ABSTRACT
The first thing I want to say about ‘Assessment for Learning’ is that it is not a set of techniques or recipes but rather a way of thinking. If you are using ‘traffic lights’ or drawing names out of a pot in order to choose who answers a question, you may or may not be using assessment for learning. Assessment for Learning (AfL) involves both you and your pupils knowing what they need to learn, establishing how well the pupils are learning from any activities in which they engage and modifying learning plans and activities in order to enable each pupil to continue to increase their learning. In fact Perrenoud (1998) stated that when AfL is truly in place it will seem to disappear as teacher and learner move together towards enhanced learning. AfL should not be seen as a series of add-on ideas, but a fundamental way of thinking about and planning lessons.
