News
Tarsheed Educational Publications has announced the release of a new book titled “Student-Led Assessment: Empowering Agency and Achievement through Portfolios and Student-Led Conferences”. The book offers a contemporary approach to learning and assessment, grounded in the belief that learning is a deeply personal, human journey-not merely an achievement track based on grades and final results.
The book spans 208 pages, and is authored by Starr Sackstein and translated by Ali Ezzeddine. It addresses students who are learning to express their voices and advocate for change, while also speaking to teachers who are willing to reconsider their roles and educational practices within the classroom.
Drawing on extensive field experience and real classroom scenarios, the book reveals the gap between what students are assumed to know and what they actually understand about their own learning. Through stories and professional reflections, it presents a gradual shift in assessment philosophy-from focusing on grades to building a learning culture centered on reflection, portfolios, and student-led conferences.
Building an Environment that Supports Learner Agency
The book is structured into three main sections. The first, “Building Organizational Structures to Support Learner Agency”, focuses on developing systems that foster learner agency and a culture of continuous learning. The second, “Developing Conference Protocols”, explores the design of student-led assessment conferences. The third, “Student-Led Conferences in Practice”, delves into the practical implementation of these conferences in classroom settings. Each chapter concludes with reflective questions and activities, along with testimonials and experiences from teachers across diverse educational contexts.
In light of global challenges and the inequalities they have exposed in education, the book offers a practical vision that seeks to shift the educational narrative from a deficit-based mindset to one of empowerment-placing the student’s voice at the heart of the learning and assessment process as a pathway toward deeper and more equitable education.
