Engaging Pupils in Assessment Processes: A peer Review Model

In line with a social-constructivist perspective, some authors consider peer assessment (PA) as an educational procedure where students judge peers’ performance by providing grades and/or offering written or oral feedback to stimulate peers to reflect on and improve their performance (Strijbos & Sluijsmans, 2010). Many studies reveal the positive impact of PA on students’ learning and students’ responsibility for their peers’ learning. Furthermore, PA involves students in an active role inside assessment processes. Research shows that engaging students in assessment processes are a crucial tool to sustain lifelong learning (Boud, 2000; Boud & Soler, 2016). Although these benefits are widely verified in higher education in many international contexts, only a few studies focus on peer assessment at the primary (Crinon, 2012; Hung, 2018) and secondary school levels (Tsivitanidou, Zacharia, & Hovardas, 2011). In Italy, a group of researchers and teachers has developed a specific peer assessment model (Grion, Serbati, Tino & Nicol, 2017) in Italian elementary and secondary school contexts, where PA is a completely unknown practice. The research involved nine classes and different subjects with the support of a peer review process. Results allow us to affirm that the PA model work works effectively in school contexts. Furthermore, the implementation of the model seems to support the development of assessment literacy (Carless & Boud, 2018).