Assessment is most productive for sustaining engagement when the feedback is relevant, constructive, accessible, consequential, and timely. But the type of feedback is also critical in helping learners to sustain the motivation and effort essential to learning. Action-oriented feedback is the type of feedback that offers specific comments on ways to make progress and take action toward the learning goal. This type of feedback emphasizes the role of effort and practice rather than “intelligence” or inherent “ability” as an important factor in guiding learners toward successful long-term habits of mind and learning practices.

• Offer feedback that encourages perseverance, focuses on development of efficacy and self-awareness, and encourages the use of specific supports and strategies in the face of challenge.
• Offer feedback that emphasizes effort, improvement, and achieving a goal rather than on relative performance.
• Offer feedback that is frequent, timely, and specific.
• Offer feedback that is substantive and informative rather than comparative or competitive.
• Offer feedback that models how to incorporate reflection, including identifying patterns of challenges or strengths, into positive strategies for future success.
• Offer feedback that encourages risk taking and offers another (or differing) perspective(s).