"Nothing we do to, or for, our students is more important than our assessment of their work and the feedback we give them on it. The results of our assessment influence students for the rest of their lives. Well-designed assessment can encourage active learning, especially when the assessment delivery is innovative and engaging". - Race, Brown & Smith (2005)
The best classroom assessments also serve as meaningful sources of information for teachers, helping them identify what they taught well and what they need to work on. In reviewing these results, the teacher must first consider the quality of the item or criterion. Perhaps the question is ambiguously worded or the criterion is unclear. Perhaps students misinterpreted the question. Whatever the case, teachers must determine whether these items adequately address the knowledge, understanding, or skill that they were intended to measure.
The purpose of this webpage and associated links and resources is twofold. One, they are intended to assist in the development of high-quality assessments. Two, they are intended to clarify the process by which assessments are approved for the purpose of meeting the student growth component of the teacher evaluation process.
To this purpose, you will find information that has been organized in the following manner:
- Examples
- By grade band
- Grades K-1
- Grades 2-3
- Grades 4-5
- Grades 6-8
- Grades 9-12
- By checklist item
- Priority Standards
- Level of Rigour
- Formatting
- Scaffolding
- Variety of Evidence Items
- Evidence Items that Drive Instructional Planning
- Clear Directions
- Select Response
- Constructed Response
- Scoring Guides and Rubrics
- By grade band
- Resources, again by checklist item:
- Priority Standards
- Level of Rigour
- Formatting
- Scaffolding
- Variety of Evidence Items
- Evidence Items that Drive Instructional Planning
- Clear Directions
- Select Response
- Constructed Response
- Scoring Guides and Rubrics