An article published in Educational Research Review has examined the effects of self-assessment on self-regulated learning (SRL) and self-efficacy by conducting four meta-analyses.
To understand the impact of students’ assessing their own work, Ernesto Panadero and colleagues from Spain analyzed 19 studies comprised of 2,305 students from primary schools to higher education. The meta-analyses only included studies published in English that contained empirical results of self-assessment intervention in relation to SRL and/or self-efficacy, had at least one control group, and had been peer-reviewed.
The findings indicated that:
- Self-assessment had a positive effect on SRL strategies serving a positive self-regulatory function for students’ learning, such as meta-cognitive strategies (ES= +0.23)
- Self-assessment had a negative effect on “Negative SRL”, which is associated with negative emotions and stress and is thought to be adverse to students’ learning. (ES =-0.65)
- Self-assessment was also found positively associated with SRL even when SRL was measured qualitatively (ES= +0.43)
- Self-assessment had a positive effect on self-efficacy (ES= +0.73), the effect being larger for girls
The authors suggest that self-assessment is necessary for productive learning but note that the results are yet to identify the most effective self-assessment components(e.g.: monitoring, feedback and revision) in fostering SRL strategies or self-efficacy.