Using Student Involved Classroom Assessment to Close Achievement Gaps

1. Chappuis and Stiggins propose that your educational experiences highly influence your “picture”

of yourself as a learner. How have your educational experiences influenced your self-image as a

learner?

From a young age, I found myself excelling in an academic environment. I found myself excited to

participate in classroom discussions, eager to complete assignments inside and outside the classroom and

developed a competitive personality that enabled me to work hard. After reading the Chappuis and

Stiggins article, I understand why students may draw conclusions about themselves based on classroom

assessments and their academic achievements. Students may develop self-doubt and a fixed mindset

which hinders their ability to grow to their full academic potential. The article describes that teachers have

an impact and can influence students. I believe teachers have the effect of combating students against

developing learned helplessness—when students have difficulty accomplishing tasks because they feel

they are incapable. I want to highlight my educational experiences that have driven me to create a positive

self-image as a learner. I was fortunate to grow up in a family environment that took academics and

education very seriously. I am conscious that some people may not have the same advantages and

opportunities I did. I have been given opportunities that have allowed me to gain academic success, but

that came with hard work and dedication. My parents were highly involved in my school life and made an

effort to get to know my teachers and assist me when I needed help with homework. My parents instilled

in my brother and me the importance of school and emphasized education as the number one priority,

even over our extracurricular sports activities. My parents would get disappointed when I sometimes

complained about attending school or receiving a poor score on one of my assessments without studying.

My parents instilled the values of hard work and studying and the importance of learning from my

mistakes. I knew I would have to work hard and study to achieve high grades because academics did not

come naturally to me as they did for my brother. However, as the article stated, “successful students enjoy
the rewards of their own success at learning” (Chappuis & Stiggins, p. 2). These successes kept pushing

me forward, allowing me to continue to be successful and motivated me to want to keep achieving and

working hard in a competitive school environment. I think my parents were my supporters when I

struggled, but instilling the importance of hard work and education gave me an easier path to success as a

student. My second-grade teacher also influenced my self-image as a learner. I struggled in my

second-grade class due to my recently moving to a new state, not having any friends, and feeling doubt

about my abilities compared to the other students in my classroom. My second-grade teacher has

significantly impacted my educational career, not because I was the most successful but because she

scaffolded to provide me with skills to be successful. When I did not perform my best on an assignment,

she gave me clear and constructive feedback that did not make me feel inferior about my abilities. She set

goals with me and allowed me to understand that setbacks are just a part of the process and not a

destination. Through the intensive amount of hard work, dedication, and motivation I encountered during

that age, I could become successful and did well in my class. I am very fortunate enough to have a teacher

dedicated to improving the learning gap and wanting all her students to be successful.

2. This article states that "We use...repeated formative classroom assessment as a mirror permitting

students to watch themselves grow." List the three areas of student involvement in formative

assessment named in the article and justify how they are "mirrors for students."

The three areas of student involvement in formative assessment include “student involvement in the

assessment process, student-involved record keeping and student-involved communication” (Chappuis &

Stiggins, p. 2). These three areas highlight how teachers can utilize assessments to excite students about

their academic potential. Student-involved classroom assessment enables students to be in the “passenger

seat of the car”, allowing them to be a partner in their personal learning process. With assistance from the

teacher, students will be able to understand and monitor their own achievement levels by knowing how

they will be graded. The students will have a mirror into the teacher’s criteria and expectations and will be
able to identify personal achievements and struggles. I think this is related to goal setting and allowing

students to have a say in their individual academic goals. Like goal setting, student-involved assessment

enables students to understand and visualize the road to success while building trust with their teacher.

Student-involved record keeping allows students to monitor progress through repeated self-assessment.

Allowing student-involved record keeping enables students to use formative assessments “as a mirror

permitting students to watch themselves grow” (Chappuis & Stiggins, p. 3). When students see progress

over time, they may gain a sense of comfort and control in their learning experience, which can build

confidence and motivation. Student-involved communication lets learners discuss their self-assessments

with others. Student-involved parent and teacher conferences enable students to share their educational

achievements or struggles and gain a sense of responsibility for their strengths and weaknesses. When

students feel prideful and confident about a positive academic achievement, it may motivate them to

strive for more academic success. Students may also take responsibility for struggles when expressing to

their parents where they feel they are not succeeding, which may want them to work harder to achieve

future progress. These ways allow students to feel a sense of control and contribution to their own

academic journeys. The mirror analogy is like a student looking back on themselves in the mirror,

allowing them to be on the other side of the educational process and see ways they can create their own

success.

3. According to the article, what are four ways that classroom formative assessment can improve

achievement gains and reduce student group gaps? Which one of the four do you consider the

most vital? Justify your opinion.

Classroom formative assessment can improve achievement gains and reduce student group gaps if the

assessments “(1) focus on clear purposes, (2) provide accurate reflections of achievement, (3) provide

students with continuous access to descriptive feedback on improvement in their work (versus infrequent

judgmental feedback), and (4) bring students into the classroom assessment processes” (Chappuis &
Stiggins, p. 4). I believe that the second condition that assessments must accurately reflect specific and

appropriate expectations is the most vital. Students need to be able to visualize and understand reasonable

expectations to achieve success. The authors explain that to “meet any standard, students must master

subject matter content, meaning to know and understand”(Chappuis & Stiggins, p. 4). Some standards

require students to use reason; others require problem-solving or assessing mastery of performance skills.

Students must understand the expectations for the product and the expected measures to give them the

most significant probability of success. Teachers need to be clear and concise when outlining expectations

for their students. This is critical, especially for students with learning differences and students who do

not have English as their first language. Teachers need to be fair when setting their expectations and

goals. For example, if a teacher is in a dual-language classroom, they should not administer exams that

are only in English. This does not set appropriate expectations and is unfair to all students in the

classroom. Providing an English-only exam does not allow the chance for all students to be successful.

Students deserve to understand what they are being assessed on to have the best opportunity to achieve

positive results. The authors express that “students need to know where they are headed to participate

actively in their own learning; when they don’t know the learning destination, they are at best just along

for the ride” (Chappuis & Stiggins, p. 4). Having open communication between teachers and students is

essential so students can visualize success. An important example could be setting goals with students and

allowing students to choose their goals. When learning about goal setting last class, we learned the

importance of allowing students to choose their own goals with teacher modification if needed. Student

involvement is crucial in the assessment process so students can be clear about their intended learning.