Updated: Mar 2000 | Assessment - Classroom Approaches | Negotiated Evaluation

Assessment - Negotiated Evaluation

Helen Woodward (1993) proposes that:

	the teacher and student should be involved in the process of evaluation and share achievements and expectations.
	these achievements and expectations should be negotiated with parents.
	these achievements and expectations should be shared when the assessment has occurred.

According to Woodward, negotiated evaluation involves the following steps:

1. The teacher identifies the key features to be observed.
2. The student to be observed is identified.
3. An observation sheet is designed on which both teacher and student record information.
4. The student and teacher negotiate and evaluate their observation over a nominated period.
5. The student writes a self evaluation and the teacher writes a report. These evaluations are negotiated before any written report is sent home to parents.
6. A record is made of the student's progress.
7. Parents may comment on the report or request an interview.
8. The report is returned to the school.

Negotiated evaluation is claimed to allow teachers to:

	design learning activities that are part of the classroom program but enable specific learning behaviours and skills to be observed.
	use a systematic, valid and effective means of evaluation and reporting that meets accountability requirements.
	plan more specifically because gaps in student learning and the provision of learning activities become clearer.
	see all students for equal amounts of time, including those who are less readily noticed in the classroom.

The negotiation with the student allows the teacher to look beyond the products of the student to the issues that influence the student's learning processes. By taking both product and process into account, the teacher can make a more accurate assessment of the student's achievement.