Student perceptions of their involvement in formative assessment feedback practices: “I can do it myself”

Student voice makes a valuable contribution in the effort to evaluate the impact of Assessment for Learning (AfL) as it is the student learning that AfL practices seek to enhance. The authors report on a practitioner-led qualitative study involving 11 students’ perceptions of the impact of student-generated feedback practices. This study was conducted in a senior high-school English classroom in New Zealand and involved teacher-led development of students’ ability to evaluate and give feedback on essay writing. A partnership model of teaching and learning was an underpinning pedagogic principle in a teaching unit focusing on essay writing where a multidimensional criterion rubric was used, model answers were marked, and students were led to create feedback on their own and peers’ essays. Students reported that they valued their involvement in the assessment process and described benefits of increased engagement and the enhancement of their self-regulatory skills, as well as a deepened understanding of essay writing. Through the use of student-generated feedback, students were enabled to become partners with their teacher and share power and responsibility for classroom assessment.