Assessment for Learning in a Special Education Setting

Abstract

This paper reports on a research project that examined the impact of an Assessment for Learning (AfL) approach on the learning of two teenage boys, both with Asperger’s syndrome. The research was inspired by a video on Teachers’ TV (2007) which demonstrated AfL techniques being implemented in Durham, England in a classroom that was similar to the one in which the first author works. The video featured teachers implementing assessments using AfL principles as outlined by Black and Wiliam (1998). The level of success attained using different AfL approaches prompted the question of whether or not similar benefits would accrue in an Irish context. The authors report how, within the context of a larger study, the implementation of AfL techniques affected the learning of the two particular students.