Australian Students' Self-Appraisal of Their Work Samples and Academic Progress

In this article we describe the use of a classroom interview with students to assess and promote self-appraisal of their academic learning. The 10-item Worksamples Interview stimulates students to review and analyze their schoolwork on a variety of cognitive and motivational dimensions. Students are asked to select examples from their recent work that reveal different features of their accomplishments and to provide self-evaluations of the work. 93 students in years 4, 5, and 6 in 1 Australian school (equivalent to grades 3, 4, and 5 in the United States) participated in the Worksamples Interview as well as in a larger, longitudinal research project that yielded additional data that could be correlated with interview responses. Older students were able to explain their work samples in greater detail and with more insight. The total Worksamples Interview scores were correlated significantly with scores on measures of strategic reading, school attitudes, and literacy habits outside school. Thus, the interview assesses metacognitive abilities related to strategic and motivated learning. It is a promising assessment tool that teachers can use in student conferences, along with other performance and portfolio assessments.