Letthedatabeyourguide. Balancing Leadership. Smarter Balanced Assessments. The Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium is developing a system of valid, reliable, and fair next-generation assessments aligned to the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) in English language arts/literacy (ELA/literacy) and mathematics for grades 3-8 and 11. The system—which includes both summative assessments for accountability purposes and optional interim assessments for instructional use—will use computer adaptive testing technologies to the greatest extent possible to provide meaningful feedback and actionable data that teachers and other educators can use to help students succeed. Smarter Balanced assessments will go beyond multiple-choice questions to include extended response and technology enhanced items, as well as performance tasks that allow students to demonstrate critical-thinking and problem-solving skills.
Performance tasks challenge students to apply their knowledge and skills to respond to complex real-world problems. Assessment System Components Content Specifications. Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium. AllThingsAssessment — Research, education tools and blog for assessment. Some great Internet links on assessment. Assessment is always challenging - whether you are the student, teacher, or designer of them! In UbD training and consulting; in looking at curriculum maps; in viewing classes: we hear it over and over: boy, the assessment part is difficult. It always helps to have examples to learn from and borrow. So, here are some of the better Internet-based resources available to you. Some of the sites teach about assessment; others provide samples. If you are interested in a few of my briefer, punchier articles on assessment and reform, go to Edutopia for a few examples: Below are sites with assessment examples, guidance on developing them, and information on how to use them:
NECAP Support Materials and Released Items: Mathematics. Authentic Assessment Toolbox Home Page. To the Authentic Assessment Toolbox, a how-to text on creating authentic tasks, rubrics, and standards for measuring and improving student learning. Inside, you will find chapters on A good place to start -- In this chapter I identify the characteristics, strengths and limitations of authentic assessment; compare and contrast it with traditional (test-based) assessment. Why has authentic assessment become more popular in recent years? When can it best serve assessment needs?
After a brief overview, follow a detailed, four-step process for creating an authentic assessment. All good assessment begins with standards: statements of what we want our students to know and be able to do. Authentic assessments are often called "tasks" because they include real-world applications we ask students to perform. To assess the quality of student work on authentic tasks, teachers develop rubrics, or scoring scales. A guide to constructing good, multiple-choice tests, to complement your authentic assessments.