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a ready-to-run workshopStudent Self-Assessment
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Student Self-Assessment & Goal-Setting (Workshop)

When students can judge their own work against clear criteria and set a next goal, they take ownership of their learning. Self-assessment is not students grading themselves; it is students learning to see the gap between where they are and where they are going.

Key takeaway

Teaching students to judge their work against clear criteria and set a next goal builds ownership and is among the higher-impact, lower-cost moves in teaching.

Format
PLC / team meeting
Length
45 minutes
Group size
Any (works 4-40)
Who can run it
Any teacher-leader
You will need
Slides (5)Printed handoutSuccess criteria and exemplarsA timer
Aligned to
Learning Forward: Rigorous ContentInTASC 6: AssessmentHattie: assessment-capable learners
Share / assign

Why it works

Helping students become assessment-capable, able to judge their progress against criteria and decide what to do next, is consistently linked to strong gains. The key is clear success criteria, models of good and not-yet-good work, and routines that ask students to locate themselves and set a specific next step.

The research: Hattie on assessment-capable learners; research on self-regulated learning.

The run-of-show

Choose your slot. The agenda, timings, and length update to match.

    The core activity: build a self-assessment routine

    Teachers leave with a self-assessment routine built on clear criteria, exemplars, and goal-setting.

    Students need to see good work to judge their ownSelf-assessment depends on a clear picture of success. Give students the criteria and exemplars, then teach them to compare and set a next step.

    Facilitator notes

    Do not confuse self-grading with self-assessmentAsking students to assign themselves a mark is not the point. The value is in judging against criteria and choosing a specific next step.

    Adapt it

    Participant handout

    One page for every teacher. Print it, or save it as a PDF.

    K12 Academics · Professional Learning

    Student Self-Assessment: judge it, goal it

    <b>Build assessment-capable students:</b> clear criteria, exemplars, locate your work, set a next step.

    1. The task and its success criteria:
    2. The strong and not-yet-there models:
    3. How students locate their work:
    4. How they set one next-step goal:
    5. How often they self-assess:

    Make it stick

    Make it routine and actionable:

    Common questions

    Won't students just give themselves top marks?
    Not with clear criteria and exemplars. The goal is accuracy, not a grade, and students get better at judging their work with practice and feedback.
    Isn't this too advanced for younger students?
    No. Even young children can compare their work to a model and say what to improve, with simple criteria and 'I can' language.
    How is this different from peer assessment?
    Self-assessment is the student judging their own work. Both rely on the same clear criteria and exemplars, and both build ownership.

    Go deeper

    Build it into a bigger day

    Workshop
    Objectives & Success Criteria
    Workshop
    Feedback That Moves Learning
    Workshop
    Metacognition & Study Skills