A learning target is the main objective that students must obtain from a particular lesson. Such targets are based on curriculum and grade standards as defined by the Department of Education, as well as by public school districts. These entities determine what students should know by the end of the year in order to close achievement gaps. By setting clear learning targets, teachers and students are on the same page with regard to what students are supposed to learn. From there, students can get involved in the assessment process to see exactly how close they are to reaching those achievements or how much work they have to do to get up to speed.
In order for student-involved classroom assessments to be effective, the educator must establish a suitable monitoring and tracking system. This system, such as a checklist or written evaluation sheet, is what students will use to gauge their progress, so the system must be easy to understand. One way to achieve this is to provide well defined criteria for the assessment. These criteria involve telling students precisely what it is they are monitoring or tracking, rather than giving general prompts on the assessment tools. An example of a general prompt is asking students how well they understand math. This type of prompt leaves room for a variety of answers. However, if you rephrase the prompt to ask students on a scale from one to five -- with five being the highest and one being the lowest -- how they would rank their comfort level with division or multiplication, you will get more informative responses for the assessment.
You can use student-involved classroom assessments to motivate students. As students become aware of their status in relation to achievement gaps, they may become more eager to work harder or take their lessons more seriously in order to get ahead and boost their self-confidence and self-esteem. Such drive is inspired by the students' sense of wanting to do better, which is a positive effect that student-involved classroom assessments have when implemented properly. Motivated students will want to close their own personal achievement gaps and get satisfaction out of ranking higher and higher on the assessment scale to see their hard work rewarded.
The only way to stay on top of achievement gaps -- and eventually close them -- is to have continuous feedback on the classroom assessments. Consistent reviews and feedback tell students, teachers, parents, educators and faculty administrators how a classroom is functioning and how students are doing collectively. Based on the continuous feedback educators can rework their lesson plans and curriculum to make the learning process more effective for students and, thereby, help close the achievement gaps.