examples of teacher self assessment in education

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What Is a Teacher Self-Assessment? Tools, Types and Benefits

The number of public school teachers has grown in the past decade, the National Center for Education Statistics reports: A comparison between the 2011-12 and 2020-21 academic years reveals an 11 percent increase. However, according to the Government Accountability Office (GAO), there are teacher shortages in approximately three-quarters of U.S. states. During the pandemic, between 2019 and 2021, 7 percent of public school teachers decided to leave the profession, further exacerbating the challenge, the GAO reports.

Despite the many difficulties they face, teachers remain dedicated to providing the best education possible to their students. As teachers seek to nurture their students’ curiosity and creativity, teacher self-assessments emerge as a valuable practice that can benefit everyone. These reflective exercises, combined with pursuing an advanced education in inclusive instruction, can empower educators to gauge their effectiveness in the classroom.

What Is a Teacher Self-Assessment?

A teacher self-assessment is a tool that a teacher can use to measure their teaching performance against their goals. The process often involves answering questions about their teaching methods and what impact they have on student learning.

Questions may focus on key elements of teaching practice, such as:

• Am I creating a conducive learning environment?
• How is my teaching practice facilitating student-centered learning?
• What enrichment activities am I offering? Are they encouraging open discussions?

A teacher self-assessment may involve collecting and analyzing relevant evidence, for example, student work samples or questionnaire responses.

Since objectivity is key in self-assessments, teachers use specific criteria to assess the effectiveness of their teaching practice. Another key is to be straightforward and honest when answering questions. Self-assessments are best conducted in a setting conducive to reflection, whether that’s at home, in a classroom after school hours, or in a quiet space of choice.

Different Types of Teacher Self-Assessments

A teacher self-assessment can be approached in any of a number of different ways. A common practice is for teachers to observe themselves through video recordings. This approach can help them rate their own effectiveness in delivering instruction, engaging students and managing the classroom.

In another example, teachers compile a portfolio containing lesson plans and sample materials. Teachers could include a collection of work that showcases their growth, reflections, achievements and evidence of development. Teachers can then refer to these materials when they set goals for the future as well.

Teacher self-assessments can also include activities such as journaling. Teachers can record their experiences throughout a school year — both good and bad — and then review their notes at the end of the year. This approach can provide insights into what was effective and what could be improved upon.

A teacher’s self-assessment can include observation from peers as well. In this approach, teachers ask their colleagues, typically more experienced teachers, to observe them in their classroom. This can lead to constructive feedback and new ideas that can help teachers improve their teaching practice and their students’ educational outcomes.

These self-assessment approaches can empower teachers to gain insights, identify growth areas and improve their overall effectiveness.

The Benefits of Self-Assessment

Teacher self-assessments provide a systematic approach to building new skills, which can help teachers become more competitive and position themselves for better pay. Of course, many criteria influence teacher salaries, and there are variances in teacher salaries by state as well.

By engaging in a self-assessment, teachers can gain insights into their teaching methods and strategies, which can enable them to identify areas for improvement and make necessary adjustments to improve student outcomes.

Teacher self-assessments offer numerous other benefits for educators as well, such as the following:

• They can uncover challenges and skills teachers may have overlooked or not fully recognized. A deep exploration of their teaching practice can illuminate areas for further development.
• They can help teachers identify pressing problems. For example, teachers might recognize the need to prioritize certain important issues for students, leading them to work with an instructional coordinator to address specific concerns through targeted solutions and improvements.
• They can allow teachers to delve into specific aspects of their teaching practice. Teachers can move beyond the jargon, such as “good performance,” to come up with concrete evaluations of their instructional performance.

Another benefit of teacher self-assessments is that they allow teachers to make informed decisions, implement effective strategies and be honest with themselves about what’s working in the classroom. Making an effort to conduct self-assessments also demonstrates a teacher’s willingness to improve, their commitment to pursuing teaching excellence and their desire to achieve professional growth.

Teacher Self-Assessment vs. Traditional Evaluations: What’s Different?

Teacher self-assessments and traditional evaluations may be different, but they both can play an important role in teachers’ professional development. Self-assessment is a personalized, reflective approach. The source of the evaluation is the teacher themselves. In other words, teachers consider their own teaching practice to judge their strengths and weaknesses and identify areas for improvement.

Self-assessments are also voluntary and tend to be informal. Teachers may choose to ask their peers to observe them in class for the purpose of self-improvement.

On the other hand, traditional evaluations are based on the perspectives of school administrators or teachers’ supervisors. Unlike a self-assessment, a traditional evaluation is a formal process that relies on standardized criteria, accountability measures and observation protocols defined by a school district.

Teacher self-assessments empower teachers to practice autonomy in setting goals and creating action plans for improvement. In contrast, traditional evaluations are typically a requirement imposed by a supervisor or external authority such as a school district administrator. This approach may limit a teacher’s ability to shape the evaluation process.

Combining these two approaches can provide a comprehensive and well-rounded evaluation of a teacher’s performance and professional growth.

Self-Assessment Tools

Teachers can use any of various tools for their self-assessments, including self-reflection, surveys and questionnaires. For instance, they can use rubrics containing checklists that outline teaching criteria. Before the start of the school year, the teacher develops a checklist to measure areas such as planning, lesson content, classroom organization, instruction delivery, student engagement and classroom management. Throughout the year, they rate themselves and identify areas for improvement.

Teachers can also use readily available self-assessment tools that offer structured frameworks. These tools pose questions that cover aspects of teaching such as subject matter knowledge, planning skills and effectiveness in delivering instruction. Teachers assess themselves and receive personalized feedback. For example, the American Institutes for Research offers teachers a self-assessment tool to help them reflect on their teaching practices that support social and emotional learning for students.

Another teacher self-assessment method is collaboration with others. As such, a teacher can ask their students about the students’ perception of what’s being taught, the classroom environment, their level of engagement and their level of satisfaction. Students can share their feedback through a survey or questionnaire the teacher provides.

Advance Your Teaching Career

Teacher self-assessments can unlock teachers’ potential to advance in their careers. They can help teachers overcome challenges and harness their strengths. They are a powerful tool that can empower lifelong learning, enabling teachers to adapt to challenges, stay ahead of the curve and embrace the latest teaching practices.

Teachers with a growth mindset and a commitment to continuous improvement can further enhance their careers by advancing their education. Augusta University Online’s Master of Education in Instruction program offers a curriculum focused on classroom management, pedagogical theory, assessment analysis and curriculum design. The program focuses on preparing teachers with the skills and knowledge they need to foster inclusive and student-focused learning environments.

Learn more about how the program can help you reach your professional goals as a teacher.

Recommended Readings What Can You Do With a Master of Education?

Sources: Abeka, Teacher Self-Evaluation American Institutes for Research, Self-Assessing Social and Emotional Instruction and Competencies: A Tool for Teachers Center on Great Teachers and Leaders, Teacher Leadership: Self-Assessment and Readiness Tools Education Week , “The Status of the Teaching Profession Is at a 50-Year Low. What Can We Do About It?” EF, “Why This One Habit Can Transform Your Teaching” National Center for Education Statistics, Characteristics of Public School Teachers National Education Association, NEA Teacher Evaluation and Accountability Toolkit SafetyCulture, “Teacher Evaluation Methods for Effective Quality Teaching” U.S. Government Accountability Office, “Pandemic Learning: Less Academic Progress Overall, Student and Teacher Strain, and Implications for the Future”

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University Center for Teaching and Learning

Self-assessment, self assessment.

Self-assessments allow instructors to reflect upon and describe their teaching and learning goals, challenges, and accomplishments. The format of self-assessments varies and can include reflective statements, activity reports, annual goal setting and tracking, or the use of  a tool like the Wieman Teaching Practices Inventory. Teaching Center staff can offer individual instructors feedback on their self-assessments and recommendations for how to use results to improve teaching. The Teaching Center can also help schools and departments select, design, and teach instructors to use self-assessment tools.

Sample Self-Assessment Tools

• The Teaching Practices Inventory , a 72-item reflective, self-reporting tool developed by Carl Wieman and Sarah Gilbert, was created for instructors teaching undergraduate STEM courses. It helps instructors determine the extent to which they use research-based teaching practices.
• The Teaching Perspectives Inventory , a 45-item inventory that can be used to determine your teaching orientation. This inventory can be a helpful tool for reflection and improvement of teaching. It can also help you prepare to write or revise a statement of teaching philosophy .
• Instructor Self-Evaluation , created by the Measurement and Research Division of the Office of Instructional Resources at the University of Illinois Urbana
• The Inventory of Inclusive Teaching Strategies, created by the University of Michigan’s CRLT
• Faculty Teaching Self-Assessment form, created by Central Piedmont Community College
• Faculty Self-Evaluation of Teaching , created by the University of Dayton, contains self-evaluation rubrics, a narrative self-evaluation form, and several series of reflective questions.

Resources and Readings for Self-Assessment

Blumberg, P. (2014). Assessing and improving your teaching: Strategies and rubrics for faculty growth and student learning . Jossey-Bass.

Collins, J. B., & Pratt, D. D. (2011). The Teaching Perspectives Inventory at 10 Years and 100,000 respondents: Reliability and validity of a teacher self-report inventory. Adult Education Quarterly, 61 (4), 358–375. ( NOTE: To access this content, you must be logged in or log into the University Library System.)

Holmgren, R.A. (2004, March 26). Structuring self-evaluations. Allegheny College.

Rico-Reintsch, K. I. (2019). Using faculty self-evaluation as an innovative tool to improve university courses. Revista CEA, 5 (10), 69-81. doi:10.22430/24223182.1445

Wieman, C. & Gilbert, S. (2014). The Teaching Practices Inventory: A new tool for characterizing college and university teaching in mathematics and science. CBE Life Sciences Education, 13 (3). doi: 10.1187/cbe.14-02-0023

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Principles of assessment for learning

• 2 Working in groups
• 3 Self and peer assessment
• 4 Sharing objectives and criteria
• 5 Questioning
• 6 Using feedback
• 7 Using tests

Self and peer assessment

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Discover how you can use self and peer assessment to actively involve students in their learning, including teaching tips and examples to use in your classroom

Source: © Shutterstock

Self and peer assessment gives students a structure to reflect on their work, what they have learned and how to improve.

What is self and peer assessment?

Self-assessment enables students to take ownership of their learning by judging the extent of their knowledge and understanding. It provides a structure for them to reflect on their work, what they have learned and how to improve.

Peer-assessment, where they act as critical friends and support each other, can help students to develop self-assessment skills.

In order to make any judgements, students must have grasped the learning and the standards of work expected of them.

Why use these techniques?

Through self and peer assessment, students take more responsibility for their own learning. It helps the individual to:

• assess their own progress objectively
• crystallise learning objectives
• recognise their understanding
• think about what they did not understand
• grow in confidence
• take their own learning forwards.

Within the class, it fosters respect and collaboration.

Peer criticism can be more effective than that from the teacher because:

• The normal shared language will be used.
• It acts as a stimulus to complete work and to raise standards.
• Some students are more receptive to comments from their peers.
• Group feedback can command more attention than that of an individual.

It frees up the teacher to concentrate on what is not known, rather than what is.

How do I set up self or peer assessment?

When preparing for an activity involving self or peer assessment, it is vital to:

• Create an atmosphere of mutual trust.
• Decide how the students will discover the learning objectives. Criteria for success must be transparent.
• Select a technique suitable to the topic (see ’Example activities’ below for some ideas). Give explicit instructions.
• Encourage students to listen to others, to ask questions on points that they do not understand and to contribute ideas and opinions (see ’Discussion and feedback’ below).

Example activities

Examples of what the students might do include:

• Research and present within a small group, which then judges each talk.
• Make a judgement about an answer and suggest improvements.
• Use the criteria to give feedback about their peer’s work.
• Research answers in order to give feedback about their peer’s work.
• Comment on anonymous work.
• Indicate how confident they are about a topic or task (both before and after an activity).
• Write questions to match a learning outcome and then answer questions written by others.
• In groups, generate questions for homework, then select the best through class discussion.
• Analyse a marking scheme and apply it to their own or others’ work.
• Develop the learning outcomes for a given area of work for themselves.

Discussion and feedback

• Have a strategy to tackle the weaknesses that are identified. For example, if it is a small number of students, draw them together for further work whilst giving the rest of the class an extension activity.
• Allow plenty of time for students to take action following feedback from peers or you. This may be repeating an experiment, carrying out further research or rewriting their notes. You may have to provide input for this.
• Use plenaries and feedback, to pause and take stock, during and towards the end of the session.
• Check that, if needed, students have made correct records.

Hints and tips for promoting effective self and peer assessment

Alternative plenary.

In this variation, a small group of students leads the discussion, instead of the teacher. When preparing and running the activity, it is important to:

• Let students know that they will sometimes lead a plenary themselves.
• Remind the class of the learning objectives.
• Use judicious questions to review the learning achieved.
• Summarise as a basis for working out the next steps.
• Ensure that the class agrees with any summary (may be by group discussion).
• Ensure that there is opportunity for students to make additional points.
• Give supportive, tactful feedback to the leaders.

‘Traffic lights’ or ‘Thumbs up’

Using this technique, students show an instant evaluation of their knowledge and understanding. From this, both teacher and student can recognise problems.

• thumbs up – confident
• thumbs sideways – some uncertainty
• thumbs down – little confidence.

Using green, amber and red ‘traffic light’ cards, instead of thumbs, makes students give a definite response and provides the teacher with a good visual indicator. These cards can also be used for students to show their choice between alternatives, for example, ‘Do you think the answer is 1, 2 or 3?’

Cards or thumbs can be used at any time during a session.

Prompt questions

You can use questions to help students move forward.

Appropriate questions would be based on:

• What do you think you could improve?
• Why do you want to improve that?
• What was the hardest part?
• What help do you need?

Learning diary

To ensure that the self or peer assessment activity is meaningful, and not a bureaucratic exercise, it can be helpful to make recording an integral part of activities. The diary could be linked to plenaries and written in class notes. Headings or questions might include:

• What was exciting in chemistry this week.
• The most important thing I learned this week.
• What I did well. What I need to do more work on.
• Which targets I’ve met.

The questions do not need to be the same each week.

Is there anything else teachers should think about?

When preparing and running a self or peer assessment activity, consider:

• Introducing the technique gradually so that skills are developed.
• Different methods for introducing students to the learning objectives/outcomes.
• Setting up a supportive atmosphere, so that students are comfortable about admitting to problems.
• Giving students sufficient time to work out the problems.
• Making the encouragement of self-reflection intrinsic to teaching.

Common issues to watch out for

• It takes time, patience and commitment to develop self and peer assessment. For preference, there should be a strong learning culture and an environment of mutual trust throughout the school.
• Students will need group skills.
• There must be an opportunity for the expected learning and standards to be made clear.
• Teachers need to listen unobtrusively to avert the propagation of misunderstandings (careful group selection also helps).
• A few students will only respond to work in class as exercises to be completed and not internalised.

How can I tell if self or peer assessment is successful?

When you devise your checklist to evaluate the session, consider how you will measure:

• How well the students understood the objectives.
• Whether the student groupings worked as you wished.
• If the students improved their self-assessment skills.
• How meaningful the peer assessment was.
• The students’ response to the technique.
• The support for different abilities.
• Whether the lesson correlated with the objectives.
• Improvement in work standards.

Additional information

This information was originally part of the  Assessment for Learning  website, published in 2008.

Working in groups

Sharing objectives and criteria

Questioning

Using feedback

Using tests

• Working independently
• Active learning
• Peer assessment

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2020-09-21T09:50:00Z

Encourage your students to take an active role in their learning using these assessment for learning principles to structure and plan your chemistry lessons.

Using tests | Principles of assessment for learning

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Hints and guidance on how to use tests in the classroom as a formative exercise to actively involve your students in their learning.

Using feedback | Principles of assessment for learning

Learn how to use feedback more effectively to actively involve your students in their learning, with tips and ideas to use in the classroom.

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7 Key Benefits of Self-Assessment in the Learning Process

Discover the transformative power of self-assessment in learning. Explore proven benefits, practical techniques, and strategies for fostering independent learning and boosting self-confidence.

Federico Schiano di Pepe

In the ever-evolving landscape of education, instructors are continually seeking innovative methods to enhance student engagement and learning outcomes. One such transformative approach is the integration of self-assessment in learning.

This practice not only empowers students to take ownership of their educational journey but also equips them with the critical skills necessary for lifelong learning.

As an instructor, the adoption of self-assessment techniques in your courses represents a shift towards a more student-centered learning environment, where students are encouraged to reflect on their understanding, identify areas for improvement, and actively participate in the learning process.

Self-assessment serves as a bridge between teaching and learning , facilitating a dialogue where students become co-creators of knowledge .

This interactive process helps demystify the criteria for success, making learning objectives clear and attainable. Moreover, it fosters a culture of continuous improvement, where feedback is not just a one-way street from instructor to student but a cyclical exchange that values student insight and self-reflection.

Implementing self-assessment in your teaching practice can dramatically transform the classroom dynamics, moving from a traditional teacher-led approach to a more collaborative, engaging, and reflective learning experience.

It challenges students to critically evaluate their work, encourages personal accountability, and promotes the development of self-regulatory skills.

What is Self-Assessment in Learning

Self-assessment in learning is a reflective practice where learners evaluate their own academic performance and learning strategies.

This introspective process encourages students to consider their strengths and areas for improvement, fostering a deeper understanding of their own learning processes.

Through self-assessment, learners become active participants in their educational journey, gaining insights that help them adjust their study habits and approaches for better outcomes.

It promotes autonomy, enhances metacognitive skills, and shifts the focus from external evaluations to personal growth and mastery.

By integrating self-assessment into their learning, students not only improve academically but also develop critical life skills such as self-regulation, critical thinking, and a lifelong passion for learning.

Unveiling the 7 Proven Benefits of Self-Assessment in Learning

Benefit 1: Encourages Critical Thinking

In a world inundated with information and complex challenges, the ability to think critically and solve problems is invaluable. Self-assessment plays a crucial role in developing these skills by encouraging learners to question, analyze, and evaluate their understanding and approaches.

This reflective practice pushes students to look beyond the surface, to dissect arguments, identify biases, and consider alternative perspectives. By fostering a habit of critical self-evaluation, learners cultivate a mindset geared towards problem-solving and critical analysis.

These skills are essential not only for academic success but also for navigating the complexities of modern life, making informed decisions, and contributing to society in meaningful ways.

Benefit 2: Enhances Independent Learning

Self-assessment is instrumental in promoting independent learning. It encourages learners to take charge of their educational journey, fostering a sense of ownership and responsibility. This proactive learning process invigorates learners, making them more inclined towards knowledge acquisition.

Let's say we have a learner named Ben. Ben often found it challenging to grasp concepts in a traditional classroom setting. Yet, once he was introduced to self-assessment, he started taking an active interest in his learning process. By assessing his understanding, he identified his weak areas and tailored his learning to overcome these challenges.

Over time, we see Ben transforming – he not just only comprehends better but also gains the ability to navigate the learning maze autonomously. And that's what self-assessment achieves - it embraces the philosophy that every learner is unique and deserves a tailor-fit learning path. Hence, instead of a cookie-cutter approach to education, self-assessment propels learners to chart their course.

Benefit 3: Boosts Self-Confidence

In addition to fostering independent learning, self-assessment also equips learners with a bolstered self-confidence .

Learners who practice self-assessment report a considerable boost in their self-confidence. The mechanism is quite simple - when learners gauge their understanding, they acknowledge their strengths and appreciate their progress.

These instances of self-affirmations foster a positive self-image, leading to a confident demeanor. Instead of doubting their capabilities or fearing failure, learners start believing in their abilities.

The science behind this is fascinating. Each successful self-assessment triggers the brain to release the neurotransmitter dopamine, associated with reward and pleasure. Over time, this creates a positive association with learning, indirectly boosting learners' self-confidence.

So, self-assessment, in essence, transforms the learning journey into a confidence-building exercise. Learners not only become self-reliant but also confident in their abilities to navigate their learning.

Just imagine a learning environment where learners are not afraid to try, make mistakes, explore, and learn. It's a magnificent picture, isn't it? And that's what self-assessment can achieve - a vibrant, confident generation of learners.

Benefit 4: Enhances Metacognitive Skills

Self-assessment stands as a beacon for learners navigating the vast sea of knowledge, offering a reflective mirror to understand and regulate their learning processes.

This introspective journey encourages learners to engage in a dialogue with themselves, questioning how they learn, what strategies work best for them, and how they can overcome obstacles.

It's a process that cultivates metacognitive skills , enabling learners to become aware of their cognitive processes and adjust their learning strategies accordingly.

This mastery of one's learning process is not just about achieving academic success; it's about fostering a lifelong love of learning and an ability to adapt to new challenges and information.

Benefit 5: Increases Motivation and Engagement

The power of self-assessment to ignite motivation and spark engagement cannot be overstated. By shifting the focus from external validation to personal growth, self-assessment instills a sense of ownership and responsibility in learners.

This intrinsic motivation drives students to pursue knowledge not for grades or accolades but for the sheer joy of learning and self-improvement.

Engaging in self-assessment transforms learning from a passive reception of information to an active, dynamic process. Learners become more involved in their education, setting personal goals, and taking initiative in their learning journey.

This heightened engagement leads to a more enriching and satisfying educational experience, where learners are motivated by curiosity and a desire to challenge themselves.

Benefit 6: Facilitates Personalized Learning Paths

Self-assessment facilitates a shift from a one-size-fits-all educational approach to a personalized learning adventure, where each learner's journey is unique.

This process empowers students to reflect on their learning preferences, strengths, and areas for improvement, allowing them to tailor their study methods and projects to align with their interests and goals.

Such customization ensures that learning is not just effective but also deeply relevant and engaging to each student. As learners navigate through their personalized educational paths , they develop a stronger connection to the material, fostering a deeper understanding and appreciation for the subject matter.

This personal connection enhances the learning experience, making it more meaningful and impactful.

Benefit 7: Promotes Self-Centered Learning

Self-centered learning, as encouraged by self-assessment, places the learner at the heart of the educational experience. It champions a learner-centric approach , where education is not merely imparted but co-created by learners, tailored to their individual paths and paced to their unique rhythms.

As we sad, this empowerment leads to a more engaging, effective, and fulfilling learning journey, where learners are not just passive recipients of knowledge but active architects of their own educational destiny.

Self-assessment champions the cause of self-centered learning, a paradigm where the learner's personal interests, needs, and goals are the driving force behind the educational experience.

This learner-centric approach empowers individuals to take control of their learning, making choices that reflect their personal curiosities and career aspirations. It acknowledges the diverse landscapes of learner backgrounds, preferences, and future ambitions, offering a customized path to knowledge that resonates on a deeply personal level.

Benefit 8: Shifts Attention from Grades to Learning

The practice of self-assessment represents a transformative shift in educational values, moving the focus from the traditional metric of grades to the more holistic goal of learning itself.

This paradigm shift encourages learners to view success not as a letter on a report card but as the depth of understanding and the mastery of skills.

By centering the learning process, self-assessment cultivates a genuine interest in acquiring knowledge, fostering a love of learning that extends beyond the classroom.

This reorientation from grades to learning has profound implications. It alleviates the stress and anxiety often associated with grade performance, creating a learning environment where mistakes are seen as opportunities for growth rather than as failures.

This approach not only enhances the quality of learning but also supports the development of a growth mindset—where learners are encouraged to embrace challenges, persist in the face of setbacks, and see effort as a path to mastery.

As a result, the educational journey becomes a more rewarding and enriching experience, characterized by curiosity, resilience, and a lifelong passion for discovery.

Integrate Self-Assessment into Your Course with Teachfloor

In the digital age, where learning management systems (LMS) redefine the educational landscape, Teachfloor is at the forefront, offering cutting-edge tools for self-assessment that align perfectly with the researched benefits we've discussed.

Teachfloor’s array of innovative functionalities, such as Submission and Peer Review Activities , Feedback Reflection , and the Self Review feature, are designed to empower learners and educators alike.

These tools facilitate a more engaging and interactive learning environment, encouraging deep reflection, constructive peer interaction, and, most importantly, fostering a culture of self-assessment.

For instance, Teachfloor's Submission and Peer Review Activity not only promotes the invaluable skill of critical thinking through peer feedback but also nurtures the art of constructive feedback , echoing the research-backed benefits of enhancing metacognitive skills and promoting independent learning.

Similarly, the Feedback Reflection and Self Review features are pivotal in cultivating an introspective learning approach, allowing learners to reflect on feedback and evaluate their own work. This reflective practice is instrumental in developing judgment skills, boosting self-confidence, and shifting attention from grades to a more profound learning process.

By integrating these functionalities into the learning process, Teachfloor not only substantiates the benefits of self-assessment discussed earlier but also provides a practical, user-friendly platform for implementing these strategies in various educational settings.

Whether it’s through structured peer reviews, reflective feedback activities, or self-evaluation, Teachfloor’s LMS embodies the next step in harnessing the power of self-assessment to enrich the educational journey, making the theoretical benefits a tangible reality for learners and educators worldwide.

Self-assessment in learning fast tracks personal development, boosts confidence, and optimises productivity. It sets up actionable feedback loops, catalyses self-awareness and leads to independent learning - all while fostering a growth mindset.

Getting on the self-assessment train is not just about hopping on board. It's about steering your learning journey towards a winsome destination. Now, you know why it's a worthy ticket to invest in.

The very essence of progress lies in self-reflection and targeted action. Ask yourself - How can you streamline your self-assessment strategies for maximum impact?

Get out there, champion your learning, employ self-assessment, and take your personal and professional growth to an all-new high. Remember, you are your own best teacher!

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Further reading

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Instructional Designer Salary: Are You Earning What You Should?

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Self-Assessment

Self-assessment activities help students to be a realistic judge of their own performance and to improve their work. 

Why Use Self-Assessment? 

• Promotes the skills of reflective practice and self-monitoring. 
• Promotes academic integrity through student self-reporting of learning progress. 
• Develops self-directed learning. 
• Increases student motivation. 
• Helps students develop a range of personal, transferrable skills. 

Considerations for Using Self-Assessment 

• The difference between self-assessment and self-grading will need clarification. 
• The process of effective self-assessment will require instruction and sufficient time for students to learn. 
• Students are used to a system where they have little or no input in how they are assessed and are often unaware of assessment criteria. 
• Students will want to know how much self-assessed assignments will count toward their final grade in the course. 
• Incorporating self-assessment can motivate students to engage with the material more deeply. 
• Self-assessment assignments can take more time. 
• Research shows that students can be more stringent in their self-assessment than the instructor. 

Getting Started with Self-Assessment 

• Identify which assignments and criteria are to be assessed. 
• Articulate expectations and clear criteria for the task. This can be accomplished with a  rubric . You may also ask students to complete a checklist before turning in an assignment. 
• Motivate students by framing the assignment as an opportunity to reflect objectively on their work, determine how this work aligns with the assignment criteria, and determine ways for improvement. 
• Provide an opportunity for students to agree upon and take ownership of the assessment criteria. 
• Draw attention to the inner dialogue that people engage in as they produce a piece of work. You can model this by talking out loud as you solve a problem, or by explaining the types of decisions you had to think about and make as you moved along through a project. 
• Consider using an “exam wrapper” or “assignment wrapper.” These short worksheets ask students to reflect on their performance on the exam or assignment, how they studied or prepared, and what they might do differently in the future. Examples of exam and homework wrappers can be found through Carnegie Mellon University’s Eberly Center. 

Self-Evaluation of Teaching

Formal evaluation of your own teaching serves at least two purposes.

• Analyzing your own pedagogy can be a productive component of the development of your teaching over time, and
• Your presentation of your pedagogy can guide others in their evaluation of your teaching. 

Formal self-evaluation can take a number of forms

The most developed form is a full teaching portfolio, which will likely include a teaching philosophy, a description of your teaching methods and learning assessments, evidence of student learning outcomes, and other documentation.  If you would like guidance and feedback as you develop a teaching portfolio, please join our Community of Practice on Teaching Portfolios, a two-week program offered each May.

Perhaps the most basic component is a self-evaluation of a course you have just completed, and you may find evaluating one recent course to be a practical and manageable start for self-evaluation of your teaching.  The resulting self-evaluation might form part of your annual review.  Later, you might combine it with your self-evaluations of subsequent sections of the same course for a more condensed account your pedagogical approach to that course— such a cumulative evaluation might form part of an application for promotion, for a new position, or for a teaching award.

Self-Evaluation of a course you have just completed

A formal self-evaluation of a course you have just completed is likely to be a written document of 1-3 pages. 

Consider beginning with some specifics that will provide helpful context for your audience:

Basic course information:  

• Course number and title, 
• Brief course description, 
• The delivery method, and, if it was in-person, where it was taught,
• How often the class met and when,
• The number of students in the class,
• Whether the course included a separate lab, 
• Any other relevant specifics.

Information about how the course fits into your own experience: 

• How many courses you were teaching in this semester,
• Whether this was a new preparation for you or how many times you've taught it before , 
• Whether this is a new course or one that is also taught by other faculty, and, if the latter, whether you sought to adhere to the department norm or to make changes to how the course is usually taught,
• Whether you collaborated with co-instructors or graduate teaching assistants.

After this introductory material, your evaluation of your course design, pedagogical strategies, and/or interaction with students can be organized in any number of ways:

You might divide your self-evaluation into two sections: what went well in the course and what you would like to do differently the next time.  

• Describing what went well, try to address how you know that component of the course went well and why that component is important.
• Describing possibilities for improvement, try to focus on specific things that you will be able to change—this will allow you to demonstrate continual improvement and to assess how these changes work over time.

You might consider elements of your course chronologically, addressing

• your initial course planning and design, including your course objectives
• practices you used to engage students in the course material
• activities you designed to communicate the material to the students
• assignments and exams you designed to assess student learning
• feedback you provided to help students improve throughout the semester

(This chronological approach can work well for a course in which you gather mid-semester feedback from your students, providing a framework that enables you to document changes you may have made in response to feedback as you moved through the semester.)

You might decide to organize your self-evaluation with reference to the learning objectives of the course.  For each learning objective, you might explain 

• what pedagogical strategies you used to reach that objective, 
• which strategies were most successful and how you know, 
• which strategies could be improved or replaced and how you might do that.

You might decide that the most useful direction for your self-evaluation for a particular course would be a focused response to one element of your teaching that semester.  For example, many self-evaluations of teaching in 2020-21 focused on how the instructor adapted to the pandemic conditions.  This kind of focus can be useful in other situations, as well, in response to a new development in your field, your pedagogy, and/or your own professional trajectory.  You might focus your self-evaluation on how you responded to one of the following:

• a development in the field of study
• a particular pedagogical initiative, such as inclusivity and/or accessibility
• a particular pedagogical innovation you have been working on 
• an innovation in the course compared to previous incarnations
• a trend in the student course surveys
• an observation by a colleague
• interactions with CTL

Support for your self-evaluation

Evidence supporting the claims your self-evaluation makes about your course design, pedagogical strategies, and/or interactions with students can be supported in a number of ways:  

• You might refer to your course materials (syllabus, assignments, exams, etc.)
• You might refer to demonstrated student improvement on course assignments and/or accomplishments connected with the course
• You might refer to feedback you provided on student work
• You might refer to interactions you had with students or collaborations among students
• You might analyze student perceptions of the course based on communications from student and/or trends in the student course surveys  
• You might refer to comments you received through a peer review of your teaching or a CTL classroom observation
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Helping Students Thrive by Using Self-Assessment

As a teacher, when you design a lesson or unit, you design it with the hope that everything will go according to plan, your students will learn the content, and they’ll be ready to move on to the next concept. If you’ve been a teacher for more than a day or two, however, you know that this often isn’t the case.

Some students will pick up the information and quickly get bored while others will be lost and quickly fall behind. And sometimes, the lesson will fall flat and none of your students will understand much of anything.

Other times, a lesson will work really well with one group of students, but it will flop with another. This is all just par for the course with teaching, and you never know what you’re going to get on any given day.

Thankfully, there is a way you can make your lessons better, more achievable, and more appropriate for all students. The solution is to teach them how to use self-assessment.

Self-assessment is one of those “teach a man to fish” concepts–once students understand how to self-assess, they’ll be more equipped to learn in all aspects of their life. At the very basic level, self assessment is simple: students need to think:

• What was I supposed to learn?
• Did I learn it?
• What questions do I still have?

This formative assessment helps students and teachers understand where they’re at in their learning. The more students learn to do this at your direction and the more techniques they have to self-assess, the more likely they are to inherently do it on their own.

What does self-assessment look like?

Self-assessment can take many forms, and it can be very quick and informal, or it might be more structured and important. In essence though, self assessment looks like students pausing to examine what they do and don’t know. However, if you simply say, “OK, class, time to self-assess,” you’ll likely be met with blank stares.

The more you’re able to walk students through strategies for self-assessment, the more they’ll understand the purpose, process, and value of thinking about their learning. For the best results to reach the most students, aim to incorporate different types of self-assessment, just as you aim to incorporate different ways of teaching into your lessons.

Why self-assessment works

One of the reasons self-assessment is so effective is because it helps students stay within their zone of proximal development when they’re learning. In this zone, students are being challenged, which means they’re learning, but they’re not being pushed too hard into frustration.

The reason this is so helpful is because teachers can see anywhere from 15-150+ students every day, so it’s hard for a teacher to know where every single student is at in his or her learning. Without stopping for self-assessment, it’s easy for a teacher to move on before students are ready or to belabor a concept students mastered days ago.

When students are able to self-assess, they take control of their learning and realize when they need to ask more questions or spend more time working on a concept. Self-assessment that is relayed back to the teacher, either formally or informally, helps the teacher get a better idea of where students are at with their learning.

Another benefit of self-assessment is that students tend to take more ownership and find more value in their learning, according to a study out of Duquesne University. According to the study, formative assessments like self-assessment “give students the means, motive, and opportunity to take control of their own learning.” When teachers give students those opportunities, they empower their students and help turn them into active, rather than passive learners.

Self-assessment also helps students practice learning independently, which is a key skill for life, and especially for students who are pursuing higher education.

How to execute self assessment

To truly make this part of your classroom, you’ll need to explain to students what you’re doing, why you’re doing it, and you’ll need to hold them accountable for their self assessment. The following steps can help you successfully set up self-assessment in your classroom.

Step 1: Explain what self-assessment is and why it’s important

Sometimes teachers have a tendency to surprise students with what’s coming next or to not explain the reasoning behind a teaching strategy or decision. While this is often done out of a desire for control and power as the leader of the classroom, it doesn’t do much to help students and their learning.

If students don’t understand why they’re doing what they’re doing, they usually won’t do it at all, or will just to the bare minimum to go through the motions and get the grade. If students don’t understand the purpose of a learning strategy, they often see it as busy work. Most students are very used to being assessed only by their teachers, so they may not understand why they’re suddenly being asked to take stock of their own learning.

Make sure you take the time to explain why you’re implementing this new learning strategy and how it is going to directly benefit them. That explanation is going to vary based on the age of your students and other factors, but you can give students some variation of the explanation of why self-assessment works above.

Step 2: Always show a model

As you scroll down, you’ll see that we give you some examples of ways to use self assessment; each time you try one of these new techniques, be sure to create an exemplar model for your students. If you want this to work, students need to know what the goal that they’re working toward looks like.

Depending on the type of self-assessment you’re working with, a simple model might be enough, or students might need to practice with the work of others. A low stakes way to start this out is with examples from past students. Pull out an old project from years past and have students assess the project as if it were their own.

Once students learn how to be respectful and constructive with this peer assessment, they can practice with the peers in their class. Including this step often makes it easier for students to assess their own work. It can be hard to look back at your own work or thought process, especially if not much time has passed since you did the work.

Step 3: Teach students different strategies of self-assessment

We all learn best by doing, so rather than just giving students a list of self-assessment strategies, take your time walking through different strategies together. Also remember that the strategy that works best for Jimmy might not work well for Susan, so the more you can diversify self-assessment for your students, the more students you’re going to be able to reach.

Try starting with just one type of self assessment, give students time to master that type, then add another type. As time goes on, you can offer students choice in the type of self-assessment they want to use.

Step 4: Practice

Before you ask students to actively assess their own work, let them practice with some low stakes examples. It’s hard for many people to critique themselves and to recognize they have room for improvement, yet it’s essential.

Give students some examples of work from past students (names always removed) and walk through “self” assessment with those examples together as a class.

Step 5: Create a way to hold students accountable

Self-assessment shouldn’t always be tied to a grade, but students will catch on quickly if you’re not somehow holding them accountable. There are many ways to do this, for example:

• Conference with each student throughout the process
• Make self-assessment part of the final grade for a project or unit
• Create a self-assessment reward chart

The important thing to remember with holding students accountable for their self-assessment is that you should be holding them accountable for doing the self-assessment, but not for what they do or don’t know, nor for the changes they make based on their self-assessment.

Step 6: Don’t stop

Sometimes we have a tendency to try a strategy once or twice and then let it slide as the school year goes on, but as students learn that they’re no longer being held accountable, they will stop. You can’t ever assume a student will keep using a strategy unless you give them explicit instructions and hold them accountable.

Remember that as with anything, students will get better at self-assessment the more they practice it. The more you explicitly assign self-assessment, the more it will become a normal part of the learning process.

Examples of self assessment

Remember that it’s good to use a variety of self-assessment strategies so all students have a chance to find a style that works best for them. Any time you introduce a new strategy or assign self-assessment, be very clear about what students should do and how they should do it.

The strategies we suggest are broken down by age, but always use your best judgment regarding which strategies will be best for your students.

KWL chart: Before starting a lesson or unit, have students write or say what they already know (K) and what they want to know (W) about the topic. After the lesson or unit, they write or say what they learned (L). This can easily evolve into larger discussions and assignments.

Goals: At the end of each lesson, day, week, etc. students write one learning goal they would like to achieve. This can be very open-ended, or it could be very focused, asking students to reflect on one specific subject or topic. You can expand on this by having students return to their goal to see if they met it, encouraging them to ask for help if they haven’t met their goal.

Red, yellow, green: Give each student three circles: one red, one yellow, and one green. Throughout the school day, students place their red circle on their desk if they’re lost or confused, yellow if they’re struggling a little bit, and green if they understand, and they’re good to go. You can also stop to have students check their understanding by asking them to hold up a color. Some students feel shy about admitting they’re confused, so this strategy can also work really well if you have students place their heads down before holding up their circle.

Objective check: In the morning, give students a list of objectives you will cover in school today. Have each student write down an objective they would really like to learn today. At the end of the day, students return to the objective and determine whether they learned it or not.

Tricky spots: Work with students to identify where they struggle (for example, “I have trouble with word problems in math,” or “I have trouble spelling new words”). When starting a new lesson or unit, have each student identify one tricky spot they want to focus on. Be sure to check in with students often on their tricky spot to make sure they are making progress and not getting frustrated.

Highlighting: Have students go back to a writing assignment, worksheet, or project and highlight the section that they think was their best work. As an extension, have them explain why this was their best work. This is an excellent strategy to use with students who struggle or lack confidence in their work.

Self reflection: After a speech or presentation, have students write down three things they did well and one thing they can improve on. Extend this by returning to these during the next speech or presentation; you could even make them part of the rubric for the next assignment.

Exit tickets: Before students can leave the room, they must fill out an exit ticket and hand it to the teacher. You might ask them to write one thing they learned today and one thing they want to learn tomorrow, for example.

Think, pair, share: Pose a reflective question or prompt to students, for example you might tell them to think about or even write down the most important thing they learned in class today. Next, have them pair with a partner or small group to discuss their answer to the question or prompt, and finally, have students report back to the whole class.

Grades 9-12

Rubrics: Before completing a project, give students the rubric you will use to grade their effort. Have students complete a draft of the project and assess themselves using the rubric. After they do this, you might conference with them, give them feedback, or have them complete a reflective assignment. Then, have students complete a second draft that they will turn in for their grade (or to continue to work and improve upon).

Writing conferences: After students write an outline or first draft of an essay, hold an individual conference with each student. Before you provide your input, have students identify the strengths and weaknesses of their work. Use their self assessment as the guide of what you discuss during the conference. You might even find that students are more critical of themselves than you would have been.

Empty rubrics: At the beginning of a project, leave a space on the rubric empty. Help each student fill in the empty spot with something they need to work on, whether it’s something that they’re already good at and want to get even better or it’s something they struggle with and want to get better at.

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Adult Education Teacher Competencies Self-Assessment

Introduction.

Adult educators can use this optional self-assessment to determine areas for professional development. To complete this self-assessment, fill out the form below and print it, or print out a copy and complete it manually. Note: you must keep a printed copy if you want to refer to it in the future no results are stored online; that means that your results are completely confidential. Feel free to complete this self-assessment periodically and thus note how your priorities and skills have changed over time.

The self-assessment contains 17 questions, one per competency, with performance indicators and sample illustrations providing additional details about each competency. The average completion time is 45 minutes. Note: the self-assessment must be completed in one sitting as no results are stored online and the system times out after 20 minutes of computer inactivity.

Take the self-assessment, filling in each of the column as directed below as explained in the instructions [follow this link to view Instructions].

• Competency. Review each of the competencies in the column labeled "Competency." There are 17 competencies spanning 4 domains.
• Relevance. For each competency, using the Likert Scale in the column labeled "Relevance to My Teaching," indicate how relevant the competency is to your teaching. Use your own judgment as to how related a competency is to your current teaching assignment. A "1" indicates very little relevance while a "4" indicates great relevance. For each competency, select the appropriate number from the available radio buttons.
• Need of Improvement. In the column labeled "My Own Areas in Need of Improvement," assess your proficiency with the competency. Use the Likert scale to indicate the degree to which you need to improve your skills in this competency. A "1" indicates Least in need for improvemnet and a "4" indicates the greatest need for improvement. Select the appropriate number from the available radio buttons.
• Program Priority Level. In the column labeled "Program Priority Level," assess the degree to which the competency is important to your program. Use the Likert scale to rate this, where a "1" indicates a low priority while a "4" indicates a high priority.
• Subtotals. In the column labeled "Subtotals" your scores for the 17 individual competencies are tallied up across the rows and also subtotaled below for each of the four domains. According to this simple Likert scale, those areas with the highest scores may focus your professional development efforts. Those competencies and domains with the highest scores represent areas with the greatest relevance to your teaching, the most in need of improvement, and the highest priority for your program. Example: Most relevant: select 4              Most in need of improvement: select 4               Highest priority: select 4               Subtotal for this competency: 12 (out of possible 12) No categories are weighted in this assessment: relevance, priority, and areas in need of improvement are all given the same importance.
• Reflection on My Self-Scoring. Reflect on the scores listed in the subtotal column. Comment on why you ranked them as you did. This will help you when you look back on this self-assessment at a later time.
• Possible Professional Development Activities. In the column labeled "Possible Professional Development Activities" brainstorm types of professional development you might like to pursue for those for high-scoring competencies or domains.

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After you have completed this assessment, you can print it out and keep for your records.

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While using student self-assessment in the classroom, there are a range of strategies that can accompany and complement this process. These allow students to monitor, reflect and take responsibility for their own learning and can be a testament to their effort, progress and achievement.

Strategies and tools

A range of strategies and tools are available to engage students in self-assessment.

Tools, such as learning journals, portfolios and conferences, involve a student reflecting on their performance and presenting evidence of their progress and achievement against success criteria.

Learning journals or learning logs

Learning journals or learning logs can be used by students to:

• maintain a record of the processes and strategies students use with their learning
• reflect on their learning
• record class and individual long-term and short-term learning goals
• plan steps to achieve the goals
• monitor progress towards goals.

Tips for using learning journals

• Make the learning journal an integral part of teaching and learning – as important as the pen/pencil/laptop.
• Incorporate 5-10 minutes reflection time for students to discuss and record their learning in their journals at the end of a lesson – sentence starters and prompts may be provided if necessary. For example:
• During the introduction of a tricky new concept or activity, pause and ask students to paraphrase the idea or task in their learning journals – share a few explanations out loud and discuss as necessary.
• Before beginning a lesson have students divide a page into two columns. During the lesson have students record teacher-identified key words in the first column and ideas relevant to the key words in the second column.
• Have students record long-term class learning goals, short-term class learning goals and individual learning goals as well as steps to achieve the goals. Revisit these periodically to allow students to evaluate their progress towards the goals and plan next steps.
• Have students include scaffolds or templates used for assessment and feedback and/or goal setting in their learning journals.

A portfolio is a purposeful collection of student work that tells the story of the student’s effort, progress, or achievement in a given area(s).

Engaging students in gathering evidence, giving feedback and communicating their learning encourages students to take responsibility, own their learning, and monitor their progress.

When compiling a portfolio students need to:

• be clear about the purpose of the portfolio and the learning goals that will be the focus of the portfolio
• select samples of their work that show progress over time on achieving the goals
• reflect on what has been learned and what’s next in the learning
• share information with teachers and parents to communicate their learning.

Tips for using portfolios

• Inform parents of the purpose and plans for the use of the portfolio.
• Include a variety of tasks and artefacts that demonstrate the full range of learning and provide a complete picture of progress over time.
• My learning goal was …
• I chose this piece because …
• It demonstrates my progress in …
• A next step for me is …
• My new learning goal is …
• Consider digital portfolios which are easy to store and access.

Student-led conferences

Student‐led conferences capture the full value of self‐assessment.

As with self‐assessment students need to receive explicit instruction about their role in conferencing.

Tips for using conferences

• Modelling by the teacher is an effective way to show students what is required.
• how feedback from teachers, peers and self were applied and how the feedback helped to improve the work
• the features that make the work effective and how is it an improvement over an earlier piece
• what has been learned
• the next steps in learning − how this work relates to the long and short term learning goals.
• Design simple templates or instructions for students. For example, be prepared to talk about and show evidence of:
• some things you did successfully
• some things you could improve upon
• next steps.
• Practise student-led conferences with peers and teachers prior to including parents.

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How Teachers Use Self-Reflection and Evaluation in Education

Do you consider yourself a reflective teacher? Learning to use self-reflection and evaluation in education to move your career and personal life forward to achieve your goals.

Self-reflection and evaluation are an essential part of my daily routine. Trust me, it works.

Improved class performance, small ‘thank you’ notes from students and their parents, and the appreciation of your peers and supervisors – these are items that testify to you being a good teacher. Go the extra mile to become an exceptional educator. Embrace and model two tools for your students: reflection and self-assessment. This process coincides with the growth mindset concept paramount in education and anyone’s life.

Understanding Self-Reflection and Evaluation in Teaching

As a reflective teacher, you know ‘reflect’ means to ‘contemplate’ and to think seriously. Reflection goes far beyond this meaning in an educational setting. It’s a critical self-regulation factor that motivates teachers to monitor their performance and evaluate their progress against specific criteria.

Through the self-evaluation stage that follows, they can recognize their strengths and identify weaknesses, which, in turn, allows them to formulate strategies for challenging situations. As this is an iterative procedure, teachers will soon begin to recognize improvement. Analyzing this further will enable them to choose more appropriate goals and develop reasonable plans.

Why You Should Reflect and Evaluate Your Work

It’s easy to become the victim of your ego when someone proposes you reflect on and evaluate your current process. After all, you are a capable instructor whom the school chose because of their capabilities, knowledge, and experience. Proposing self-reflection and self-evaluation isn’t to undermine your skills or demean you. It’s an invitation to reap numerous benefits that will transport you to the ranks of a “rocking with the times” teacher. Here is an article from the University of Washington on self-reflection on teaching .

Self-reflection is one of the most efficient ways to acknowledge that your teaching strategies can be improved. Instead of having others make snap judgments about your method without having the context to support it, it is you who collects and analyzes all data to ensure your teaching strategies improve if necessary.

“We do not learn from experience… we learn from reflecting on experience.” ― John Dewey

There is truth to the trending topic of teachers teaching the value of failing intelligently, one of the top 10 education career trends for teachers .

As for self-evaluation, this process allows you to step successfully into your students’ role, their parents and your superiors entrusted you to take care of with expertise. If you don’t take the time to evaluate whether or not your students understand what you impart, your effort and time will go to waste. This process is fundamental if you have ‘at risk’ students who need more attention.

Another reason to evaluate yourself is to enhance your skills as an educator. As an expert on a subject, you understand what you’re trying to say. Your students are another story, though. By asking for their feedback, you’ll be able to discover problems in your teaching style and begin fixing them. However, don’t request feedback if you don’t plan on improving accordingly.

Not only will you offend the people you’ll be working with for the rest of the school year, but you’ll teach your students that reflection and self-evaluation are useless tools.

Opening up to self-evaluation will help close the gap between you and your students. They’ll discover you are a learner with successes, failures, frustrations, and concerns. As a result, they’ll feel safe about sharing what they think. Remain patient and attentive while listening to students’ queries and celebrating mistakes, emphasizing they lead to learning opportunities.

Finally, combining your reflections and self-assessment results lets you gather better data and opinions while strategizing with your supervisor. They will guide you on the best methods and share valuable advice from their experience.

In addition to advancing your career through relevant information, regularly touching base with your supervisor will show your dedication to your students and job. Rest assured, your passion for reflective teaching and helping students won’t go to waste, and you may receive a better compensation package in the future.

The Process of Self-Reflection in Teaching

Once you decide whether to reflect on a specific feature of your teaching or a particular problem in your classroom, you can begin collecting information on the feature or problem. This knowledge lets you determine what you’re up against and take necessary steps, such as the following.

A Journal – A self-reflective journal is probably the easiest way to track the success level of the lesson. After class, jot down a few notes detailing your reactions, feelings, and any observations identified about your students. To ensure your assessment’s consistency, break down your journal into sections like lesson objectives, classroom management, and materials.

Video Recording – A valuable method to facilitate self-reflection, video recording is probably the best. It gives you an unbiased view of how practical your lesson was from both a teacher’s and a student’s perspective. While viewing the video footage later, you may encounter odd behavior you didn’t catch while teaching.

Student Observation – Students love giving feedback, so provide them with the opportunity to share their opinions. Hand out a survey or questionnaire that allows them to express what they feel about your lesson. Remember to write the questions in a way that enables them to express their thoughts thoroughly.

If you think your students won’t fare well writing their thoughts, conduct focus-group interviews or have an outside person take over instead to ensure objectivity. Ask the questions you have in mind and probe the students to get more detailed information and clarification. Only choose this path if your student-teacher relationship is strong and built on trust.

If you’d rather not be as direct, you can evaluate your technique and how well your students are learning by looking at their assignments and test results, provided they’re well-designed to measure students’ learning achievements. Conduct verbal tests after each class; ensure every student participates.

Peer Observation – Have a colleague observe your teaching. As the observation is more casual, you’ll be able to teach naturally, and your observer will be able to provide insight into your instruction. Since your colleague is as busy as you are, create a questionnaire using questions like those below so they can fill it out as they observe.

Was the lesson too easy or too difficult for the students?

Have you taught to make sure students understand the content?

Did any issues arise in class?

During which parts of the lesson did the students seem most engaged?

Which parts didn’t seem as impressive or compelling?

Do you think the materials used in class helped? Which were the most useful and which didn’t work in the lesson?

Do you have any suggestions for better materials I can use?

Were my lesson instructions clear?

Was I delivering the course material at a reasonable pace?

Did all the students participate in the activity?

How practical was the lesson overall? Do you have suggestions on how I can improve to encourage more involvement or increase learning?

How well do you think I managed to handle problems during instruction?

Do you think I was perceptive and sensitive to my students’ needs?

How were my attitude and delivery overall?

After collecting this information, you should begin analyzing it. First, look for recurring patterns. Did your camera record something that kept happening several times during your class? Are several students pointing out the same issue in their feedback forms? Jot down areas that need change and start looking for solutions.

Two excellent sources you should explore are:

Colleagues – Peers will offer valuable advice, especially since they may have faced the same issue. Even if they didn’t, they’d provide you with a list of tips on how to do things differently.

World Wide Web – You can use the Internet (capitalized, I think it’s a proper noun) to locate resources explaining and solving your challenges. Use the World Wide Web to find other teachers on blogs and social networks. By interacting with them, you can ask questions and discover exciting answers.

Remember that the goal of this is for you to improve how you teach. Therefore, make sure to implement any changes to your technique or delivery before your next

How to Effectively Plan Your Self-Evaluation

Subjecting yourself to teaching strategies and instructional techniques for your critical evaluation isn’t enough. After all, you’ll only develop a checklist that allows you to focus on ideas instead of formal structure. For the latter, you need self-evaluation. This more precise method requires more planning since it can help you improve the educational experiences you provide while highlighting the education you’ll need to develop your capabilities and teach well.

To plan for your self-evaluation, use the following five steps.

Define the Context of What You Will Teach

Describe the lesson’s objectives or course, detailing information about the purpose of the assessment and intended uses.

Identify the Stakeholders

Mention those involved (e.g., students, department, instructors, etc.) and list their needs. Recognizing this will allow the assessment process to grow more focused, maximizing the benefits of this procedure.

Establish Central Questions

Determine the purpose of the evaluation by devising broad questions. These questions will help you establish how the assessment should be conducted.

Mention How You Intend to Use the Assessment Results

Establish how you will use the results for each of your fundamental inquiries. Ensure users relate directly to the assessment’s purpose.

Create an Assessment Plan

In this step, you’ll create a plan which includes an overview of how the research will be implemented to reach the objective.

With a plan, you can begin your analysis through paper and pencil classroom assessments, document analysis (for syllabi, exams, etc.), observation, surveys, and even product analysis (examining portfolios or objects designed to demonstrate learning).

The Bottom Line to Advancing Your Career

Self-reflection and self-evaluation are necessary for any teacher who wants to become a capable educator and efficiently advance their career. Both practices are necessary if you value your students and effectively share your knowledge. Enjoy their benefits by practicing them regularly and acting on their outcomes. Start assessing your teaching skills before your next class to join the ranks of great all-star educators.

Using this beneficial strategy, include your experience and success in implementing self-evaluation and reflection when writing your resume and cover letter.

While on the blog, you can read ten resume-writing tips for teachers .

Learn more about Candace Alstad-Davies by reviewing this  about me page . From that page, you can review testimonials and frequently asked questions.

Need some help making a stellar resume? Connect with us.

Send an email if you like, or call me toll-free at 1 877 738-8052.

I would enjoy chatting with you.

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Formative, Summative, and More Types of Assessments in Education

All the best ways to evaluate learning before, during, and after it happens.

When you hear the word assessment, do you automatically think “tests”? While it’s true that tests are one kind of assessment, they’re not the only way teachers evaluate student progress. Learn more about the types of assessments used in education, and find out how and when to use them.

Diagnostic Assessments

Formative assessments, summative assessments.

• Criterion-Referenced, Ipsative, and Normative Assessments

What is assessment?

In simplest terms, assessment means gathering data to help understand progress and effectiveness. In education, we gather data about student learning in variety of ways, then use it to assess both their progress and the effectiveness of our teaching programs. This helps educators know what’s working well and where they need to make changes.

There are three broad types of assessments: diagnostic, formative, and summative. These take place throughout the learning process, helping students and teachers gauge learning. Within those three broad categories, you’ll find other types of assessment, such as ipsative, norm-referenced, and criterion-referenced.

What’s the purpose of assessment in education?

In education, we can group assessments under three main purposes:

• Of learning
• For learning
• As learning

Assessment of learning is student-based and one of the most familiar, encompassing tests, reports, essays, and other ways of determining what students have learned. These are usually summative assessments, and they are used to gauge progress for individuals and groups so educators can determine who has mastered the material and who needs more assistance.

When we talk about assessment for learning, we’re referring to the constant evaluations teachers perform as they teach. These quick assessments—such as in-class discussions or quick pop quizzes—give educators the chance to see if their teaching strategies are working. This allows them to make adjustments in action, tailoring their lessons and activities to student needs. Assessment for learning usually includes the formative and diagnostic types.

Assessment can also be a part of the learning process itself. When students use self-evaluations, flash cards, or rubrics, they’re using assessments to help them learn.

Let’s take a closer look at the various types of assessments used in education.

Diagnostic assessments are used before learning to determine what students already do and do not know. This often refers to pre-tests and other activities students attempt at the beginning of a unit.

How To Use Diagnostic Assessments

When giving diagnostic assessments, it’s important to remind students these won’t affect their overall grade. Instead, it’s a way for them to find out what they’ll be learning in an upcoming lesson or unit. It can also help them understand their own strengths and weaknesses, so they can ask for help when they need it.

Teachers can use results to understand what students already know and adapt their lesson plans accordingly. There’s no point in over-teaching a concept students have already mastered. On the other hand, a diagnostic assessment can also help highlight expected pre-knowledge that may be missing.

For instance, a teacher might assume students already know certain vocabulary words that are important for an upcoming lesson. If the diagnostic assessment indicates differently, the teacher knows they’ll need to take a step back and do a little pre-teaching before getting to their actual lesson plans.

Examples of Diagnostic Assessments

• Pre-test: This includes the same questions (or types of questions) that will appear on a final test, and it’s an excellent way to compare results.
• Blind Kahoot: Teachers and kids already love using Kahoot for test review, but it’s also the perfect way to introduce a new topic. Learn how Blind Kahoots work here.
• Survey or questionnaire: Ask students to rate their knowledge on a topic with a series of low-stakes questions.
• Checklist: Create a list of skills and knowledge students will build throughout a unit, and have them start by checking off any they already feel they’ve mastered. Revisit the list frequently as part of formative assessment.

Formative assessments take place during instruction. They’re used throughout the learning process and help teachers make on-the-go adjustments to instruction and activities as needed. These assessments aren’t used in calculating student grades, but they are planned as part of a lesson or activity. Learn much more about formative assessments here.

How To Use Formative Assessments

As you’re building a lesson plan, be sure to include formative assessments at logical points. These types of assessments might be used at the end of a class period, after finishing a hands-on activity, or once you’re through with a unit section or learning objective.

Once you have the results, use that feedback to determine student progress, both overall and as individuals. If the majority of a class is struggling with a specific concept, you might need to find different ways to teach it. Or you might discover that one student is especially falling behind and arrange to offer extra assistance to help them out.

While kids may grumble, standard homework review assignments can actually be a pretty valuable type of formative assessment . They give kids a chance to practice, while teachers can evaluate their progress by checking the answers. Just remember that homework review assignments are only one type of formative assessment, and not all kids have access to a safe and dedicated learning space outside of school.

Examples of Formative Assessments

• Exit tickets : At the end of a lesson or class, pose a question for students to answer before they leave. They can answer using a sticky note, online form, or digital tool.
• Kahoot quizzes : Kids enjoy the gamified fun, while teachers appreciate the ability to analyze the data later to see which topics students understand well and which need more time.
• Flip (formerly Flipgrid): We love Flip for helping teachers connect with students who hate speaking up in class. This innovative (and free!) tech tool lets students post selfie videos in response to teacher prompts. Kids can view each other’s videos, commenting and continuing the conversation in a low-key way.
• Self-evaluation: Encourage students to use formative assessments to gauge their own progress too. If they struggle with review questions or example problems, they know they’ll need to spend more time studying. This way, they’re not surprised when they don’t do well on a more formal test.

Find a big list of 25 creative and effective formative assessment options here.

Summative assessments are used at the end of a unit or lesson to determine what students have learned. By comparing diagnostic and summative assessments, teachers and learners can get a clearer picture of how much progress they’ve made. Summative assessments are often tests or exams but also include options like essays, projects, and presentations.

How To Use Summative Assessments

The goal of a summative assessment is to find out what students have learned and if their learning matches the goals for a unit or activity. Ensure you match your test questions or assessment activities with specific learning objectives to make the best use of summative assessments.

When possible, use an array of summative assessment options to give all types of learners a chance to demonstrate their knowledge. For instance, some students suffer from severe test anxiety but may still have mastered the skills and concepts and just need another way to show their achievement. Consider ditching the test paper and having a conversation with the student about the topic instead, covering the same basic objectives but without the high-pressure test environment.

Summative assessments are often used for grades, but they’re really about so much more. Encourage students to revisit their tests and exams, finding the right answers to any they originally missed. Think about allowing retakes for those who show dedication to improving on their learning. Drive home the idea that learning is about more than just a grade on a report card.

Examples of Summative Assessments

• Traditional tests: These might include multiple-choice, matching, and short-answer questions.
• Essays and research papers: This is another traditional form of summative assessment, typically involving drafts (which are really formative assessments in disguise) and edits before a final copy.
• Presentations: From oral book reports to persuasive speeches and beyond, presentations are another time-honored form of summative assessment.

Find 25 of our favorite alternative assessments here.

More Types of Assessments

Now that you know the three basic types of assessments, let’s take a look at some of the more specific and advanced terms you’re likely to hear in professional development books and sessions. These assessments may fit into some or all of the broader categories, depending on how they’re used. Here’s what teachers need to know.

Criterion-Referenced Assessments

In this common type of assessment, a student’s knowledge is compared to a standard learning objective. Most summative assessments are designed to measure student mastery of specific learning objectives. The important thing to remember about this type of assessment is that it only compares a student to the expected learning objectives themselves, not to other students.

Many standardized tests are criterion-referenced assessments. A governing board determines the learning objectives for a specific group of students. Then, all students take a standardized test to see if they’ve achieved those objectives.

Find out more about criterion-referenced assessments here.

Norm-Referenced Assessments

These types of assessments do compare student achievement with that of their peers. Students receive a ranking based on their score and potentially on other factors as well. Norm-referenced assessments usually rank on a bell curve, establishing an “average” as well as high performers and low performers.

These assessments can be used as screening for those at risk for poor performance (such as those with learning disabilities) or to identify high-level learners who would thrive on additional challenges. They may also help rank students for college entrance or scholarships, or determine whether a student is ready for a new experience like preschool.

Learn more about norm-referenced assessments here.

Ipsative Assessments

In education, ipsative assessments compare a learner’s present performance to their own past performance, to chart achievement over time. Many educators consider ipsative assessment to be the most important of all , since it helps students and parents truly understand what they’ve accomplished—and sometimes, what they haven’t. It’s all about measuring personal growth.

Comparing the results of pre-tests with final exams is one type of ipsative assessment. Some schools use curriculum-based measurement to track ipsative performance. Kids take regular quick assessments (often weekly) to show their current skill/knowledge level in reading, writing, math, and other basics. Their results are charted, showing their progress over time.

Learn more about ipsative assessment in education here.

Have more questions about the best types of assessments to use with your students? Come ask for advice in the We Are Teachers HELPLINE group on Facebook.

Plus, check out creative ways to check for understanding ..

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