Assessment of, for and as learning — comprehensive notes

Overview: purpose and scope of assessment

• Prior knowledge: Chapter 2 covered reliability, validity, and fairness in assessment.
• This chapter outlines the main purposes of assessment:
  • Summative assessment (assessment for learning) – sometimes called assessment of learning, used to judge learners after a learning episode.
  • Formative assessment (assessment for learning) – used during learning to guide teaching and learning improvements.
  • Self-assessment and self-regulation (assessment as learning) – learners actively regulate and assess their own learning.
• Learner assessment is integral to teaching and learning and should be embedded in curriculum planning and delivery.
• Assessment involves gathering valid and reliable information using context-appropriate approaches to determine a learner’s actual level of performance relative to intended outcomes.
• Purpose of guiding learners to close gaps: teachers use informal and formal assessments to scaffold and improve learning.
• Scaffolding: teacher-provided support that helps learners move from simple to more complex understandings.

- Use of multiple information sources for ongoing assessment to determine where learners are along their Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD) and what next steps are needed.

• ZPD concept origin and definition (Lev Vygotsky):
  • It is the distance between the actual developmental level (as determined through independent problem solving) and the level of potential development (as determined through problem solving under adult guidance or collaboration with more capable peers). See: Vygotsky (1978: 86).
  • Conceptually represented in Figure 3.1 (teacher support across levels of achievement and development).
  • Teachers’ responsibilities include reporting learner progress to parents and other stakeholders, as required by policy and professional standards.
  • The enactment of the curriculum is shaped by assessment data (the enacted curriculum mirrors how the national or provincial aims play out in classrooms).

Note on ZPD: the gap between what a learner can do independently and what they can do with guidance or collaboration.

Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD) and scaffolding

• Figure 3.1 illustrates shifting ZPD before and after mediation and support, showing how teacher scaffolding moves learner performance from dependence to greater independence.
• ZPD highlights the importance of guided support (teacher guidance, assistance, and support) in enabling learners to perform at higher levels than they could independently achieve.
• Practical implication: assessment should identify where a learner is relative to their ZPD and what supports will enable progression.

Role of the teacher in assessment: alignment and fairness

• Assessment should reflect curriculum objectives and learners’ abilities to learn.
• The teacher should understand factors influencing measurement of learning and possess mastery of the subject matter, written communication, and assessment techniques.
• Teachers translate stated subject goals into learning objectives and select assessment procedures aligned with curriculum content to achieve those goals.
• Use of varied procedures to recognise differences in teaching methods, learners’ abilities, needs, and learning styles.
• Assessments should be fair, just, and equitable, motivate learners, instil confidence, test a variety of skills, and comply with policy (e.g., National Protocol on Assessment DoE 2005; National Curriculum Statement Grades R−12, Government Gazette No 36042: 2012).
• Assessment holds an important place in learning and can influence decisions about promotion to the next grade; it can shape and reshape the enacted curriculum.

Assessment for different purposes (intro to three major purposes)

• Assessment is the process of gathering and interpreting evidence of learner progress relative to identified learning aims and how teaching performed.
• Although discussed as three purposes, these perspectives are not mutually exclusive and can overlap in practice.
• Classroom assessment is an ongoing process where teachers and learners interact to promote greater learning (McMunn 2000).
• Assessments range from day-to-day informal classroom assessments to formal, policy-required continuous assessments (CASS), exams, etc., across terms; in Grade 12, high-stakes end-of-year assessments measure achievement of standards.
• Schneider, Egan, and Julian (2013) warn that different assessment types may measure different constructs, causing mixed messages if not interpreted together.

The three main purposes of learner assessment

1) Summative assessment – Assessment of learning (high-stakes end- or mid-year assessments)

• Purpose: determine a learner’s overall achievement in a specific area at a particular time (end of a learning period).
• Function: provide information on mastery of content, knowledge, or skills; used to judge achievement against curriculum aims and standards.
• Origins and scope:
  • Historically certifies learners (high-stakes examinations) and informs transitions to higher education, completion of courses/certificates, and admission decisions.
  • Also viewed as a means of rating learners or comparing them; can offer a transparent interpretation of achievement across audiences.
• Advantages:
  • Easy to manage; less time-consuming than formative assessments.
  • Useful for decisions about promotion and for indicators of system performance.
• Disadvantages:
  • Teachers often have little to no part in designing high-stakes exams, which can shift focus to test preparation rather than deep learning.
  • Often emphasizes low-level recall and objective-type questions; may not test psychomotor or affective domains.
  • Can lead to labeling and neglect context; can cause anxiety around results for learners.
  • In systems where summative assessment dominates, schooling may be seen as the end goal rather than a means to learning.
• Alignment with education domains: strongly aligned with qualification dimension.

2) Formative assessment – Assessment for learning (ongoing assessment during learning)

• Purpose: gather and use information about learners’ ongoing development to inform teaching and support learning processes.
• Perspectives and aims:
  • Assessment for learning seeks to identify where learners are in their learning, where they need to go, and how best to get there (ARG 2002).
  • Focus is on helping learners learn better, not just achieving a better mark.
• Characteristics:
  • Occurs during the learning process and aims to support learning through feedback and targeted instruction.
  • Aims to create a closer link between assessment and learning (Butt 2010).
• Teacher responsibilities: give feedback that informs teaching, set targets, and support learners toward those targets; emphasize productive feedback rather than compliance with curriculum to the letter.
• Relationship to constructivist and productive pedagogies: helps learners think scientifically, artistically, mathematically, philosophically, sociologically, etc., and socialises them into disciplinary inquiry.
• Assessment form variability: can include formal tests, quizzes, observations, and performance tasks; designed to monitor progress and adjust instruction.

3) Assessment as learning – Self-assessment and self-regulation (assessment that learners actively control)

• Core idea: learners monitor and regulate their own learning as a long-term process; learners initiate, judge, and sustain the assessment process themselves.
• Rationale and critique of traditional assessment:
  • Boud & Falchikov (2007) critique traditional schooling for treating learners as passive subjects subject to assessment bureaucracy.
  • Assessment as learning aims to empower learners to construct meaning and use self-knowledge to guide learning over time.
• Key theorists:
  • Earl (2003) emphasizes that students move forward when they can use personal knowledge to construct meaning, have self-monitoring skills, and know what to do next.
• Core process (Figure 3.6): self-regulation cycle for improving performance with steps:
  • Step 1: Plan, set goals, and lay out strategies
  • Analyze the learning task, set short- to long-term goals, plan strategies and resources, set expectations for task completion.
  • Step 2: Use strategies and monitor progress
  • Use self-observation to reflect on actions and progress; plan responses to obstacles; stay with planned strategies.
  • Step 3: Reflect on performance and achievement
  • Evaluate performance against original goals; reflect on the effectiveness of plans and strategies; manage emotions to maintain productive thinking for future tasks.
• Why self-regulation matters:
  • Helps monitor progress toward learning goals, analyze feedback, seek help when needed, and implement guidance to improve.
  • Encourages learners to choose and apply appropriate strategies.
• How teachers can foster self-regulation:
  • Explain gaps between current performance and desired goals.
  • Guide learners to use feedback to inform next steps and close gaps.
  • Align desired learning with suitable strategies and actions.
  • Provide regular feedback in a classroom culture where mistakes are opportunities to learn.
  • Teach different learning strategies and when to apply them.
  • Create a classroom environment with mutual respect, high expectations, and encouragement of risk-taking.
  • Reinforce that self-regulation is a lifelong skill.
• Self-, peer-, and metacognitive aspects:
  • Learners ask metacognitive questions about their learning; metacognition informs self-regulated actions to improve learning.
  • Self- and peer-assessment provide information about achievement and prompt learners to consider how to improve.
  • Comparison is typically with one’s own prior work and future learning goals, not with others (Earl 2003).
• Balance and integration:
  • Balanced assessment (combining of learning, for learning, and as learning) is crucial for coherent curriculum delivery.
  • In many SA schools, emphasis remains on summative assessment; assessment as learning has not yet achieved strong traction; reform aims to rebalance toward assessment for and as learning.

The formative assessment process and feedback (Figure 3.4 & 3.5 context)

• Formative assessment aims to provide effective feedback showing gaps between actual work and required standards and to provide feed-forward for improvement.
• Key beliefs:
  • All learners can improve; assessment should guide improvement, not just measure it.
  • Teachers’ pedagogy is critical; when teachers believe learners can improve, assessment becomes a vehicle for enhancing learning.
• Relationship with summative assessment:
  • Formative and summative are not separate types of assessment but different purposes within the same learning ecosystem.
  • Multiple summative assessments are often needed to determine progress; summative judgments are not the sole basis for learning guidance.
• Figure 3.5 depicts the relationship: assessment for learning (formative) supports learning and improves teaching, while assessment with a summative purpose makes judgments about learning.
• Process implications: ongoing feedback, adjustments to instruction, and targeted support feed into overall learning progress and classroom practice.

The Formative Assessment Process – Key components (Figure 3.4)

• Core aim: provide feedback that identifies a gap between actual performance and the target standard.
• Feedback type: actionable feedback and feed-forward to guide next steps.
• The role of the teacher in pedagogy: adapt teaching based on formative evidence, supporting learners to progress toward targets.
• The relationship to measurement: formative assessment uses evidence from ongoing tasks to inform next steps, not just to assign a grade.

The relationship between summative and formative assessment (Figure 3.5)

• Summative assessment: evidence of learning at a given point, often used for grading and reporting.
• Formative assessment: evidence used to adapt teaching and support learning ongoingly.
• The two are interdependent in a holistic assessment system; formative assessments feed into future learning and can influence summative outcomes by guiding instruction.

Self-regulation and metacognition: assessment as learning (Figure 3.6)

• Self-regulation cycle emphasises planning, monitoring, and reflection to improve future performance.
• Metacognitive awareness: learners reflect on what they know, what they don’t know, and what to do next.
• Process description (steps 1–3) reiterated:
  • Plan, set goals, lay out strategies; analyze tasks; set expectations.
  • Use strategies and monitor progress; reflect on actions; adapt to obstacles.
  • Reflect on performance and outcomes; evaluate, adjust strategies; manage emotions for future tasks.
• The central premise: learners become active judges and drivers of their own learning, aided by feedback and teacher support when appropriate.

The continuum: balancing assessment for better curriculum delivery (Figure 3.8)

• Current situation in many SA schools: emphasis on summative assessment, with CASS used primarily for summative marks.
• Calls for rebalancing toward assessment for learning and assessment as learning to improve teaching and learning quality.
• Diagrammatic shift (Figure 3.8) contrasts focus on reporting/compliance with focus on enhancing learning and teaching.
• In practice, assessments should address content and competencies, with learners taking more responsibility and teachers sharing or clarifying responsibilities accordingly.

Practical implications and policy references

• National and policy context:
  • National Protocol on Assessment for Schools in the General and Further Education and Training Band (Grades R−12) – DoE 2005.
  • CAPS and government policy on assessment and promotion (Government Gazette No 36042: 2012).
• Conceptual anchors and sources:
  • ARG (Assessment Reform Group, 2002): Ten Principles of Assessment for Learning – key ideas about where learners are, where they need to go, and how best to get there.
  • Black et al. (2003): Assessment for Learning – practical guidance on implementing formative assessment.
  • Boud (2007) and Falchikov (2007): reframing assessment as learning rather than simply measuring learning.
  • Earl (2003): Assessment as Learning – self-regulation and self-monitoring as central to learning.
  • Moss (2013); McMillan (2013); McMunn (2000); Taras (2005); Schneider et al. (2013) – scholarly context on classroom assessment and the interplay of summative and formative assessments.
• Reflective takeaway: assessment should be a combined enterprise that supports learning, informs teaching, and prepares learners as active, critical citizens.

Ethical, philosophical, and practical implications

• Ethical: fair and equitable assessment practices; avoid labeling; respect context and individual learner needs; ensure assessments do not cause undue anxiety.
• Philosophical: assessment is a tool to enhance learning, not merely a gatekeeping mechanism; emphasizes learner agency and metacognition.
• Practical: effective assessment requires alignment of curriculum aims, instruction, and assessment tasks; use of feedback and feed-forward; professional development for teachers to implement and balance three assessment purposes.

Connections to foundational principles and real-world relevance

• Alignment with foundational education domains:
  • Summative assessment aligns with qualification and certification (domain: qualification).
  • Formative assessment aligns with socialisation, developing disciplinary thinking and citizenship traits (domain: socialisation).
  • Self-assessment and self-regulation align with individuation, promoting independence and critical thinking (domain: individuation).
• Real-world relevance: the COVID-19 pandemic exposed limitations of summative assessment and stimulated interest in authentic, formative, and self-assessment approaches.
• The shift toward assessing for and as learning aims to maximize growth and professional efficiency, improving both teaching and learning outcomes.

Key quotations and references (selected)

• Vygotsky (1978): Zone of Proximal Development definition.
• ARG (2002): Ten Principles of Assessment for Learning.
• Butt (2010); Butt & McMunn (2006): formative assessment aims to connect curriculum and learning and to support classroom interactions.
• Earl (2003): assessment as learning and metacognition.
• Moss (2013); McMillan (2013); Schneider, Egan & Julian (2013); Taras (2005): perspectives on assessment and the relationship between summative and formative assessment.
• DoE (2005); Government Gazette 36042 (2012): national policy context and assessment protocols.

Quick recap: core definitions to memorize

• Summative assessment (assessment of learning): end-of-unit or term evaluation; determines overall achievement and promotions; high-stakes.
• Formative assessment (assessment for learning): ongoing during learning; informs instruction and supports improvement; feedback-driven.
• Assessment as learning (self-assessment and self-regulation): learner-initiated, metacognitive, and self-regulated learning; aims for long-term independence and critical thinking.
• Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD): the gap between what a learner can do independently and what they can do with guidance or collaboration; conceptualized as a space where scaffolding enables progression.
• Scaffolding: teacher or peer support that enables learner advancement within the ZPD.
• Feed-forward: guidance provided to improve future performance, beyond the immediate task.
• Metacognition: awareness and regulation of one’s own learning processes.
• Balance: optimal educational practice integrates assessment for, of, and as learning to maximize instructional effectiveness and learner growth.

Summary takeaway

• Assessment is not a single act but a spectrum of purposes that should be integrated and balanced to support learning, inform teaching, and empower learners to become self-regulated, reflective, and capable thinkers.
• The strongest educational outcomes arise when teachers use a mix of summative, formative, and self-regulatory assessments to guide instruction, provide feedback, and foster learner autonomy.

References cited in the notes

• Assessment Reform Group (ARG). 2002. Ten Principles of Assessment for Learning. Cambridge: University of Cambridge.
• Black, P., Harrison, C., Lee, C., Marshall, B., & Wiliam, D. 2003. Assessment for Learning: Putting It Into Practice. Buckingham: Open University Press.
• Boud, D. 2007; Boud, D. & Falchikov, N. 2007. Rethinking Assessment in Higher Education: Learning for the Longer Term. London: Routledge.
• Brown, A. 2004−5. ‘Assessment for Learning’. Learning and Teaching in Higher Education.
• DoE. 2005. The National Protocol on Assessment for Schools in the General and Further Education and Training Band (Grades R−12). Pretoria: Department of Education.
• Earl, L.M. 2003. Assessment as Learning: Using Classroom Assessment to Maximize Student Learning. Thousand Oaks: Corwin Press.
• Harlen, W. 2006. On the relationship between assessment for formative and summative purposes. In Gardiner, J. (ed) Assessment and Learning. Sage.
• Leighton, J.P. 2019. Students’ interpretation of formative assessment feedback. Journal of Educational Measurement.
• McMillan, J.H. 2013. SAGE Handbook of Research on Classroom Assessment. Sage.
• McMunn, N. 2000. Classroom assessment: a driving force to improved learning. Assessment HotSpots.
• Moss, C.M. 2013. Research on classroom summative assessment. In McMillan (ed) Sage Handbook of Research on Classroom Assessment. Sage.
• Schneider, M.C., Egan, K.L., & Julian, M.W. 2013. Classroom assessment in the context of high-stakes testing. In McMillan (ed) Sage Handbook of Research on Classroom Assessment. Sage.
• Taras, M. 2005. Assessment − summative and formative − some theoretical reflections. British Journal of Educational Studies.
• Vygotsky, L.S. 1978. Mind in Society: The Development of Higher Psychological Processes. Harvard University Press.
• Weedon, P., Winter, J. & Broadfoot, P. 2002. Assessment: What’s In It For Schools? RoutledgeFalmer.