Sample Items and Performance Tasks

Smarter Balanced sample items illustrate the rigor and complexity of the English language arts/literacy and mathematics items and performance tasks students will encounter on the Consortium’s next-generation assessments. The sample items and performance tasks are intended to help teachers, administrators, and policymakers implementing the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) and preparing for next-generation assessments. They provide an early look into the depth of understanding of the CCSS that will be measured by the Smarter Balanced assessment system. While the items and tasks are not intended to be used as sample tests, educators can use them to begin planning the shifts in instruction that will be required to help students meet the demands of the new assessments. The sample items and tasks can be viewed by grade band (grades 3-5, 6-8, and high school) or content focus. In the coming months, additional items and performance tasks will be made available. Using the Sample Items and Tasks

IAR: Assess students > True/False questions True-false questions are typically used to measure the ability to identify whether statements of fact are correct. The questions are usually a declarative statement that the student must judge as true or false. Strengths: Can cover a lot of content in a short time (about two questions per minute of testing time) The question is useful when there are only two possible alternatives. Less demand is placed on reading ability than in multiple-choice questions. Can measure complex outcomes when used with interpretive exercises. Limitations: Difficult to write questions beyond the knowledge level that are free from ambiguity. Common formats for true-false questions Tips for writing true/false questions: Construct statements that are definitely true or definitely false, without additional qualifications.

Iris Welcome to the Mathematics Assessment Project News New – TRU Math: Teaching for Robust Understanding of Mathematics is a suite of tools for professional develompent and research - the alpha versions of these documents are available here… More International Awards for Team: Hugh Burkhardt and Malcolm Swan, leaders of the Shell Centre team, have been chosen by the International Commission on Mathematical instruction (ICMI) as the first recipients of the Emma Castelnuovo Medal for Excellence in the Practice of Mathematics Education. This complements the award by ICMI to Alan Schoenfeld of the 2011 Felix Klein Medal for Lifetime Achievement in research. The project is working to design and develop well-engineered assessment tools to support US schools in implementing the Common Core State Standards for Mathematics. Products Tools for formative and summative assessment that make knowledge and reasoning visible, and help teachers to guide students in how to improve, and monitor their progress. The Team What's on this site? More about MAP

wikispaces Introduction Wikispaces Classroom is a social writing platform for education. We make it incredibly easy to create a classroom workspace where you and your students can communicate and work on writing projects alone or in teams. Rich assessment tools give you the power to measure student contribution and engagement in real-time. Wikispaces Classroom works great on modern browsers, tablets, and phones. Wikispaces Classroom is free for teachers and students. Learn more about Wikispaces Campus, our Wikispaces Classroom solution for entire schools, school districts and universities. Why Wikispaces Classroom? Our mission is to help teachers help students. Wikispaces has been adopted and loved by so many teachers and students precisely because it has done these things implicitly. Read more below about how Wikispaces Classroom delivers on this promise. What We Call It Make teachers' lives easier. What the Industry Calls It Increase teacher capacity. We're different. Help students achieve more. Social

dy/dan PrintFriendly.com: Print web pages, create PDFs Tools for Actively Engaging Students in Assessment Processes Harvey F. Silver We have seen the meaning of classroom assessment evolve in recent years. No longer a simple evaluation of student work, assessment is now better described as a continuous and collaborative journey—a learning process that has become an integral component of effective instruction. However, change is rarely easy, and it can be challenging for many teachers to shift away from old habits and attitudes toward assessment. Here, we focus on Shift 1, moving from teacher-directed assessment to classroom assessment that invites students into the process. Backwards Learning To better illustrate this important shift, let's take a closer look at one of the tools from Tools for Thoughtful Assessment: Classroom-Ready Techniques for Improving Teaching and Learning (Boutz, Silver, Jackson, & Perini, 2012) that teaches students how to analyze a task and its cognitive demands. Integrating New Tools with Existing Instruction

Authentic Assessment and Rubrics Here you will find a hand selected index of authentic assessment resources. Includes information about performance assessment, rubrics, negotiable contracting, electronic portfolios, and web-based tools for creating your own assessments. Examples of RubricsIncludes rubrics for cooperative learning, research reports, eportfolios, PowerPoint/oral presentations, multimedia, video, and web projects The Case for Authentic AssessmentGrant Wiggins describes the need for authentic assessment. Why Use Rubrics? Recommendations for Developing Instructional Rubrics (pdf)Suggestions to assist when developing and implementing alternative assessment activities. Formative Assessment That Truly Informs Instruction (pdf)How do I grade? Developing Performance Assessment TasksCharacteristics of effective performance assessment tasks Creating Meaningful Performance AssessmentsFour issues performance assessments must address to meet high standards for reliability and validity.