Students Knowing Themselves: How Self-Reported Grades Boost Achievement

Hattie's Visible Learning Effect Size Series - #2 Self-Reported Grades - Effect Size 1.33

To Note: John Hattie's Visible Learning research synthesises over 1,500 meta-analyses, examining more than 90,000 studies involving millions of students worldwide. Its core aim is to identify which educational practices have the greatest impact on student learning, using a statistical measure known as 'effect size'. In this research, an effect size of 0.4 represents a typical year's growth in learning. Strategies above 0.4 are seen as effective, and those above 0.6 are considered highly impactful. This series explores these influences in more detail.

Self-Reported Grades ranks second among Hattie's influences, with an effect size of 1.33. This impressive figure highlights the extraordinary potential of helping students to accurately assess and predict their own performance. When learners are taught to reflect honestly and set clear goals, it can lead to dramatic gains in achievement.

What are Self-Reported Grades?

Self-Reported Grades refer to students predicting their own performance on assessments or setting goals for their expected outcomes. It is not about hopeful guesses, but about developing students' ability to understand where they are in their learning, what success looks like, and how to close the gap.

Why Do Self-Reported Grades Have Such a Strong Impact?

Developing this skill taps into several critical aspects of learning:

• Metacognition: Students become more aware of their own learning processes.

• Ownership: They take greater responsibility for their own success.

• Motivation: Seeing their progress builds confidence and drive.

When students can accurately gauge their performance, they can more effectively plan next steps, seek help when needed, and adjust their learning strategies. Guided feedback from teachers helps students refine their self-predictions and build a more accurate sense of their progress. Encouraging students to predict and reflect builds a proactive rather than reactive learning culture.

Practical Strategies to Foster Accurate Self-Reported Grades

1. Goal Setting and Reflection:

   • Build in regular opportunities for students to set specific, measurable goals for assessments and tasks.

   • After tasks, encourage students to reflect: How close was my prediction? What helped or hindered me?

   • Some schools use learning journals where students track their predicted grades and reflections over time.

   • In one school, students use coloured stickers to track their prediction accuracy over a term, celebrating improvements in self-awareness.

2. Rubric Use and Co-Creation:

   • Share rubrics and success criteria in advance, helping students understand exactly what quality looks like.

   • Rubrics not only guide students towards quality but also scaffold their ability to make accurate predictions about their work.

   • Involve students in creating success criteria, deepening their understanding.

   • Some settings encourage students to mark exemplar work using rubrics to calibrate their own expectations.

3. Student-Led Conferences:

   • Allow students to lead parent-teacher conferences, discussing their own learning targets, progress, and next steps, and improving their ability to accurately assess their progress.

   • In some schools, this approach has transformed students' sense of ownership and built stronger home-school learning partnerships.

4. Confidence Ratings Before and After Tasks:

   • Before assessments, ask students to rate their confidence in specific objectives. For example, students could rate their understanding of today's objective on a scale from 1 to 5. After completion, revisit those ratings and discuss alignment with outcomes. While confidence ratings help gauge students' feelings about their learning, encouraging comparison with actual outcomes helps build accuracy in self-assessment.

   • Some teachers create simple pre- and post-task rating charts visible in the classroom to track growth.

Quick Wins to Build Self-Assessment Confidence Today

• Ask students to predict their score or grade before submitting a major piece of work (to build metacognition).

• Regularly use rubrics for students to self-assess before teacher marking (to deepen understanding of quality).

• End lessons with a "learning confidence" check-in (to build reflection habits).

• Have students set a personal success goal at the start of each week (to anchor purpose).

Challenges and Considerations

Developing accurate self-assessment habits takes time. Students may initially overestimate or underestimate their abilities. The goal is not perfect prediction initially, but rather gradual improvement over time through feedback and support. Encouraging students to reflect on both successes and mismatches between predictions and outcomes helps refine their accuracy over time. Teachers need to model honest reflection, create a safe environment for vulnerability, and provide regular guidance on what success looks like. Consistency is key. Over time, students become more skilled at aligning their self-perceptions with actual achievement.

Reflections

Helping students to accurately predict and assess their learning is one of the most empowering tools we can give them. Accurate student self-assessments can also support teachers in better tailoring instruction to meet learners' needs. It builds agency, metacognitive skill, and a deeper sense of ownership over learning journeys. With patient coaching and clear success criteria, students can learn not only to achieve more but to understand their own growth with clarity and pride.

As you reflect, consider:

• How often do your students reflect on and predict their own performance?

• What structures could you introduce to make student self-assessment more visible and regular?

• How can we build students' confidence to assess themselves honestly and optimistically?

Further Reading and Resources

If you would like to dive deeper into the research on self-reported grades and student self-assessment, you may find these resources helpful:

• 4 Steps of Student Self-Assessment - Edutopia

• Creating a Culture of Student Reflection: Self-Assessment Yields Positive Results - Edutopia

Research Connections

Further studies that support the power of student self-assessment include:

• Black & Wiliam (1998): Assessment and Classroom Learning – Highlighted the impact of formative assessment and self-evaluation on improving student outcomes.

• Zimmerman (2002): Becoming a Self-Regulated Learner – Discussed how self-monitoring and self-evaluation are critical components of academic success.

In the next post, we’ll explore another high-impact factor: Teacher Estimates of Achievement, and how the accuracy of our expectations can shape student success.

Visible Learning Blog Series:

This series explores the top influences on student achievement from John Hattie's Visible Learning research, highlighting practical ways educators can harness each factor to make a meaningful impact.

1. Collective Teacher Efficacy (1.57) – Belief that together we can succeed

2. Self-Reported Grades (1.33) – Students predict their own success (You Are Here)

3. Teacher Estimates of Achievement (1.29) – Judging student potential accurately

4. Response to Intervention (1.29) – Targeted support for learning gaps

5. Piagetian Programs (1.28) – Teaching aligned with developmental stages

6. Conceptual Change Programs (0.99) – Correcting misconceptions through new learning

7. Prior Ability (0.94) – The impact of what students already know

8. Strategy to Integrate with Prior Knowledge (0.93) – Linking new learning to existing knowledge

9. Self-Efficacy (0.92) – Students' belief in their own abilities

10. Teacher Credibility (0.90) – Building trust and respect with students

11. Micro-Teaching (0.88) – Enhancing practice through focused feedback

12. Classroom Discussion (0.82) – Learning through talk and dialogue

13. Comprehensive Interventions for Learning Disabled Students (0.77) – Tailored support for learning needs

14. Teacher-Student Relationships (0.72) – Strengthening connections for better learning

15. Spaced vs Massed Practice (0.71) – Boosting memory through spaced learning

16. Meta-Cognitive Strategies (0.69) – Helping students think about their thinking

17. Acceleration (0.68) – Fast-tracking capable learners

18. Classroom Management (0.68) – Creating the conditions for success

19. Vocabulary Programs (0.67) – Building the language of learning

20. Repeated Reading Programs (0.67) – Strengthening reading fluency and comprehension