Formative feedback : A quest for a fair and transparent assessment tool

Abstract EN

Assessment research has known a real evolution from the traditional psychometric tradition which focuses on quantifying the students’ performances and certifying their level to the assessment for learning.

The shift from traditional psychometric assessment model to assessment for learning leads researchers to explore alternative assessment methods which can ensure the assessors’ objectivity such as a rubric.

These assessment tools are highly reliable and transparent because they articulate the assessors’ expectations or criteria in a clear way.

They also decrease the assessors’ bias and ensure a fair assessment.

These assessment procedures increase students’ awareness of the tasks’ requirements and they consequently enhance their autonomy.

Unlike the assessment of learning which assesses the student knowledge at the end of a learning episode such as end term exams, assessment for learning assesses the learners’ knowledge continuously.

These alternative methods also replace the traditional grading by a formative feedback which exploits the students’ results to plan a remedial work.