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The most important thing from my experience is to give students clear and specific feedback on their performance. I have always thought it was important as a practice educator, to be encouraging and to let my students know that I have noticed when they are doing things better. Students I think tend to focus on their rating, so it can be difficult when they have improved, but you don't think they have met the criteria for a higher rating.

It can be tempting to rate "conservatively" at halfway, to give them room to move. That can lead to problems when you're giving feedback, telling them they have done something well, and that it's a strength and yet their rating doesn't really appear to back that up. For me it is essential to give them the rating they deserve. It is fairer and it makes more sense to them. The best way to do this is to make sure I am looking at the rating scale descriptors and sticking to them. That way my feedback matches the rating. It also makes inter-rater reliability more likely, so that students feel their rating is more consistent from one placement to another.

Regardless of whether the students rating has changed or not I make sure I use the feedback section to highlight their learning. My advice is to use feedback to help students value progress they have made.

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