Self- and peer-assessment in upper secondary schools. A quasi-experimental study to investigate the educational effectiveness of formative assessment

The assessment of student learning represents a key component of daily instructional practice. Formative assessment strategies are associated with the development and reinforcement of a series of skills linked to cognitive, metacognitive, behavioural and affective areas. This study investigated the effectiveness of formative assessment strategies in supporting the development of students' emotional and motivational capacities, resilience, self-efficacy, self-reflection, metacognitive awareness and self-regulation. Specifically, it examined whether formative assessment strategies could enhance these skills and improve students' academic preparation for a summative mid-term test. This quasi-experimental study involved 581 students from 37 Italian upper secondary school classes in an investigation that tested the use of self- and peer-assessment to support students' improvements in study organisation and effective summative test preparation. Findings indicate that formative assessment activities supported student preparation for a mid-term summative test. Specifically, improvements in emotional attitudes, self-efficacy, metacognitive awareness and aspects of self-regulation related to rehearsal, elaboration and organisation of learning materials were reported. The data indicate that this skill development was attributed mainly to the implementation of a peer-assessment strategy.