Why assessment should be reimagined as a lever for belonging, behaviour and attendance

LYNSEY MEAKIN, INSTITUTE OF EDUCATION AND SKILLS, UNIVERSITY OF DERBY, UK Introduction As schools confront persistent challenges around behaviour, attendance and pupil wellbeing, responses typically focus on behaviour policies, curriculum adaptation and pastoral intervention. Far less attention is paid to assessment, despite it being one of the most frequent and emotionally significant experiences in school life. Assessment practices do not simply measure learning but also shape how students perceive themselves, their teachers and their sense of belonging within the school community (Crooks, 1988; Black and Wiliam, 2009). Research increasingly identifies assessment as part of the emotional climate of classrooms. Formative assessment, when enacted through dialogic feedback and supportive teacher–student interaction, plays a significant role in shaping engagement, motivation and emotional safety (Hattie and Timperley, 2007; Wu and Yu, 2025). However, this influence remains undere