Judging own and peer performance when using feedback in elementary school

Abstract

Children find it challenging to self-monitor the quality of their own test responses, and are typically overconfident. Inaccurate self-monitoring may not only be due to a metacognitive deficit, but also to self-protective biases. Therefore, monitoring peer performance and detecting others' errors may be easier than monitoring oneself. This study investigated 97 children's (52 fourth and 45 sixth grade) feedback use when scoring their own and their peers' concept learning. Children completed a concept-learning task, took a test, and then scored their own responses and the responses of one of their peers with use of feedback standards. Error detection was better for peer- than for self-score judgments. Further, monitoring was more accurate for older than younger children, and inaccurate prior knowledge led to less accurate peer and self-judgments. Findings imply that, when implementing co-scoring activities, it is important to be aware that its accuracy is affected by children's age and prior knowledge.