Assessing learning or assessing FOR learning?

Assessments, their tools, methods and effectiveness are regularly called into question. They are at the heart of many debates, even if exchanges of practice between colleagues are limited.

In a series of articles, videos and animations, François Muller proposes a more useful, lively and stimulating form of assessment, one that is an integral part of learning. Assessment FOR learning.

Grades don't make music

The situation is grim. One principal counted 90,000 marks awarded in his 600-student school. Grades invade the school environment, and the time spent on assessment is greater than the time spent on training. The effects on self-image, on the pleasure of learning, and even on the pleasure of teaching, are harmful. Parents and students are very attached to it. "Is it graded?" students often ask, to find out whether they should invest themselves in the proposed activity.

In a 1998 article, Paul Black and Dylan Wiliam put forward very similar criticisms. They noted that getting good results and grades was the primary objective, ahead of learning. The student who has poor results will withdraw from school activities, and seek a sense of self-esteem in another activity".

François Muller does not claim to do away with grades, summative assessments or tests. He does, however, propose to broaden the palette and leave a place for assessments FOR learning.

We don't all have the same form of intelligence or learning profile, and we don't all use the same techniques. What's more, we don't share the same objectives. A grade doesn't reflect the skills required to achieve a result. No problem. Just add a comment!

François Muller remains skeptical: a pupil who gets a bad mark remains fixed on that result, and is no longer willing to read the comments. Those with a satisfactory result don't always read them either...

So why not turn evaluation into a dialogue? The trainer can make a few comments, but above all invite the student to produce a response... "How do you arrive at this conclusion?", "Can you give another example?". And new technologies, especially collaborative tools (framapad, google drive...) can facilitate these exchanges. Philosophy teacher François Jourde uses collaborative digital tools from Framasoft and Google to organize a conversational evaluation.

François Muller invites us to propose benevolent evaluations. These assessments assess the learner's progress and development, rather than giving an image of his or her "level".

In practical terms, the teacher can use the sandwich method. This involves starting with a strong point, then moving on to an area of progress, followed by indications of methods or steps to be taken to achieve this progress. Some people even suggest giving three strong points for one way forward! Of course, it's important to avoid writing things down too automatically, but the "sandwich" reminds us that teachers need to be alert to the impact that certain remarks can have on students' self-esteem.

Among other ideas, François Muller encourages us to develop self-assessment and peer assessment. Both approaches require students to take ownership of the objectives and criteria. For Black and Wiliam, self-assessment helps to define the objective, to situate oneself, and to present a strategy for bringing one's position closer to the objective.

This quick summary and these few drawings are far from exhausting the avenues explored by François Muller in his articles. We invite you to discover the prezi he designed to explore this article in greater depth.

Illustrations: Frédéric Duriez

Resources

Animation et éducation - Évaluation, comment valoriser les élèves ?
May 2014 accessed June 11, 2017 http://animeduc.occe.coop/spip.php?page=presentation_revue&id=240

François Muller - "Evaluer pour les apprentissages, ça marche" Prezi published September 2016, accessed June 11, 2017
https://prezi.com/fbn4fsgi1qys/evaluer-pour-les-apprentissages-ca-marche/

François Muller - "évaluer pour les apprentissages, ça marche - mode d'emploi" online February 17, 2014, accessed June 11, 2O17
http://www.lepetitjournaldesprofs.com/diversifier/2014/02/17/evaluer-pour-les-apprentissages-ca-marche-mode-demploi-video/

De Ketele Jean-Marie, "Ne pas se tromper d'évaluation", Revue française de linguistique appliquée, 2010/1 (Vol. XV), pp. 25-37. URL: http: //www.cairn.info/revue-francaise-de-linguistique-appliquee-2010-1-page-25.htm

François Jourde Des lettres d'auto-évaluation pour une évaluation conversationnelle - educavox posted online June 6, 2017, accessed June 9, 2017
http://www.educavox.fr/innovation/pedagogie/des-lettres-d-auto-evaluation-pour-une-evaluation-conversationnelle

Paul Black Dylan Wiliam: Inside the black box, raising standards through classroom assessment 1998
http://www.rdc.udel.edu/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/InsideBlackBox.pdf