Creating a standards-based assessment involves aligning assessment practices with specific learning standards to accurately measure student proficiency and guide instruction. It focuses on what students know and can do relative to those standards.
Here's a breakdown of the key steps:
1. Define Proficiency
The first step is to clearly define what proficiency looks like for each standard being assessed. This requires a deep understanding of the standard itself.
- Unpack the Standard: Analyze the standard to identify its key components, verbs, and nouns. What specific skills and knowledge are students expected to demonstrate?
- Create Learning Targets: Translate the standard into specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound (SMART) learning targets. These targets articulate what students should be able to do.
- Develop Rubrics/Scoring Guides: Create detailed rubrics or scoring guides that clearly outline the criteria for different levels of proficiency (e.g., exceeding expectations, meeting expectations, approaching expectations, not meeting expectations). These guides provide specific descriptions of what each performance level looks like.
2. Define Progress Toward Proficiency
It's essential to map out the progression of skills and knowledge students acquire as they move toward proficiency.
- Identify Prerequisite Skills: Determine the foundational skills and concepts students need to master before they can achieve proficiency on the target standard.
- Sequence Learning Experiences: Design instructional activities and tasks that systematically build upon these prerequisite skills, gradually increasing the complexity and sophistication of student work.
- Provide Formative Assessments: Use frequent formative assessments (e.g., exit tickets, quick writes, peer reviews) to monitor student progress and identify areas where students may be struggling. These assessments are opportunities to provide targeted feedback and adjust instruction.
3. Prepare Assessment Tools
With a clear understanding of proficiency and progress, you can develop appropriate assessment tools.
- Select Assessment Methods: Choose assessment methods that are aligned with the learning targets and allow students to demonstrate their knowledge and skills in authentic ways. Examples include:
- Selected-response items (multiple choice, true/false)
- Constructed-response items (short answer, essay)
- Performance tasks (projects, presentations, demonstrations)
- Create Assessment Items: Develop high-quality assessment items that accurately measure student understanding of the standard. Ensure that items are clear, concise, and free from bias.
- Ensure Alignment: Double-check that all assessment items are directly aligned with the learning targets and the proficiency criteria outlined in the rubric or scoring guide.
4. Focus on Student Learning
The primary goal of standards-based assessment is to improve student learning.
- Provide Feedback: Offer timely and specific feedback to students on their performance, highlighting their strengths and areas for improvement.
- Encourage Self-Reflection: Help students reflect on their own learning and identify strategies for continued growth.
- Use Data to Inform Instruction: Analyze assessment data to identify patterns of student strengths and weaknesses and to adjust instruction accordingly.
5. Assessment for Learning vs. Grading
Distinguish between assessment for learning (formative assessment) and assessment of learning (summative assessment).
- Formative Assessment: Use formative assessments to monitor student progress and provide feedback during the learning process. Formative assessments should be low-stakes and focused on improvement.
- Summative Assessment: Use summative assessments to evaluate student learning at the end of a unit or course. Summative assessments should provide a comprehensive measure of student proficiency on the standards.
- Separate Feedback from Grades: Consider providing feedback separately from grades, at least initially. This allows students to focus on improving their learning rather than simply chasing points.
By following these steps, you can create standards-based assessments that are aligned with learning goals, provide meaningful feedback, and ultimately improve student learning outcomes.
