This study investigates New Zealand secondary students’ conceptions of feedback, as part of a larger study of teacher and student conceptions of assessment and feedback, and their impact on learning outcomes.

We conducted five student focus groups, and sought student beliefs and understandings around three key aspects of assessment and feedback – definition, purpose and personal impact/response. The students felt that feedback was the critical link between assessment and learning, and that it did not stand distinct from either. In addition, they were clear about what counted as feedback, and what did not. The nature of the feedback they received also impacted on their views of the assessment, especially whether the assessment could be considered as irrelevant.

The data from the focus groups was used to develop 55 items for a conceptions of feedback instrument (CoF-I), which was piloted with 256 students. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis of data from the pilot study revealed the presence of six different components: feedback comes from teachers; feedback motivates me; feedback provides information; feedback is about standards; qualities of good feedback; and, help seeking. In addition, Samejima’s Graded Response model was used to select items with optimal measurement characteristics for a second administration with a larger sample.

In a second survey, the 47-item CoF-II was administered to over 800 students from a nationally representative sample of New Zealand schools. A further 250 students completed the questionnaire and also provided standardised measures of curriculum based learning in either reading or mathematics (viz., asTTle - Assessment Tools for Teaching and Learning). This paper will also report on the results of the yet-to-be analysed data obtained in this national study.