Student responses to criteria‐referenced self‐assessment

This paper reports on a study of undergraduate students’ experiences with criteria‐referenced self‐assessment. Fourteen students who had taken a course involving self‐assessment were interviewed in focus groups segregated by gender. The findings suggest that students had positive attitudes toward self‐assessment after extended practice; felt they can effectively self‐assess when they know their teacher’s expectations; claimed to use self‐assessment to check their work and guide revision; and believed the benefits of self‐assessment include improvements in grades, quality of work, motivation and learning. There were indications that some students sensed a tension between their own standards for good work and some of their teachers’ standards. There was no evidence of differences in the responses of male and female students. The paper concludes with the suggestion that self‐assessment involves a complex process of internalization and self‐regulation, and with implications for research and practice.