How can you involve parents and caregivers in improving assessment feedback?

1 Why involve parents and caregivers?

Parents and caregivers are often the first and most influential educators in a child's life, and they have a significant impact on their academic achievement, motivation, and well-being. By involving them in the feedback process, you can tap into their knowledge, experience, and perspectives, and foster a collaborative partnership that benefits everyone. Research shows that parent involvement in assessment feedback can enhance student learning, self-regulation, and metacognition, as well as increase parent satisfaction, trust, and engagement with the school.

3 How to involve parents and caregivers in giving feedback?

Another way to involve parents and caregivers in feedback is to encourage them to give feedback to their child, as well as to you as the teacher. You can help them to give effective feedback by providing them with guidance, resources, and examples of how to do it. For instance, you can share the learning goals, criteria, and rubrics that you use to assess their child, and explain how they can use them to give feedback. You can also model how to give feedback that is descriptive, positive, and specific, and that focuses on the process, not the product. You can also ask them to share their observations, insights, and suggestions with you, as they might notice something that you miss or have a different perspective on their child's learning.

4 How to involve parents and caregivers in receiving feedback?

Another important aspect of involving parents and caregivers in feedback is to help them to receive feedback from their child, as well as from you as the teacher. You can support them to receive feedback by creating a safe, respectful, and supportive environment, where they can express their feelings, opinions, and needs without fear of judgment or criticism. You can also help them to understand the purpose, value, and limitations of feedback, and how they can use it to improve their child's learning and development. You can also encourage them to reflect on their own role, expectations, and beliefs, and how they might affect their child's learning and feedback.

5 How to involve parents and caregivers in acting on feedback?

The ultimate goal of involving parents and caregivers in feedback is to help them to act on it, and to support their child to do the same. You can facilitate this by providing them with clear, realistic, and achievable goals, strategies, and resources that they can use to implement the feedback. You can also monitor, review, and celebrate their progress, and provide them with ongoing feedback and encouragement. You can also involve them in the evaluation and revision of the feedback process, and ask them for their feedback on how to improve it.

6 What are the benefits of involving parents and caregivers in feedback?

By involving parents and caregivers in feedback, you can create a positive, productive, and meaningful feedback culture in your classroom, school, and community. You can enhance your relationship with them, and build trust, respect, and collaboration. You can also improve your own teaching practice, and learn from their feedback, insights, and experiences. Most importantly, you can improve your students' learning outcomes, motivation, and well-being, and help them to become confident, independent, and lifelong learners.