Assessment+for+Learning

An integral part of teaching and learning
Assessment for learning is best described as a process by which assessment information is used by teachers to adjust their teaching strategies, and by students to adjust their learning strategies. Assessment, teaching and learning are inextricably linked, as each informs the others. Assessment is a powerful process that can either optimise or inhibit learning, depending on how it’s applied.

For teachers
Assessment for learning helps teachers gather information to:
 * plan and modify teaching and learning programmes for individual students, groups of students and the class as a whole
 * pinpoint students’ strengths so that both teachers and students can build on them
 * identify students’ learning needs in a clear and constructive way so they can be addressed
 * involve parents, families and whānau in their children's learning.

For students
Assessment for learning provides students with information and guidance so they can plan and manage the next steps in their learning. Assessment for learning uses information to lead from what has been learned to what needs to be learned next.

Describing assessment for learning
Assessment for learning should use a range of approaches. These may include: What matters most is not so much the form of the assessment, but how the information gathered is used to improve teaching and learning.
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">day-to-day activities (such as learning conversations)
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">a simple mental note taken by the teacher during observation
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">student self and peer assessments
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">a detailed analysis of a student’s work
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">assessment tools (which may be written items, structured interview questions or items teachers make up themselves).

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Teaching and learning
<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">The primary purpose of assessment is to improve students’ learning and teachers’ teaching as both respond to the information it provides. Assessment for learning is an ongoing process that arises out of the interaction between teaching and learning. <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">What makes assessment for learning effective is how well the information is used.

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">System improvement
<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Assessment can do more than simply diagnose and identify students’ learning needs; it can be used to assist improvements across the education system in a cycle of continuous improvement: <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Students and teachers can use the information gained from assessment to determine their next teaching and learning steps.
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Parents, families and whānau can be kept informed of next plans for teaching and learning and the progress being made, so they can play an active role in their children’s learning.
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">School leaders can use the information for school-wide planning, to support their teachers and determine professional development needs.
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Communities and Boards of Trustees can use assessment information to assist their governance role and their decisions about staffing and resourcing.
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">The Education Review Office can use assessment information to inform their advice for school improvement.
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">The Ministry of Education can use assessment information to undertake policy review and development at a national level, so that government funding and policy intervention is targeted appropriately to support improved student outcomes.