ABSTRACT
Self-assessment occurs when students evaluate their own performance or growth against specific goals and then identify strategies to achieve those goals. For example, students might predict how well they will do on an upcoming assessment, rate or grade their own work against a model or rubric, or reflect on their learning and devise ways to improve their understanding. Self-assessment has its pitfalls: biases, lack of motivation, the time required to train students, and, of course, concerns about grade inflation. These pitfalls can generally be mitigated by comparing and aligning self-ratings with teacher and peer assessments, training students about the different kinds of biases that compromise assessment accuracy, proactively educating parents about the benefits of the method, and maintaining a climate of high expectations and psychological safety. In order for self-assessment to be productive, students need to achieve a prerequisite level of self-awareness and subject-matter understanding, making it a more effective strategy for older, experienced students versus younger, novice students.
