objective judgments can be made. Assessment without feedback merely
serves as judgment. Feedback is the part of assessment that enables us to
make sense of judgment and improve our work. Educators must con-
sciously create school cultures that require both feedback and assessment.
This chapter considers different ways to achieve this goal.
Guiding Assumptions
The following assumptions support a feedback and assessment system that
promotes students’ use of the Habits of Mind:
•Data energize learning.
•Students must set and meet goals.
•Schools must become learning organizations.
•Assessment requires self-regulation.Data Energize Learning
Students learn and grow when they have the opportunity to consider
external and internal data. External data include feedback from teacher
evaluations and test results. They also include “coaching” information
from peers and teachers.
Many students are familiar with various types of external data, but
they are less conversant with the credibility of their internal data. The
term internal datadescribes information a student processes from feed-
back as well as self-evaluation and reflection. Students need opportunities
to self-evaluate and generate these kinds of data. They must learn how to
compare their current performance with previous performances, and they
must learn how to analyze their performance in terms of benchmarks for
effective performance.
Remember that neither external nor internal data are useful for learn-
ing unless feedback is frequent and stated in constructive terms. Feedback
given too long after an assessment or a learning event won’t influence a
student in the same way as data offered almost immediately. Also, students
find it more helpful to hear constructive comments on their work. They
need (and want!) to hear what they can do, not just what they cannot do.
Assessing Habits of Mind 191