4 Handy Types of Assessment in Language Teaching That Stray from Tradition

3. Self Assessment
Let’s segue into the next obvious extension of student-centric teaching: self assessment.
If you’re teaching a well-rounded course that incorporates comprehension, speaking, tasks and grammar, then using self-assessment will be a breeze because your curriculum already has enough built-in assessment material. You won’t even need to come up with a special test or activity.
Here are some benefits of self-assessment:

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  Showing vs. telling. Students fully understand what they need to improve upon and why because the assessment isn’t coming from a teacher.
  

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  Motivation. Students will be more invested because, as the graders, they’ll know exactly the level they’re expected to achieve. There won’t be any surprises or ambiguity.
  

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  Fairness. Students like having a say in their final score because they trust that it will be fair. This University of Alicante article elaborates on how this method prevents resentment by creating an atmosphere where grading disagreements are handled openly and directly.
  

It’s smart to pair student-designed tests with self-assessed grading because students know the criteria. If you design the test, though, then make sure the requirements are clear beforehand.
Just because they’re self-assessed doesn’t mean the test has to be anything fancy. It can be the typical format: a listening exercise with questions, a spoken presentation, an essay and a written portion, etc.
When grading the essay and spoken portion, ask the students to give themselves an overall grade using a rubric you provide them. The rubric will ask students to assess different aspects individually, for example: fluency, vocabulary, spelling and clarity. You can fill out the same rubric simultaneously. Their final grade would be the average of the two scores.
Providing a detailed rubric for self assessment helps keep grading more accurate. Comparing rubrics also creates the opportunity to connect with each student and make sure you’re on the same page.