information gathered is used to adapt the learning experiences and opportunities that you are providing to each child. The information obtained from assessment for learning can help you understand the children’s learning and adapt to this in future lessons.

Benefits of assessment for learning

1. Greater insight
   Teachers can gain insights into the level of understanding across the class at any given point in the lesson. This enables teachers to address misconceptions and fill gaps as they occur.

2. Deeper understanding
   Observing how students cope when working alone, in pairs and in groups can provide the teacher with a wealth of information. Teachers are able to not only see the pupils responding to a task but also listen to their reasoning and discussions to gain a deeper understanding of where each child is and what misconceptions they may still have.

3. Empowers pupils
   Children are involved in their own learning. This greater control helps them to understand what they are aiming for and how they will go about achieving that aim, therefore ensuring they are better focused on the aims of the lesson.

4. Engaging
   Pupils are more involved in their learning and classroom practice. They have a clearer understanding of what they need to do to achieve success because they receive effective types of feedback from their teacher. This increases their motivation as they are more aware of their own progress.

“I really like the way that the programme can be personalised to meet the needs of the individual and that as it is 1-1 they get immediate feedback. It enables pupils to develop communication skills as well as reasoning skills as they have to talk through the problems and explain their thinking.”

Headteacher, Teesside

Limitations of assessment for learning

1. Requires training
Teachers need support to ensure they receive the appropriate training to be able to carry out effective assessment for learning. Continued professional development needs to be ongoing to ensure all teachers within a school have the same shared understanding of what they are doing and why.

2. Risks turning into mini summative assessments
Teachers need to take care to not go down the route of turning assessment for learning into mini assessments of learning. AfL should be used regularly in teaching practice through different types of assessment, taking care not to over use strategies such as mini quizzes. 

3. Can be time consuming
AfL is usually carried out during lesson time and assessment activities don’t need to add to a teacher’s workload. However, it can become a time consuming task if a school requires data to be collected frequently.

It also takes time to ensure that the information collected is utilised appropriately to have a real impact on student outcomes.

Misconceptions of assessment for learning

1. Assessment for learning is an event
Assessment for learning shouldn’t be classed as a single event, but as an on-going process which teachers are involved with throughout every lesson.

2. Assessment results can discourage children
If the formative assessment is good, it keeps children believing that success is within reach and develops a growth mindset.

3. Multiple choice and selected response tests are always summative
How the form of assessment is used determines whether it is formative or summative, not the assessment practice itself.

Assessment for Learning (AfL) FAQs