This chapter discusses the merits of peer assessment andevaluation; the instructional guidelines, issues, and con-siderations for their use in the TBL classroom, and a briefdescription of peer assessment methods and informationon how to access forms.Peer Assessment and Evaluation in Team-Based LearningChristina M. Cestone, Ruth E. Levine, Derek R. LaneIn contrast to traditional courses, in which students are accountable only tothe instructor, effective implementation of any group-based instructionalformat, including team-based learning (TBL), requires that students beaccountable to both the instructor and their peers. Unfortunately, someinstructors resist using groups because of concerns about using peer evalu-ations or poorly designed group assignments and grading systems that ineffect reward and encourage social loafing. Furthermore, their concernsseem as equally focused on unfairly raising the grades of poor students (whomay be carried along by hard-working members) as they are about thepotential of penalizing hard-working students (who may receive a lowercourse grade because they were randomly assigned to a poorly performinggroup).With TBL, however, these concerns are largely eliminated by using acomprehensive feedback and grading system that ensures individual studentaccountability to both the instructor and peers by using a grading systemthat has an individual performance component, a team performance com-ponent, and a peer evaluation component (Michaelsen, 1992; Michaelsen,Knight, and Fink, 2004; Chapter One, this volume). Individual studentgrade incentives for accountability in TBL courses are derived from four sep-arate but interrelated sources: individual preparation (scores on the individ-ual readiness assurance test); collective preparation (scores on the teamreadiness assurance test); how well knowledge is applied by individuals695NEW DIRECTIONS FOR TEACHING AND LEARNING, no. 116, Winter 2008 © Wiley Periodicals, Inc.Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com) • DOI: 10.1002/tl.33470TEAM-BASED LEARNING: SMALL-GROUP LEARNING’S NEXT BIG STEPNEW DIRECTIONS FOR TEACHING AND LEARNING • DOI: 10.1002/tlwithin a team, as a team, to solve progressively difficult problems (applica-tion exercise scores); and contributions to interpersonal group dynamics,team maintenance, cohesion, and team productivity (peer evaluation scores).Peer assessment and evaluation are essential elements of TBL for tworeasons. First, peer assessment provides formative (process) information tohelp individual students improve team performance over time and developthe interpersonal and team skills essential for their future success. Second,peer evaluation scores provide summative (outcome) data to the instructorthat can be used to ensure fairness in grading by incorporating an assess-ment of each member’s contributions to the success of their teams and makejudgments about it (Falchikov and Goldfinch, 2000; Topping, Smith, Swan-son, and Elliot, 2000; Topping, 2005).This chapter discusses the pedagogical merits of peer assessment andevaluation as mechanisms for enhancing student accountability and presentsthe instructional guidelines, issues, and considerations for use in the TBLclassroom. It concludes with a brief description of peer assessment methodsand information about how to access and use the corresponding forms.Pedagogical Merits of Peer Assessment and EvaluationTBL is a unique pedagogical strategy that facilitates the development of avariety of skills relative to future professional pursuits, including individualaccountability, problem solving, interpersonal communication, teamwork,and organizational skills (Brindley and Scoffield, 1998; Boud, Cohen, andSampson, 1999; Butcher et al., cited in Cheng and Warren, 2000; Lane,2007; Levine, 2008). TBL provides students with multiple and varied oppor-tunities to develop these skills as they engage in team activities includingteam readiness assurance tests (tRATs), group preparation of writtenappeals, and application-oriented problem-solving activities and exams(Michaelsen, Knight, and Fink, 2004).Students also receive a number of benefits from engaging in the processof peer assessment and evaluation. For example, judgment by peers seemsto provide a more significant motivator to produce high-quality work thandoes the assessment of a single instructor (Searby and Ewers, 1997). As aresult, when peers are accountable to each other, the time spent comparingwork and discussing ideas and concepts in teams is more productive. Putsimply, students learn from the cognitive processes of their peers (Brindleyand Scoffield, 1998). Furthermore, when students become assessors, theyare required to show a more thoughtful understanding of the processesinvolved in the activity (Searby and Ewers, 1997).In their meta-analysis of peer assessment studies, Dochy, Segers, andSluijmans (1999) identified several positive effects of using various peer,self, and coassessment processes to improve the quality of learning. Two ofthe most prominent were increased confidence in one’s performance andincreased quality in the learning output. Peer assessment and evaluation also71PEER ASSESSMENT AND EVALUATION IN TEAM-BASED LEARNINGNEW DIRECTIONS FOR TEACHING AND LEARNING • DOI: 10.1002/tlserve to help students take more control over their learning through devel-opment of critical analysis of the work of others (Searby and Ewers, 1997).Repeated reading of peer writing, for example, reinforces analysis of one’sown work processes and makes the learning more visible to the learner(Topping, Smith, Swanson, and Elliot, 2000). Similarly, music compositionstudents who were responsible for analyzing the compositions of other stu-dents were better able to recognize the components of a quality compositionagainst which they could hold their own work (Searby and Ewers, 1997).Peer assessment is also useful for helping students to scrutinize thepurposes and objectives of a course (Smith, Swanson, and Elliot, 2000).When conducted prior to the end of the semester, peer evaluation enabledearlier identification of misunderstandings or gaps in thinking (Searby andEwers, 1997) that could then be addressed by targeted discussion of specificcourse content. Finally, peer assessment and evaluation are essential to acomprehensive grading process in TBL because team members are typicallythe only ones who have enough information to accurately assess oneanother’s contributions