A THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK FOR THE ROLE OF CLASSROOM ASSESSMENT IN MOTIVATING STUDENT EFFORT AND ACHIEVEMENT

This article presents a theory about the role of classroom assessment in motivating student effort and achievement. The theory postulates th at in any particular class, the classroom assessment environment is pl ayed out in repeated classroom assessment events, activity segments wi th associated expectations and assessments. Within a classroom assessm ent event, a teacher communicates to students through assignments, act ivities, and feedback on performance, and students respond according t o their perceptions of these learning opportunities and their perceive d efficacy to accomplish the tasks. The classroom assessment environme nt concept offers a way to integrate individual (students) and group ( a class with one teacher) aspects of effort and achievement into one t heoretical framework. The classroom assessment event concept offers a mechanism for how curriculum, instructional activities, and assessment s impact student effort and achievement.