A multilevel framework for assessing self-regulated learning in school contexts: Innovations, challenges, and future directions
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Researchers led by Dr. Timothy Cleary at the Rutgers Graduate School of Applied and Professional Psychology, developed a practical, socially-valid assessment-to-intervention framework to help schools understand why students fall behind—not just that they are struggling. Their updated model shows how school-based practitioners can assess self-regulated learning (SRL), the everyday skills students use to plan, focus, study, monitor their progress, and adjust when things aren’t working.
Most newsworthy takeaway: Their model emphasizes the value of integrating different types of assessments—big-picture surveys and real-time, task-specific tools—to give a much more accurate picture of what students need. This matters because SRL skills are strongly tied to academic success, yet they are rarely measured well in schools.
In this conceptual paper, Cleary and coauthor Michelle Russo reviewed evidence supporting a multi-level assessment process used in the Self-Regulation Empowerment Program (SREP). They outlined how teachers and school psychologists can pinpoint which classes and assignments cause difficulty, then use validated tools—like questionnaires, teacher/parent ratings, or brief in-the-moment interviews—to uncover whether a student’s challenges are linked to their planning, strategy use, motivation, or monitoring their work.
What’s new and important: Their revised framework reveal how “event” measures—like short, structured check-ins while a student completes a task—often uncover issues missed by traditional surveys. As Cleary explains, “If we only ask students how they usually study, we miss what they actually do in the moment.”
Why it matters: The framework offers schools a roadmap for diagnosing learning problems earlier and designing more personalized supports—practical steps that can improve homework habits, test preparation, and overall achievement.
(ChatGPT, December 1, 2025)
