1. Assessment Literacy Module
California Department of Education
Tom Torlakson, State Superintendent of Public Instruction
Assessment Literacy Module
Unit 5: A Balanced Assessment System

2. Welcome to Unit 5
The purpose of this unit is to describe the essential characteristics of a balanced assessment system—a system that meets the needs of a variety of users and provides continuous information about student learning.
Welcome to Unit 5 of the Assessment Literacy Professional Learning Module.
Recall that in Unit 3 the multiple users of assessment were discussed, as were the multiple uses of assessment data.
This unit will explore the elements of a balanced assessment system designed to meet the wide range of needs and uses for student achievement data.

3. Learning Objectives for Unit 5
By the end of this unit, participants will be able to:
Explain multiple levels of assessments and their purposes.
Define and distinguish between formative and summative
assessment processes, based on purpose and use.
Describe a high-quality, balanced assessment system.
Much has been written and said about the differences between formative and summative assessment processes.
Information in this unit will clearly distinguish between the two processes and explore the components of a balanced assessment system.

4. Multiple Levels of Assessment
“Assessment is the bridge between teaching and learning—it is only through assessment that we can find out whether what has happened in the classroom has produced the learning we intended.”
—Dylan Wiliam 2011
Multiple levels of assessment should be used to monitor student learning at different points in the instructional process, as indicated in the “Prepare” phase of the Teaching Assessment Cycle (see handout).
In his article “What Assessment Can and Cannot Do,” Dylan Wiliam points out, [refer to quote on slide—this article will be referenced again and a link provided later in the unit].
The concept of assessment being the bridge between teaching and learning is a helpful one in considering the role of assessment in the instructional process.
Refer back to the Teaching-Assessment Cycle handout introduced in Unit 3 and remember that the first phase of the Teaching-Assessment Cycle was to Prepare.
As teachers prepare lessons for classroom instruction, they must consider multiple factors, including how to best assess student mastery of the focus content standard.
This graphic of the Teaching-Assessment Cycle illustrates the attributes of assessment literate educators that are a part of the preparation phase.
Handout
Teaching-Assessment Cycle — Phase 1

5. Multiple Levels of Assessment
Multiple levels of assessments are a key characteristic of high-quality, balanced assessment systems.
No single assessment can meet all the needs of the variety of users of assessment information.
Multiple levels and types of assessments are needed to address the range of decision-making and the purposes or needs of key stakeholders in the system.
One key characteristic of high-quality, balanced assessment systems is that the system includes a variety of assessment tools and processes in order to generate different kinds of student achievement data.
[Refer to slide]

6. Multiple Levels of Assessment
A high-quality, balanced assessment system has a range of standards-based, aligned assessments, each having a specific purpose related to student learning over time. Read the following quote and look for key characteristics of a balanced assessment system:
“The Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium's vision for a new generation assessment system–one that includes a set of balanced components that can be adapted to meet students' needs across participating states–calls for strategic use of a variety of item types and performance events to measure the full range of the CCSS and to ensure accurate assessment of all students, including students with disabilities, English learners, and low and high-performing students.“
—SBAC Executive Summary 2011
Each assessment in a high quality, balanced assessment system has a clear and meaningful purpose.
What additional characteristics of a balanced system are described in this quote from the Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium?
Identify key characteristics described in the Smarter Balanced vision statement shown on this slide.
Be prepared to share characteristics you identified in this quote with the whole group.
Sample Responses:
Adaptable; variety of item types and performance events; measure full range of CCSS; accurate assessment of all students including those with unique needs.

7. Multiple Levels of Assessment
Read the Smarter Balanced Executive Summary at
2011/12/Smarter_Balanced_Executive_Summary.pdf
For more in-depth information on the Smarter Balanced vision for a high quality, balanced assessment system, visit the link on this slide.

8. Sources of Assessment Data
“A vision for the future is that assessments at all levels—from classroom to state—will work together in a system that is comprehensive, coherent, and continuous. In such a system, assessments would provide a variety of evidence to support educational decision-making. Assessment at all levels would be linked back to the same underlying model of student learning and would provide indications of student growth over time."
— Pellegrino, Chudowsky, & Glaser 2001
In Knowing What Students Know, the authors emphasize the importance of a cohesive assessment system where all assessments are aligned and work together to provide evidence of student learning over time.

9. Sources of Assessment Data
The Sources of Assessment Data graphic illustrates how a standards-based assessment system that is comprehensive, coherent, and continuous might look. Such a system is described as “A range of assessments, from minute-by-minute to the annual state assessments, providing different levels of detail about student learning over time to be used for various decision-making purposes” (Heritage 2010).
This graphic developed by Margaret Heritage and Joan Herman illustrates such a coherent, comprehensive system.
Notice that all assessments in the graphic are focused on the content standards and that can provide different levels of detail on student learning.
Source: Heritage 2010

10. Sources of Assessment Data
As Margaret Heritage explains in Formative Assessment, Making it Happen in the Classroom (2010), each level of assessment assesses “different sized chunks of learning, providing information on the degree to which students have progressed toward meeting specific instructional learning targets and, ultimately, to mastery of the content standard.”
The graphic on the previous slide also illustrates the fact that educators begin by assessing small chunks of learning with classroom level, minute to minute assessment and gradually assess broader, larger chunks of learning as they move toward unit, quarterly/interim, and annual assessments.

11. Sources of Assessment Data
How do the sources of data represented in the graphic relate to the data sources you currently use in your classroom?
Which of the multiple levels of assessment data are available to you to guide classroom instruction?
Take a few minutes to reflect on how the sources of data depicted in the Heritage-Herman graphic relate to the sources of data that you have available to you for use in your classroom.
In your journal, respond to the prompts on this slide.
After completing your individual journal response, discuss the prompts with your elbow partner. Be prepared to share ideas from your conversation with the whole group.
Sample Responses:
How do the sources of data represented in this graphic relate to the data sources you currently use in your classroom?
All of the data sources listed are used in my classroom to some degree. District benchmarks are completed quarterly. Theme/unit tests from the adopted instructional materials and student work is used for weekly and daily data monitoring of student learning.  
Which of the multiple levels of assessment data are available to you to guide classroom instruction?
The data available to guide my classroom instruction is mostly the information I get from the instructional materials assessments and from students' daily and weekly work. Benchmark data is available as well, but the data is not as timely for guiding instruction as the daily and weekly information I get about student learning. Annual statewide testing data is available only after students have moved on to the next grade so it is not used as much for guiding classroom instruction.
Source: Heritage 2010

12. Effective, Appropriate Use of Assessments and Assessment Data
The effective, appropriate use of assessments and assessment data is another characteristic of high-quality, balanced assessment systems, as indicated in Phases 2 through 4 of the Teaching Assessment Cycle (see handout).
Assessment data from any level of assessment is of no value if it is not used to adjust systems or classroom practices to enhance student learning.
Refer again to the Teaching-Assessment Cycle handout and note that phases 2 through 4 of the are focused on the appropriate and effective use of assessment information to maximize student learning.
If assessment data is gathered but not used to adjust teaching and learning strategies, then the assessment process is of no value.
The Teaching-Assessment Cycle illustrates the continuous loop of teaching, assessing, analyzing and acting on the assessment information gathered to modify teaching and learning activities.
Handout
Teaching-Assessment Cycle: Phases 2‒4

13. Effective, Appropriate Use of Assessments and Assessment Data
See how an eighth grade math teacher uses a daily warm-up activity to gather assessment data that she immediately uses to guide her classroom instruction. As you watch, think about how you might apply this strategy in your classroom.
"My Favorite No: Learning from Mistakes"
routine?fd=1%20%20%208th
As you watch this video clip, think about how you might apply this strategy in your teaching context.
After viewing the video, talk with your table mates about ways to use this classroom assessment technique.
Where would this assessment process fit onto the Sources of Data graphic reviewed earlier in this unit?
Video URL:

14. Categorizing Different Types of Assessments
One common way of categorizing the different types of assessments used to meet the information needs of key stakeholders in the educational system is to distinguish between summative and formative assessment processes.
The distinction between the two processes is based on the purpose of the assessment and on how the information gathered is to be used rather than on the content or administration of the assessment.
The terms summative and formative assessment are frequently used in the field of education and many definitions have been offered to describe them.
The fundamental difference between the two processes is based on the purpose of the assessment and on how users in the educational system will use the information from the assessment.
The next sections explore each of these assessment types in more detail, examining the purpose and use of the assessment information they yield.
The next sections explore each of these assessment types, examining the purpose and use of the information they yield.

15. Summative Assessment: Assessment of Learning
The purpose of summative assessment is to gather evidence of student achievement after instruction has been completed.
These assessments are used to determine the extent to which students have achieved mastery on specified learning outcomes at a given point in time.
Summative assessment is a process used after instruction has been completed on a topic, content standard or multiple standards.
The purpose of summative assessment is to determine whether students have achieved mastery or proficiency on the specific learning outcomes that were the focus of instruction.

16. Summative Assessment: Assessment of Learning
Summative assessments may include more than end-of-year statewide assessments. They also may include any assessment that is given at the end of instruction (chapter, unit, quarterly, end of course).
Summative data is often used for assigning grades, certifying student attainment of instructional objectives, and/or determining eligibility for programs or advancement.
Statewide year-end assessments are clearly summative assessments used to evaluate student proficiency on grade level/course content standards.
Summative assessments are also used at the district, school and classroom levels to gather information on student mastery of content standards at the end of a unit of instruction, at the end of a semester or trimester or at the end of a course of study.
The information from the locally administered summative assessments may be used for a variety of purposes as noted on the slide.
In addition, the data generated from summative assessments, both statewide and local, is often used to evaluate the effectiveness of an instructional program (such as an intervention program) or curricular materials.
The data may also be used to evaluate system-level program effectiveness.

17. Summative Assessment: Assessment of Learning
Refer again to the Sources of Assessment Data graphic to identify which of the assessment levels you consider to be used most often as summative assessments. Think about how the data from these assessments is typically used at classroom, school, or district levels.
Use the Sources of Assessment Data graphic to identify which levels of assessment on “the cone” would most often be used as summative assessments—assessment at the end of instruction to evaluate student learning.
Note to Facilitator: Annual, Quarterly and Unit/Sequence of Lessons are most often used as summative assessments.
Source: Heritage 2010

18. Summative Assessment: Assessment of Learning
Remember—it is how the data from the assessment is used that is the key factor in determining if it is a summative or formative process.
Identify specific summative assessments that you administer in your classroom. List those assessments and describe how their results are used.
In your journal, list the summative assessments administered in your classroom and describe how the results of those assessments are used.
Note to Facilitator:
As time allows, debrief the responses to the prompt regarding use of summative assessment data either in whole group structure or within table groups.
Sample Responses:
Identify specific summative assessments that you administer in your classroom. List those assessments and describe how their results are used.
Chapter/unit tests from the adopted instructional materials are used to identify students needing additional support and specific areas for intervention, form intervention instructional groups, and grading.
District benchmark tests are used to identify proficiency levels of all students for reporting to the superintendent and school board, and to identify students needing intervention.
CSTs are used to evaluate instructional effectiveness on a broad scale for all students, and analyze by grade level and subgroup to identify areas of strength and weakness of student performance.
Source: Heritage 2010

19. Formative Assessment Practices and Tools: Assessment for Learning
Watch a video clip of Dylan Wiliam discussing the process of formative assessment. Consider how this information relates to components of the Sources of Assessment Data graphic.
“Formative assessment - Dylan Wiliam”
As you listen to Dylan Wiliam, a researcher in the field of assessment and learning, describe the formative assessment process, think about how this information relates to the Sources of Data graphic.
Where do you think the formative assessment process fits into the cone?
Note to Facilitator: On the Journey to Excellence Web page, select the link under the video titled “Video Download” to view the video.

20. Defining Formative Assessment Practices
The Formative Assessment for Students and Teachers (FAST) group adopted the following definition of formative assessment:
"Formative assessment is a process used by teachers and students during instruction that provides feedback to adjust ongoing teaching and learning to improve students' achievement of intended instructional outcomes" (2008).
The FAST working group discussed in Unit 3 when the attributes of assessment literate educators defined formative assessment as a process used for the purpose of improving instructional outcomes.
Take a few minutes to read the Attributes of Effective Formative Assessment.
Note to Facilitator: Download in advance, or have participants download the document at
Attributes_of_Effective_2008.pdf.
Review the Attributes of Effective Formative Assessment at

21. Defining Formative Assessment Practices
According to Dr. W. James Popham, key elements of the FAST definition are:
Formative assessment is a process, not any particular test.
It is used not just by teachers but by both teachers and students.
Formative assessment takes place during instruction.
Dr. W. James Popham broke down the elements of this FAST definition to stress that formative assessment is a process, not an event and that the process is used by both teachers and students.
Formative assessment takes place during instruction to guide adjustments to teaching and learning activities.
It provides assessment-based feedback to teachers and students.
The function of this feedback is to help teachers and students make adjustments that will improve students’ achievement of intended curricular aims.
— Transformative Assessment 2008

22. Defining Formative Assessment Practices
In this video clip, classroom teachers discuss the value of the formative assessment process in their classrooms. Note specific examples of formative assessment practices that the teachers describe.
“The Formative Classroom”
As you view this video clip, identify specific examples of formative assessment practices the teachers describe that are used during the instructional process.
Think about which of these practices might be applicable in your classroom.
Be prepared to share your ideas with the whole group.

23. Defining Formative Assessment Practices
Identify which of the assessment levels you consider to be most often used in the formative assessment process. Think about how the data from these assessments is typically used at classroom, school, or district levels.
Which points on the Heritage-Herman Sources of Data graphic would be most often considered formative processes—assessment during instruction?
Note to Facilitator: Minute-by-minute, daily and weekly are most often used as formative assessment processes.
Source: Heritage 2010

24. Defining Formative Assessment Practices
These video clips show teachers describing and implementing minute-by-minute and daily formative assessment strategies. As you view, note formative practices that you might apply in your own classroom.
“Formative Assessment In 3rd Grade Math”
View these video clips and watch for examples of minute-by-minute and daily formative assessment techniques.
Note ideas/strategies that you might apply to the content standards and age/grade level of the students you teach.
“Formative Assessment In 11th Grade Biology”

25. Defining Formative Assessment Practices
Based on the videos you have viewed on formative assessment practices, take a moment to apply their content to your own classroom practices:
1. What assessment methods (Selected Response, Constructed Response, Performance Task) did you observe being used in the video clips?
Take some time to reflect on how the examples you viewed in the video clips might apply to your own classroom practice.
After you have completed your individual journal response, discuss your ideas with your table group.
Be prepared to share ideas from your group conversation with the whole group.
Sample Responses:
Selected response (response cards, multiple choice, matching), constructed response (oral explanation of evidence/defense of answer).
I have ideas for different strategies than those I already use. I have a deeper understanding of the importance of using formative practices to guide my teaching minute by minute, based on students' needs. I understand that formative assessment is a process and not an isolated moment in a timed assessment activity.
I could use response cards in small groups or with the whole class. I like the idea of having students defend their answers by giving the rationale for their choices. I can increase the use of meaningful, purposeful partner talk during instruction.
2. In what ways did these video examples expand or change your understanding of the formative assessment process?
3. What formative practices from these examples could you apply in your own classroom?

26. Students’ Role in the Formative Assessment Process
For an assessment process to truly be formative, learners must be active participants in the process, using information from the assessment experience to determine next steps on their learning path.
The following slides contain quotes about the students' role in formative assessment practices. As you read them, consider the implications for your classroom practice and the ways assessment-literate educators might engage students as described by the authors.
Recall that the FAST definition of the formative assessment process identified student use of the assessment data as a key component of the process.
Assessment experts commonly stress that students must have an opportunity to use the information gathered from formative assessment activities to guide them on their individual learning path.
As the quotes on the following slides emphasize, the teacher’s role in the formative assessment process includes designing and implementing learning opportunities that help students develop their abilities to guide and direct their own learning.
Student’s are supported to be owners of their own learning and to become resources for their peers.

27. Students’ Role in the Formative Assessment Process
Teacher’s Role in Formative Assessment
“We have learned more clearly that interactive dialogue, between teacher and learners and between learners themselves, is at the heart of formative practice and that such practice should enrich the central task of teachers. That task is to engineer learning opportunities so that learners can become more expert and more responsible in guiding and furthering their own learning.”
—Black & Wiliam 2009
As these quotes emphasize, the teacher’s role in the formative assessment process includes designing and implementing learning opportunities that help students develop their abilities to guide and direct their own learning.
Students are supported to be owners of their own learning and to become resources for their peers.

28. Students’ Role in the Formative Assessment Process
Formative Assessment That Improves Learning
“There is increasing agreement that assessment improves learning when it is used to support five key strategies in learning:
Clarifying, sharing, and understanding learning intentions and criteria for success
Engineering classroom discussions, activities, and tasks that elicit evidence of student achievement
Providing feedback that moves learning forward
Activating students as learning resources for one another
Activating students as owners of their own learning”
— Wiliam 2011

29. Students’ Role in the Formative Assessment Process
The authors of Leading the Way to Making Classroom Assessment Work identify positive research outcomes when students are involved in assessing their own learning. These include:
All students show gains, and lowest achieving students show the largest gains overall.
Mistakes become feedback that students can use to adjust their learning activities and strategies.
They make active choices about their learning, which has been demonstrated to increase achievement.
The value of student involved assessment has been validated by a variety of researchers.
As you read these key findings from research, note that all students have shown gains when they are involved in assessing their own learning but the lowest achieving students appear to benefit the most from this involvement.
As students think deeply about their own learning and analyze evidence of their learning, their understanding of the concepts they are learning increases.
Teachers can also use feedback from students’ self-assessments to refine instruction to better meet student needs.
They have to think about their own learning and talk about their understanding, which adds to their learning.
Their self-assessments help teachers to design instruction to better meet the needs of learners.
—Davies, Herbst, & Reynolds 2008

30. Students’ Role in the Formative Assessment Process
To learn more about what the research says about student involvement in the assessment process, visit Transforming Assessment: An Online Resource for Teachers at
Visit the Web site on this slide if you are interested in learning more about student involvement in the assessment process.

31. “Self and peer assessment - Dylan Wiliam”
Peer assessment can also play a critical role in the effectiveness of formative assessment practices.
As you watch this video clip, think about some potential benefits of peer assessment.
“Self and peer assessment - Dylan Wiliam”
selfandpeerassessmentdylanwiliam.asp
Peer assessment is another research validated formative assessment practice. Watch this video clip and listen as Dylan Wiliam discusses the benefits of peer assessment.
Think about how you might begin to use peer assessment as a formative assessment tool in your classroom.
Note to Facilitator: On the Journey to Excellence Web page, select the link under the video titled “Video Download” to view the video.

32. Value of Peer Assessment
As you read this quote from an article titled, “Working Inside the Black Box,” think about your own students and the opportunities you might provide for peer assessment.
“In practice, peer assessment turns out to be an important complement to self-assessment. Peer assessment is uniquely valuable because students may accept criticisms of their work from one another that they would not take seriously if the remarks were offered by a teacher. Peer work is also valuable because the interchange will be in a language that students themselves naturally use and because students learn by taking the roles of teachers and examiners of others."
—Black & Wiliam 2004
Consider how self-assessment and peer assessment might be valuable as formative tools in your classroom.
How and when might you use these assessment strategies?
Discuss your thoughts on the topic with an elbow partner. Be prepared to share your ideas with the whole group.

33. Formative and Summative Assessments
Read the vignettes handout and decide if each scenario describes formative assessment practices, summative assessment, or a combination of both. Describe the rationale for your decision, including specific evidence from the vignette that contributed to your decision.
As we approach the end of this unit, take some time to check your understanding of the terms summative and formative assessment.
Use the vignettes provided in your participant packet to complete this check for understanding.
Be sure to include your rationale for the decision you make and be prepared to discuss your answers with your table group and with the whole group.
Handout
Vignettes

34. Formative and Summative Assessments
“Structured Pair-Work” is an example of:
__Formative assessment
__Summative assessment
X Both
Rationale with evidence:
The teacher is providing students with multiple practice opportunities to answer questions and receive feedback from peers, both formative practices. Students are given an opportunity to revise their answers following the dialogue and feedback process, also a formative assessment practice. Finally, students turn in their final product for grading, a summative assessment of their work.
“Structured Pair-Work” is an example of:
Answer: Both
The teacher is providing students with multiple practice opportunities to answer questions and receive feedback from peers, both formative practices.
Students are given an opportunity to revise their answers following the dialogue and feedback process, also a formative assessment practice.
Finally, students turn in their final product for grading, a summative assessment of their work.

35. Formative and Summative Assessments
“District Test” is an example of:
__Formative assessment
X Summative assessment
__Both
Rationale with evidence:
The assessment is given at the end of every quarter to gather data to present to the local board and parents as a status report. This assessment is not used by teachers to adjust instruction or by students to adjust their learning tactics.
“District Test” is an example of:
Answer: Summative assessment
The assessment is given at the end of every quarter to gather data to present to the local board and parents as a status report.
This assessment is not used by teachers to adjust instruction or by students to adjust their learning tactics.
It is a summative assessment.

36. Formative and Summative Assessments
“Middle School Science” is an example of:
__Formative assessment
__Summative assessment
X Both
Rationale with evidence:
The teacher had students involved in the revision/development process of the scoring tool through analysis and discussion. During the year, students used the criteria list that they had helped to create as a tool for guiding and evaluating their own work on lab reports. Peer evaluation was also used so that students received feedback from a peer on their draft lab reports. All of these are formative assessment practices. Students were required to turn in their final copy of the lab report for teacher grading (summative).
“Middle School Science” is an example of:
Answer: Both
The teacher had students involved in the revision/development process of the scoring tool through analysis and discussion.
During the year, students used the criteria list that they had helped to create as a tool for guiding and evaluating their own work on lab reports.
Peer evaluation was also used so that students received feedback from a peer on their draft lab reports.
All of these are formative assessment practices.
Students were required to turn in their final copy of the lab report for teacher grading (summative).

37. Formative and Summative Assessments
“Language Arts, Lower Elementary” is an example of:
__Formative assessment
__Summative assessment
X Both
Rationale with evidence:
The teacher used the formative practices of giving meaningful feedback to students (both teacher and peer) and using structured dialogue between students to further discuss feedback during the learning process. The teacher continued to provide students with feedback as they worked on revisions of their articles (formative practice). After repeated cycles of dialogue and feedback, the students turned in the final copies of their articles for grading, which was a summative assessment of their work, at the end of the learning process.
“Language Arts, Lower Elementary” is an example of:
Answer: Both
The teacher used the formative practices of giving meaningful feedback to students (both teacher and peer) and using structured dialogue between students to further discuss feedback during the learning process.
The teacher continued to provide students with feedback as they worked on revisions of their articles (formative practice).
After repeated cycles of dialogue and feedback, the students turned in the final copies of their articles for grading, which was a summative assessment of their work, at the end of the learning process.

38. Formative Assessment Practices
To gain a deeper understanding of formative assessment practices, review Dylan Wiliam's article, "What Assessment Can — and Cannot — Do” at
To further explore the formative assessment process, visit the Web site on this slide and read “What Assessment Can-and Cannot—Do”.

39. Summary of Unit 5
Multiple levels and types of assessments are used by assessment-literate educators to address the range of decision-making purposes and needs of key stakeholders in the system.
A high-quality, balanced assessment system has a range of standards-based, cohesive assessments, each with a specific purpose relating to student learning over time.
This unit has focused on the multiple levels and types of assessments used to make decisions about student learning.
Assessment literate educators use a range of assessment experiences to gather data to adjust instruction and identify student needs.
Assessments are standards based and cohesive, each meeting a clear purpose that will further student learning.
A high-quality balanced assessment system provides continuous data to monitor student progress toward identified learning targets.
Assessments in a balanced system are aligned to content standards, providing continuous information on students’ progress toward specific learning targets.

40. Summary of Unit 5
Respond to the questions below to check your understanding of the ideas in Unit 5:
1. What is the purpose and value of using multiple levels of assessment when gathering data about student learning?
2. Describe at least three key characteristics of the formative assessment process.
3. What is the primary distinction between formative and summative assessment?
Take some time to check your understanding of the information in this unit by responding to these questions.
Record your answers in your journal.
As time allows, share your answers to the questions with your table group.
Sample Responses:
Multiple levels of assessment over time are needed to address the wide range of decision-making needs of the variety of users of assessment information. Different levels of detail over time are needed by different users to guide educational decisions.
Active learner involvement in the formative assessment process, with meaningful feedback, occurs during the instructional process. Teachers and students make adjustments during the learning process based on the formative data or information.
The difference between the two assessment processes is the purpose of the assessment and how the assessment information is used. Formative practices are used to improve or enhance learning and occur during the learning process. Summative assessment is used to verify learning at the end of instruction.
Students learn more when they are involved in assessing their own learning. They have to think about their learning and talk about their understanding, strengthening their learning. Students are able to give feedback to teachers that help teachers design and deliver instruction to better meet specific student needs.
Answers will vary by individual so no answer is provided for this question.
A balanced assessment system would both support and verify student learning. The system would include summative and formative processes to address the information needs of a variety of users. A balanced assessment system would utilize multiple levels of standards-aligned assessment processes to provide data on student growth over time in relation to specific instructional learning targets. It would include minute-by-minute, daily, weekly assessment during instruction and chapter, unit, interim or benchmark and annual state testing at the end of instruction. It would include a variety of assessment methods or item types used throughout the teaching-assessment cycle.
4. What is the purpose and value of student involvement in the assessment process?
5. Describe one or two ways you might include additional self-assessment and peer-assessment activities in your classroom and what impact those activities might have on student learning.
6. Describe a balanced assessment system. What components would it include?