In today's schools, teachers are constantly barraged with the question, how are the results of assessments used to drive instruction and practices in the classroom? Additionally, edTPA national portfolio guidelines for interns are not only emphasizing lesson planning but also highlights of all lesson assessments with rationales for using. Teaching videos, student work samples, and evidence of learning through data-driven graphs and charts representing the results of student learning are also aspects of this process. With an understanding of ongoing improved rigorous requirements for pre-service teachers, a college of education professor decided to closely analyze a yearly, student-required, rubric-based oral PowerPoint presentation. Upon completion of the oral presentation, students immediately wrote a personal self-assessment essay. Students were also asked to respond to two written questions: What do you now realize about self-assessments and will you use self-assessment essays in your future classroom, why or why not? Student responses revealed some valuable themes in education.