Traffic Lighting

Traffic lighting uses the universally understood red-amber-green system for self-assessment. Learners rate their confidence or understanding by colouring a circle, holding up a coloured card, or placing a coloured dot on their work. The visual nature of the system means the teacher can scan the room and see the distribution instantly.

Traffic lighting can be applied to individual learning objectives, whole lessons, homework tasks, or longer units. At its simplest, learners colour a traffic light in the margin of their book next to each learning objective. Over time, a sequence of traffic lights creates a visual record of progress: red turning to amber turning to green tells a powerful story.

The system's value depends on honesty. Learners must feel safe showing red without fear of judgement. Building a culture where red means "I need help" rather than "I have failed" is essential. Some teachers reinforce this by saying: "Red is the most useful colour because it tells me exactly what to teach next."

Traffic lighting is most effective when it leads to action. If learners show amber or red and nothing changes, they learn that self-assessment is pointless. Use the colours to form groups: green learners work independently or become MKOs, amber learners get reinforcement, and red learners get focused reteaching.

Traffic lighting develops the "Reflect" strand of thinking skills by building regular, honest self-assessment into classroom routine. It supports a stage-not-age approach by helping teachers identify individual starting points and plan responsive teaching across all AoLEs.

Rainbow Curriculum's Thinking Tools lens helps you plan where self-assessment routines are embedded across your curriculum, ensuring that learner confidence is regularly monitored and acted upon.