"My teacher's judgement matters more than mine" : comparing teacher and student perspectives on self-assessment practices in the classroom

Self-assessment is considered a formative practice (Black & Wiliam, 1998; Clarke, 2005), thought to help students engage (Woodward & Munns, 2003), develop self-regulation and metacognition (Andrade, 1999; Boud, 1995; Hattie & Timperley, 2007), and better understand criteria used to evaluate their work (Andrade, 2000; Andrade & Valtcheva, 2009). In the Assessment for Learning framework (Black & Wiliam, 1998), self-assessment asks pupils to evaluate their own work in relation to a specific learning intention, goal, or set of criteria. Some advocates would consider any kind of reflection about the quality of work to be an example of self-assessment (e.g., Munns & Woodward, 2006; Woodward & Munns, 2003). While this complex social practice has significant promise (Black & Wiliam, 1998; Cowie, 2005), studies have noted problems with implementation (e.g., Cowie, 2005, 2009; Ross, 2006). Ross (2006) found teachers were concerned students would over or undervalue their work; pupils feared peers would cheat, with some seeing assessment not as their job, but their teacher’s. In Cowie’s (2005, 2009) work students described complex issues of disclosure (both to other students and their teacher), as well as problems relating to control and accuracy. Several New Zealand studies have also found students to be skeptical about the utility of self-assessment practices (Brown, Irving, Peterson & Hirschfeld, 2008; Harris, Harnett, & Brown, 2010; Peterson & Irving, 2008). Students seem to perceive, rightly or wrongly, that only teacher-controlled assessment matters (Bourke, 1996; Brown et al., 2009).