Variability of Students’ Responses to Assessment Activities: The Influence of Achievement Levels

Abstract

The effect of assessment on student learning is often reported using performance data from the entire cohort rather than the growth of individual students. This practice is inconsistent with the theoretical and empirical evidence that individual students respond differently to assessment strategies. The variance observed in students’ responses to assessment tasks is commonly attributed to their learning needs and characteristics, but little is understood about the influence of their achievement levels. This study explores how secondary English students from different achievement levels respond to different assessment activities aimed at developing their skills in writing a persuasive essay and how these responses influence their further engagement in learning. An interpretivist approach was used to analyse the transcripts of semi-structured interviews conducted with five high performing, three average and three underperforming students. The findings revealed that students’ responses are influenced by their learning goals and their perceived benefits of assessment strategies. High performing students selectively engage in assessment activities that best improve their learning, whilst underachieving students disengage when the activity overwhelms them. The average performing students engage only to a certain extent to meet only the average expectation or performance required. Interestingly, some of these responses did not reflect the teacher’s intent in using the assessment strategy. The implications of this study suggest that effective teacher assessment practices would benefit from a recognition of the concept of stimulus-response compatibility. An adaptive teacher disposition is critical in the provision of appropriate stimuli as well as a constructive response to students to ensure their ongoing learning engagement.