A reflection I’d love to open up with you
I’ve been thinking a lot about assessment, specifically what actually helps students understand where they stand as learners.
One practice that keeps coming back to me is inviting students to predict the grade they expect to earn.
At first glance, it can feel uncomfortable. We worry about over-confidence, under-confidence, or students just “playing the game”. But research (including John Hattie’s syntheses) suggests something interesting: many students already have a fairly accurate sense of their understanding. When we make that thinking visible, they stop being passive recipients of grades and start becoming partners in the learning process.
What I find most compelling is the shift in the conversation:
From “What grade will I get?” to “What do I understand right now, and what would move my learning forward?”
This doesn’t replace our judgement. It supports it. It strengthens metacognition, clarifies goals, and builds ownership, especially when criteria are explicit.
In classrooms, I can:
ask my students to predict their results before an assessment and explain why
have them set a realistic goal alongside a stretch goal
use the rubric as a reflective tool, not just a scoring sheet
I’m really curious about your experience:
Have you tried something like this with your learners?
What did it reveal: about them, or about your assessment design?
What support do students need to make these judgements honestly and productively?
This feels like one of those small shifts that can quietly change classroom culture.
Looking forward to hearing your thinking.
