Enhancing Students’ Well-being Through Assessment Practices: A Singapore Perspective

Schools have a myriad of ways to influence student well-being. In addition to direct interventions, impacts on wellbeing can be made indirectly through pedagogy, curriculum or assessment. In particular, the relations between assessment and well-being are closely connected. As assessment is prevalent throughout the year, it is imperative that educators consider the impact of these assessments on well-being. Discussions on students’ well-being typically revolve around test anxiety. However, more insights have come to the forefront on the constituents of well-being. It may hence no longer be sufficient to focus solely on anxiety in assessment. To broaden the discussion, the well-established PERMA model of well-being will be examined in relation with current and potential assessment practices. In the PERMA model, positive well-being is hypothesized to be associated with Positive emotions, Engagement, positive Relationships, Meaning and purpose, and a sense of Accomplishment. Considering that assessment is a bedrock of education, it is vital that strategies are aligned to well-being theories and incorporated into schools. This chapter thus aims to connect the PERMA model of well-being with practical suggestions on how ipsative processes could be embedded in school assessments to better promote students’ well-being.