# data[].attributes.headline
Understanding the Role of Assessment in Learning

# data[].attributes.subject
Understanding the Role of Assessment in Learning

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Despite the fact that assessment plays a powerful role in the process of student learning and motivation, many university courses continue to rely on a narrow range of assessment methods that are primarily summative in nature and that test for aspects of learning that are easy to assess. Many courses, especially at the introductory level, default to the use of traditional multiple-choice exams that primarily test students' ability to memorize large amounts of content without necessarily understanding or applying it. Multiple-choice questions certainly have their place in assessment and, with substantial practice, can even be crafted in a way that tests higher-order thinking skills (for good ideas on how to do it, consult Improving Multiple Choice Tests opens in new window by Clegg and Cashin). However, multiple-choice questions work well for assessing only certain kinds of learning (e.g. knowledge of discipline-specific terminology) but not for assessing other kinds of learning, such as formulating answers, communicating to lay and professional audiences, or thinking critically and creatively.

Current literature on assessment suggests that in order to be effective, course-level

assessment practices need to incorporate a variety of assessment methods and tools, have well-defined assessment criteria and include students in the assessment process through various forms of self- and peer-assessment.

In order to introduce you to some of the critical perspectives on assessment in higher education, we'd like you to watch a short video "Assessment: The Silent Killer of Learning," with a renowned Physics professor Eric Mazur (Harvard University).

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Despite the fact that assessment plays a powerful role in the process of student learning and motivation, many university courses continue to rely on a narrow range of assessment methods that are primarily summative in nature and that test for aspects of learning that are easy to assess.

# data[].attributes.headline
Why is Assessment Important? - Guide to Six Parts

# data[].attributes.subject
Why is Assessment Important? - Guide to Six Parts

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Asking students to demonstrate their understanding of the subject matter is critical to the learning process; it is essential to evaluate whether the educational goals and standards of the lessons are being met. From Edutopia.org’s Assessment Professional Development Guide.

# data[].attributes.headline
7 THINGS THAT EDUCATORS SHOULD KNOW ABOUT ASSESSMENT AND EVALUATION

# data[].attributes.subject
7 THINGS THAT EDUCATORS SHOULD KNOW ABOUT ASSESSMENT AND EVALUATION

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
7 Things That Educators Should Know About Assessment and Evaluation - The Edvocate

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Spread the loveAssessment refers to judging a student’s rate of academic achievement by analyzing the available evidence, such as quizzes, tests or written tasks. Assessments take different forms, and each one of them is created for a particular reason. Teachers’ practice formative assessment by obs…

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.embed_code
7 Things That Educators Should Know About Assessment and Evaluation

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Standardized tests have been a part of American education since the mid-1800s. Their use skyrocketed after 2002's No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) mandated annual testing in all 50 states.

US students slipped from being ranked 18th in the world in math in 2000 to 40th in 2015, from 14th to 25th in science, and from 15th to 24th in reading. Failures in the education system have been blamed on rising poverty levels, teacher quality, tenure policies, and, increasingly, on the pervasive use of standardized tests.

Proponents argue that standardized tests offer an objective measurement of education and a good metric to gauge areas for improvement, as well as offer meaningful data to help students in marginalized groups., and that the scores are good indicators of college and job success. They argue standardized tests are useful metrics for teacher evaluations.

Opponents argue that standardized tests only determine which students are good at taking tests, offer no meaningful measure of progress, and have not improved student performance, and that the tests are racist, classist, and sexist, with scores that are not predictors of future success. They argue standardized tests are useful metrics for teacher evaluations.

Standardized tests are defined by W. James Popham, EdD, former President of the American Educational Research Association, as "any test that's administered, scored, and interpreted in a standard, predetermined manner." The tests often have multiple-choice questions that can be quickly graded by automated test scoring machines. Some tests also incorporate open-ended questions that require human grading.

While many kinds of standardized tests are in use, high-stakes achievement tests have provoked the most controversy. These assessments carry important consequences for students, teachers and schools: low scores can prevent a student from progressing to the next grade level, or lead to teacher firings and school closures, while high scores ensure continued federal and local funding and are used to reward teachers and administrators with bonus payments.

Standardized testing in the US has been estimated to be a multi-billion-dollar industry, though proponents have accused opponents of exaggerating its size. The largest test publishers include NCS Pearson, CTB/McGraw-Hill, Riverside Publishing, and Educational Testing Service (ETS).
Early History
The earliest known standardized tests were administered to government job applicants in 7th Century Imperial China. The tests, built upon a rigid "eight-legged essay" format, tested the applicants' rote-learned knowledge of Confucian philosophy, and were in widespread use until 1898. In the Western world, the Industrial Revolution ushered in a movement to return school-age farmhands and factory workers to the classroom. Standardized examinations enabled the newly expanded student body to be tested efficiently.

In the mid-1800s, Boston school reformers Horace Mann and Samuel Gridley Howe, modeling their efforts on the centralized Prussian school system, introduced standardized testing to Boston schools. The new tests were devised to provide a "single standard by which to judge and compare the output of each school" and to gather objective information about teaching quality. Boston's program was soon adopted by school systems nationwide.

Concerns about excessive testing were voiced as early as 1906, when the New York State Department of Education advised the state legislature that "it is a very great and more serious evil to sacrifice systematic instruction and a comprehensive view of the subject for the scrappy and unrelated knowledge gained by students who are persistently drilled in the mere answering of questions issued by the Education Department or other governing bodies."

The Kansas Silent Reading Test (1914-1915) is the earliest known published multiple-choice test, developed by Frederick J. Kelly, a Kansas school director. Kelly created the test to reduce "time and effort" in administration and scoring.

In 1934, International Business Machines Corporation (IBM) hired a teacher and inventor named Reynold B. Johnson (best known for creating the world's first commercial computer disk drive) to create a production model of his prototype test scoring machine. The IBM 805, announced in 1938 and marketed until 1963, graded answer sheets by detecting the electrical current flowing through graphite pencil marks. The contemporary use of No. 2 pencils for exams is a historical holdover, since modern scanners' optical mark recognition (OMR) technology can recognize marks made by pens and pencils alike.
Modern Testing Begins
The modern testing movement began with the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), enacted by President Lyndon Johnson in 1965, which included testing and accountability provisions in an effort to raise standards and make education more equitable.

The 1983 release of A Nation at Risk: The Imperative for Educational Reform, a report by President Ronald Reagan's National Commission on Excellence in Education, warned of a crisis in American education and an urgent need to raise academic standards. The report's portrayal of an education system that had "lost sight of the basic purposes of schooling, and of the high expectations and disciplined effort needed to attain them" rallied reform advocates to press for stricter accountability measures, including increased testing.

Successive administrations attempted to implement national school reform following A Nation at Risk's release. George H.W. Bush's America 2000 plan aimed to achieve world's best math and science test scores by the turn of the century, but became mired in Congress. Bill Clinton's Goals 2000 Act and Improving America's Schools Act (IASA), both passed in 1994, instituted a voluntary system of testing and accountability, but few states complied. Clinton's 1997 Voluntary National Test initiative languished in Congress and was abandoned after $15 million and over two years had been spent on its development.
No Child Left Behind and Race to the Top
The No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) passed with bipartisan support (381-41 in the House of Representatives and 87-10 in the Senate) and was signed into law by President George W. Bush on Jan. 8, 2002. The legislation, modeled on Bush's education policy as Governor of Texas, mandated annual testing in reading and math (and later science) in Grades 3 through 8 and again in 10th Grade. If schools did not show sufficient Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP), they faced sanctions and the possibility of being taken over by the state or closed. NCLB required that 100% of US students be "proficient" on state reading and math tests by 2014, which was regarded as an impossible target by many testing opponents.

According to the Pew Center on the States, annual state spending on standardized tests rose from $423 million before NCLB to almost $1.1 billion in 2008 (a 160% increase compared to a 19.22% increase in inflation over the same period). Combined state and federal government spending on education totals $600 billion per year, while all-time philanthropic contributions to US education total less than $10 billion, according to a 2011 statement by education philanthropist Bill Gates.

On February 17, 2009, President Barack Obama's Race to the Top program was signed into law, inviting states to compete for $4.35 billion in extra funding based on the strength of their student test scores. On Mar. 13, 2010, Obama proposed an overhaul of NCLB, promising further incentives to states if they develop improved assessments tied more closely to state standards, and emphasizing other indicators like pupil attendance, graduation rates and learning climate in addition to test scores. Testing opponents have decried both initiatives for their continued reliance on test scores, a complaint Obama seemed to echo on Mar. 28, 2011, when he said: "Too often what we have been doing is using these tests to punish students or to, in some cases, punish schools."
DC and Los Angeles Controversies
The 2010 documentary Waiting for Superman gave the testing and accountability movement a nationally recognized spokesperson in Michelle Rhee, then-Chancellor of Washington, DC, public schools. Rhee, appointed by DC Mayor Adrian Fenty, JD, in June 2007. Rhee became a lightning rod for testing opponents after she enacted a strict policy of teacher and school accountability based on standardized test scores. By the time she resigned her post in Oct. 2010, she had fired 600 teachers and dozens of principals, closed 23 schools, and introduced $25,000 bonuses to teachers receiving high evaluations, based in part on standardized test results.

DC's student test scores rose under Rhee's reforms, but in Mar. 2011, a USA Today report uncovered scoring irregularities (high numbers of answers that had been erased and replaced with correct answers) in 103 DC public schools during the 2008-2010 school years. Rhee responded by saying "the possible misguided actions of a few individuals do not cloud the incredible achievements of the majority of hard working educators who serve our children," and touted nation-leading gains by DC students on the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP).

Despite claims by DC public school officials that the anomalies were in fact limited to one school, a confidential Jan. 2009 memo uncovered in Apr. 2013 revealed that the problems may have been more widespread. The memo, prepared by an outside analyst hired by Rhee, noted that 191 teachers in 70 schools were "implicated in possible testing infractions." Nearly all the teachers at one DC elementary school "had students whose test papers showed high numbers of wrong-to-right erasures," according to USA Today. However, on Jan. 7, 2013 the US Department of Education's Office of Inspector General said an investigation had found no evidence of widespread cheating on the DC Comprehensive Assessment System tests from 2008-2010. The cheating scandal continued after Rhee left her position. The Washington Post reported in Apr. 2013 that 18 DC public school teachers were found to have committed "'critical' violations of test security" in 2012.

In Aug. 2010, the Los Angeles Times spurred a national controversy when it announced plans to publish the names of 6,000 Los Angeles elementary school teachers, alongside calculations of their students' gains and losses on standardized tests during the school year. Known as the "value added" method of evaluating teacher effectiveness, it has been mandated by several hundred school districts in 21 states. Up to 40% of New York teachers' evaluations are tied to value-added test score analyses, as of the 2011-2012 school year.
NCLB Goals Questioned
On March 9, 2011, US Education Secretary Arne Duncan told Congress that 82% of American schools could fail to meet NCLB's goal of 100% proficiency on standardized tests by 2014. Duncan proposed reforming NCLB to "impose a much tighter definition of success" that supports "our fundamental aspiration that every single student can learn, achieve and succeed." Individual states have cast similar doubts on their ability to satisfy NCLB's Adequate Yearly Progress goals. A 2008 study published in the peer-reviewed journal Science forecast "nearly 100 percent failure" of California schools to meet AYP in 2014. The primary reason for failure, the study concluded, would be poor results on standardized tests by English Language Learners and children in low-income families.

The 2019 Nation's Report Card (National Assessment of Educational Progress) reported that fourth and eighth grade reading and math scores have remained largely the same for a decade, despite stronger academic standards. In 2019, 35% of fourth graders were proficient in reading and 41% were proficient in math. 34% of eighth graders had reading proficiency and 34% had math proficiency.
COVID-19 Interrupts Testing
On Mar. 20 2020, Education Secretary Betsy DeVos announced that states could cancel standardized testing for the 2019-2020 school year due to the COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic related school closures. DeVos stated, "Students need to be focused on staying healthy and continuing to learn. Teachers need to be able to focus on remote learning and other adaptations. Neither students nor teachers need to be focused on high-stakes tests during this difficult time. Students are simply too unlikely to be able to perform their best in this environment."

On Nov. 25, 2020, the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) announced that National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) reading and math tests would be postponed until 2022 in light of the ongoing COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic. The tests usually take place every two years and were scheduled for 2021 for fourth and eight grade students.

The Biden Administration announced on Feb. 22, 2021 that states must resume annual math and reading standardized testing in spring 2021. A letter to state school chiefs and governors stated that it is "vitally important that parents, educators, and the public have access to data on student learning and success."

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
History of Standardized Tests - ProCon.org

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Standardized tests have been a part of American education since the mid-1800s. Their use skyrocketed after 2002's No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) mandated annual testing in all 50 states. US students slipped from being ranked 18th in the world in math in 2000 to 40th in 2015, from 14th to 25th in science, and [...]Read More...

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Standardized tests have been a part of American education since the mid-1800s. Their use skyrocketed after 2002's No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) mandated annual testing in all 50 states. US students slipped from being ranked 18th in the world in math in 2000 to 40th in 2015, and from 14th to 25th in science and from 15th to 24th in reading. Failures in the education system have been blamed on rising poverty levels, teacher quality, tenure policies, and, increasingly, on the pervasive use of standardized tests.

Proponents argue that standardized tests offer an objective measurement of education and a good metric to gauge areas for improvement, as well as offer meaningful data to help students in marginalized groups, and that the scores are good indicators of college and job success. They argue standardized tests are useful metrics for teacher evaluations.

Opponents argue that standardized tests only determine which students are good at taking tests, offer no meaningful measure of progress, and have not improved student performance, and that the tests are racist, classist, and sexist, with scores that are not predictors of future success. They argue standardized tests are useful metrics for teacher evaluations.
Read more background...
Pro & Con Arguments

Pro 1

Standardized tests offer an objective measurement of education and a good metric to gauge areas for improvement.

Teachers' grading practices are naturally uneven and subjective. An A in one class may be a C in another. Teachers also have conscious and unconscious biases for a favorite student or against a rowdy student, for example. Standardized tests offer students across the country a unified measure of their knowledge.

Aaron Churchill, Ohio Research Director for the Thomas B. Fordham Institute, stated, "At their core, standardized exams are designed to be objective measures. They assess students based on a similar set of questions, are given under nearly identical testing conditions, and are graded by a machine or blind reviewer. They are intended to provide an accurate, unfiltered measure of what a student knows."

Frequently states or local jurisdictions employ psychometricians to ensure tests are fair across populations of students. Mark Moulon, PhD, Chief Executive Officer at Pythias Consulting and psychometrician, offered an example: "If you find that your question on skateboarding is one that boys find to be an easy question, but girls find to be a hard question, that'll pop up as a statistic. Differential item functioning will flag that question as problematic."

Moulon continued, explaining, "What's cool about psychometrics is that it will flag stuff that a human would never be able to notice. I remember a science test that had been developed in California and it asked about earthquakes. But the question was later used in a test that was administered in New England. When you try to analyze the New England kids with the California kids, you would get a differential item functioning flag because the California kids were all over the subject of earthquakes, and the kids in Vermont had no idea about earthquakes."

With problematic questions removed, or adapted for different populations of students, standardized tests offer the best objective measure of what students have learned. Taking that information, schools can determine areas for improvement. As Bryan Nixon, former Head of School at private school Whitby, noted, "When we receive standardized test data at Whitby, we use it to evaluate the effectiveness of our education program. We view standardized testing data as not only another set of data points to assess student performance, but also as a means to help us reflect on our curriculum. When we look at Whitby's assessment data, we can compare our students to their peers at other schools to determine what we're doing well within our educational continuum and where we need to invest more time and resources."
Read More

Pro 2

Standardized tests offer meaningful data to help students in marginalized groups.

Keri Rodrigues, Co-founder of the National Parents Union, explained, "If I don't have testing data to make sure my child's on the right track, I'm not able to intervene and say there is a problem and my child needs more. And the community can't say this school is doing well, this teacher needs help to improve, or this system needs new leadership... It's really important to have a statewide test because of the income disparity that exists in our society. Black and Brown excellence is real, but just because a kid lives in Dorchester [Massachusetts] does not make his or her life is less valuable than a child that lives in Wellesley [Massachusetts]. And it is unfair to say that just by luck of birth that a child born in Wellesley is somehow entitled to a higher-quality education... Testing is a tool for us to hold the system accountable to make sure our kids have what they need. "

Sheryl Lazarus, PhD, Director of the National Center on Educational Outcomes at the University of Minnesota, stated, "a real plus of these assessments is that they've really shone a light on the differences across sub-groups. And they have led to improvements in access to instruction for students with disabilities and English learners... Inclusion of students with disabilities and English learners in summative tests used for accountability allows us to measure how well the system is doing for these students, and then it is possible to fill in gaps in instructional opportunity."

Advocates for marginalized groups of students, whether by race, learning disability, or other difference, can use testing data to prove a problem exists and to help solve the problem via more funding, development of programs, or other solutions. Civil rights education lawsuits wherein a group is suing a local or state government for better education almost always use testing data.

Chris Stewart, CEO of brightbeam, summarizes, "We only know that there's a difference between White students and Black students and other students of color because we have the data. We only know about that because we have assessments."

A letter signed by 12 civil rights organizations including the NAACP and the American Association of University Women, explained, "Data obtained through some standardized tests are particularly important to the civil rights community because they are the only available, consistent, and objective source of data about disparities in educational outcomes, even while vigilance is always required to ensure tests are not misused. These data are used to advocate for greater resource equity in schools and more fair treatment for students of color, low-income students, students with disabilities, and English learners... [W]e cannot fix what we cannot measure. And abolishing the tests or sabotaging the validity of their results only makes it harder to identify and fix the deep-seated problems in our schools."
Read More

Pro 3

Standardized tests are useful metrics for teacher evaluations.

While grades and other measures are useful for teacher evaluations, standardized tests provide a consistent measure across classrooms and schools. Individual school administrators, school districts, and the state can compare teachers using test scores to show how each teacher has helped students master core concepts.

Timothy Hilton, a high school social studies teacher in South Central Los Angeles, stated, "No self-respecting teacher would use a single student grade on a single assignment as a final grade for the entirety of a course, so why would we rely on one source of information in the determination of a teacher's overall quality? The more data that can be provided, the more accurate the teacher evaluation decisions will end up being. Teacher evaluations should incorporate as many pieces of data as possible. Administration observation, student surveys, student test scores, professional portfolios, and on and on. The more data that is used, the more accurate the picture it will paint."
Read More

Pro 4

Standardized tests scores are good indicators of college and job success.

Standardized tests can offer evidence of and promote academic rigor, which is invaluable in college as well as in students' careers. Matthew Pietrafetta, PhD, Founder of Academic Approach, argues that the "tests create gravitational pull toward higher achievement."

Elaine Riordan, senior communications professional at Actively Learn, stated, "[C]onsiderable research suggests that interventions that help students improve test scores are linked to better adult outcomes such as college attendance, higher incomes, and the avoidance of risky behaviors... In other words, creating learning environments that lead to higher test scores is also likely to improve students' long-term success in college and beyond... Recent research suggests that the competencies that the SAT, ACT, and other standardized tests are now evaluating are essential not just for students who will attend four-year colleges but also for those who participate in CTE programs or choose to seek employment requiring associate degrees and certificates. The researchers argue that all of these students require the same level of academic mastery to be successful after high school graduation."

Standardized test scores have long been correlated with better college and life outcomes. As Dan Goldhaber, PhD, Director of the Center for Analysis of Longitudinal Data in Education Research, and Umut Özek, PhD, senior researcher at the American Institutes for Research, summarize, "students who score one standard deviation higher on math tests at the end of high school have been shown to earn 12% more annually, or $3,600 for each year of work life in 2001... Similarly... test scores are significantly correlated not only with educational attainment and labor market outcomes (employment, work experience, choice of occupation), but also with risky behavior (teenage pregnancy, smoking, participation in illegal activities)."
Read More

Con 1

Standardized tests only determine which students are good at taking tests, offer no meaningful measure of progress, and have not improved student performance.

Standardized test scores are easily influenced by outside factors: stress, hunger, tiredness, and prior teacher or parent comments about the difficulty of the test, among other factors. In short, the tests only show which students are best at preparing for and taking the tests, not what knowledge students might exhibit if their stomachs weren't empty. External stereotypes also play a part in scores: "research indicates that being targeted by well-known stereotypes ('blacks are unintelligent,' 'Latinos perform poorly on tests,' 'girls can't do math' and so on) can be threatening to students in profound ways, a predicament they call 'stereotype threat.'"

Students are tested on grade-appropriate material, but they are not re-tested to determine if they have learned information they tested poorly on the year before. Instead, as Steve Martinez, EdD, Superintendent of Twin Rivers Unified in California, and Rick Miller, Executive Director of CORE Districts, note, each "state currently reports yearly change, by comparing the scores of this year's students against the scores of last year's students who were in the same grade. Even though educators, parents and policymakers might think change signals impact, it says much more about the change in who the students are because it is not measuring the growth of the same student from one year to the next."

Further, because each state develops its own tests, standardized tests are not necessarily comparable across state lines, leaving nationwide statistics shaky at best.

Brandon Busteed, Executive Director, Education & Workforce Development at the time of the quote, stated, "Despite an increased focus on standardized testing, U.S. results in international comparisons show we have made no significant improvement over the past 20 years, according to the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA). The U.S. most recently ranked 23rd, 39th and 25th in reading, math and science, respectively. The last time Americans celebrated being 23rd, 39th and 25th in anything was ... well, never. Our focus on standardized testing hasn't helped us improve our results!"

Busteed asks, "What if our overreliance on standardized testing has actually inhibited our ability to help students succeed and achieve in a multitude of other dimensions? For example, how effective are schools at identifying and educating students with high entrepreneurial talent? Or at training students to apply creative thinking to solve messy and complex issues with no easy answers?"
Read More

Con 2

Standardized tests are racist, classist, and sexist.

The origin of American standardized tests are those created by psychologist Carl Brigham, PhD, for the Army during World War I, which was later adapted to become the SAT. The Army tests were created specifically to segregate soldiers by race, because at the time science inaccurately linked intelligence and race.

Racial bias has not been stripped from standardized tests. W. James Popham, PhD, Professor Emeritus at the University of California at Los Angeles and former test maker, explains how discrimination is purposefully built in to standardized tests, "Traditionally constructed standardized achievements, the kinds that we've used in this country for a long while, are intended chiefly to discriminate among students ... to say that someone was in the 83rd percentile and someone is at 43rd percentile. And the reason you do that is so you can make judgments among these kids. But in order to do so, you have to make sure that the test has in fact a spread of scores. One of the ways to have that test create a spread of scores is to limit items in the test to socioeconomic variables, because socioeconomic status is a nicely spread out distribution, and that distribution does in fact spread kids' scores out on a test."

As Young Whan Choi, Manager of Performance Assessments Oakland Unified School District in Oakland, California, explains, "Too often, test designers rely on questions which assume background knowledge more often held by White, middle-class students. It's not just that the designers have unconscious racial bias; the standardized testing industry depends on these kinds of biased questions in order to create a wide range of scores." Choi offers an example from his own 10th grade class, "a student called me over with a question. With a puzzled look, she pointed to the prompt asking students to write about the qualities of someone who would deserve a "key to the city." Many of my students, nearly all of whom qualified for free and reduced lunch, were not familiar with the idea of a 'key to the city.'"

Wealthy kids, who would be more familiar with a "key to the city," tend to have higher standardized test scores due to differences in brain development caused by factors such as "access to enriching educational resources, and... exposure to spoken language and vocabulary early in life." Plus, as Eloy Ortiz Oakley, MBA, Chancellor of California Community Colleges, points out, "Many well-resourced students have far greater access to test preparation, tutoring and taking the test multiple times, opportunities not afforded the less affluent... [T]hese admissions tests are a better measure of students' family background and economic status than of their ability to succeed"

Journalist and teacher Carly Berwick explains, "All students do not do equally well on multiple choice tests, however. Girls tend to do less well than boys and perform better on questions with open-ended answers, according to a 2018 study by Stanford University's Sean Reardon, which found that test format alone accounts for 25 percent of the gender difference in performance in both reading and math. Researchers hypothesize that one explanation for the gender difference on high-stakes tests is risk aversion, meaning girls tend to guess less."
Read More

Con 3

Standardized tests are unfair metrics for teacher evaluations.

16 states and DC have stopped using standardized tests in teacher evaluations. [79] [80] As W. James Popham, PhD, noted, "standardized achievement tests should not be used to determine the effectiveness of a state, a district, a school, or a teacher. There's almost certain to be a significant mismatch between what's taught and what's tested."

Margaret Pastor, PhD, Principal of Stedwick Elementary School in Maryland, stated: "[A]n assistant superintendent... pointed out that in one of my four kindergarten classes, the student scores were noticeably lower, while in another, the students were outperforming the other three classes. He recommended that I have the teacher whose class had scored much lower work directly with the teacher who seemed to know how to get higher scores from her students. Seems reasonable, right? But here was the problem: The "underperforming" kindergarten teacher and the "high-performing" teacher were one and the same person."
Read More

Con 4

Standardized tests scores are not predictors of future success.

Standardized tests can only, at best, evaluate rote knowledge of math, science, and English. The tests do not evaluate creativity, problem solving, critical thinking, artistic ability, or other knowledge areas that cannot be judged by scoring a sheet of bubbles filled in with a pencil.

Grade point averages (GPA) are a 5 times stronger indicator of college success than standardized tests, according to a study of 55,084 Chicago public school students. One of the authors, Elaine M. Allensworth, PhD, Lewis-Sebring Director of the University of Chicago Consortium, stated, "GPAs measure a very wide variety of skills and behaviors that are needed for success in college, where students will encounter widely varying content and expectations. In contrast, standardized tests measure only a small set of the skills that students need to succeed in college, and students can prepare for these tests in narrow ways that may not translate into better preparation to succeed in college."

Matthew M. Chingos, PhD, Vice President of Education Data and Policy at the Urban Institute, explained, "earning good grades requires consistent behaviors over time-showing up to class and participating, turning in assignments, taking quizzes, etc.-whereas students could in theory do well on a test even if they do not have the motivation and perseverance needed to achieve good grades. It seems likely that the kinds of habits high school grades capture are more relevant for success in college than a score from a single test."
Read More

Did You Know?

1. The earliest known standardized tests were administered to government job applicants in 7th Century Imperial China.

2. The Kansas Silent Reading Test (1914-1915) is the earliest known published multiple-choice test, developed by Frederick J. Kelly, a Kansas school director.

3. In 1934, International Business Machines Corporation (IBM) hired a teacher and inventor named Reynold B. Johnson (best known for creating the world's first commercial computer disk drive) to create a production model of his prototype test scoring machine.

4. The current use of No. 2 pencils on standardized tests is a holdover from the 1930s through the 1960s, when scanning machines scored answer sheets by detecting the electrical conductivity of graphite pencil marks.

5. In 2020, states were allowed to cancel standardized testing due to the COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Standardized Testing Pros and Cons - Does It Improve Education?

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Proponents say the tests offer objective measurements of education. Opponents say tests only show which students are good at taking tests.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Overview

UMTSS provides leadership and support for Local Education Agencies (LEAs) in sustained implementation of evidence-based Multi-Tiered System of Supports (MTSS) practices. UMTSS addresses both academic and behavioral needs of all students through the integration of data, practices, and systems. The coaching and tools provided by UMTSS are intended to guide LEA teams in evaluating and analyzing current practices, establishing supportive infrastructure, and utilizing data to improve student outcomes.

UMTSS Eight Critical Components:

1. High Quality Instruction

2. Data-Based Decision Making

3. Team-Based Problem Solving

4. Equitable Education for Each Student

5. College and Career Readiness

6. Proactive School Climate and Structure

7. Parent and Community Involvement

8. Supportive Leadership

Objectives
Infrastructure and Collaboration
UMTSS is designed to support Utah LEAs and schools in developing sustainable, evidence-based practices and provide supports for students within a multi-tiered system. The purpose of UMTSS is to provide guidance and resources for LEAs as they build infrastructure. Website and online resources help LEAs integrate academic and behavior systems, implement systems and interventions with fidelity, utilize data, and sustain efforts over time to positively impact student outcomes.

Note: The contents of this website were developed under a grant from the United States Department of Education, #H323A120022. However, those content do not necessarily represent the policy of the United States Department of Education, and you should not assume endorsement by the Federal Government. Project Officer Paula Maccini.

Multi-Tiered System of Supports (MTSS)

MTSS is a framework for integrating assessment and intervention to maximize student achievement, reduce behavior problems, and increase long-term success (National Center on Response to Intervention [NCRI], 2014). The combination of systematic implementation of increasingly intensive intervention, sometimes referred to as tiers, and carefully monitoring students' progress distinguishes MTSS from typical prevention measures. In an MTSS framework, emphasis is placed on ensuring that interventions are implemented effectively. This is often referred to as implementation integrity or fidelity (Batsche et al., 2005).

Utah's MTSS Model

MTSS is a framework for implementing systemic, evidence-based practices to maximize student achievement in academics and behavior in preparation for and leading to College and Career Readiness. The MTSS model includes Universal, Targeted, and Intensive levels of support, which are defined in the Utah MTSS 3-Tier Definitions for several identified critical components, such as academics, behavior, and educational equity.
Utah MTSS 3-Tier Critical Components Definitions
Universal (Tier 1) represents those supports provided to all students. Tier 1 practices should be implemented with fidelity prior to addressing practices for Tier 2 or 3. Targeted (Tier 2) represents additional supports provided to remediate or accelerate student success. Intensive (Tier 3) represents individually-responsive supports intended to further remediate or accelerate student success and do not necessarily equate to special education services. Individually-responsive supports are developed based on individual need but may be provided in a small group or individual format. Tier 2 and 3 supports are provided in addition to, not in place of, Tier 1 instruction.

Utah Multi-Tier System of Supports (UMTSS) staff and grant funds focus on building critical infrastructure and sustainable systems at the Local Education Agency (LEA) and school levels. UMTSS supports LEAs in building effective leadership and implementation teams capable of implementing and sustaining MTSS practices with fidelity.

Conferences

2021

July 28-29
2021 Virtual System Conference

2020

Utah Systems Conference: Cancelled

2018

June 18-19
Utah Systems Conference: Alignment, Collaboration and Equity Within a Tiered System of Supports
Utah Valley Convention Center, Provo, Utah

June 20
State Personnel Development Grant (SPDG) Post-Conference Meeting
Utah Valley Convention Center, Provo, Utah

2017

June 21-22
Achieving Equity and Opportunity: Access to Quality Learning Through Tiered Supports

Online Training Courses

UMTSS Canvas Course Series

The UMTSS Canvas Course Series introduces the foundational concepts and tools to help guide Local Education Agencies (LEAs) level teams during the early stages of implementation. Course content includes best practices in supporting students within a multi-tiered framework, providing evidence-based professional learning, effective coaching, collecting and using data meaningfully, and implementing evidence-based practices within specific academic and behavioral content areas.

Getting Started

Enroll in courses by selecting the link below:

Once enrolled, courses are accessible with USBE Canvas.

Hints for Navigation

1. Click Previous or Next buttons at the bottom of each page to navigate through the course.

2. Avoid using the browser back button when submitting assignments and quizzes.

3. Enable pop-ups in the web browser to visit helpful hyperlinks within the course.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.keywords[]
utah multi-tiered system of supports (umtss)

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Utah Multi-Tiered System of Supports (UMTSS)

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Utah Multi-Tiered System of Supports (UMTSS)

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Utah's Multi-Tiered System of Supports for Mathematics

# data[].attributes.headline
Guidelines for Selecting Appropriate Tests

# data[].attributes.subject
Guidelines for Selecting Appropriate Tests

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Understanding Individual Norm-Referenced Assessments and the

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
WJ Cognitive and Achievement Summary (2)

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Tests should be aligned within the characteristics of gifted and talented students within a specific domain area. The variety of characteristics within the federal definition-intellectual, creative, artistic, leadership, and specific academic fields-require more than one assessment to identify. Quantitative instruments such as those listed below use scores to describe the student's performance in relation to others or the degree to which a student possesses a particular characteristic in relation to a standard level of performance.

Achievement Tests

Achievement tests determine what the students already have learned and if they are more advanced than their grade level peers. They may be academic specific (i.e. Math or Language Arts) or standardized tests (such as SATs, ITBS, SRA, and MATs). These assessments should not have a ceiling so students are able to show all of what they know. Tests specifically designed for the gifted population include Test of Mathematical Abilities for Gifted Students or Screening Assessment for Gifted Elementary Students (SAGES).

Ability Tests

Intelligence quotient (IQ) or cognitive abilities test scores are also used to identify gifted and talented students. While these tests provide information for the intellectual domain, these tests are not as helpful in identifying someone with creative, leadership, or other abilities. Typical ability tests include:
Individual
Nonverbal tests, such as the Naglieri Nonverbal Ability Test or the Test of Nonverbal Intelligence, may be more effective for students from culturally and linguistically different or low-income backgrounds to eliminate barriers.
Group

CogAT

Otis-Lennon

Hemmon-Nelson

Ravens Progressive Matrices

Matrix Analogies Test

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Tests are common assessment tools for identification, but should not serve as the sole source of identification. Tests often exclude underserved gifted students who are English Language Learners (ELLs), disabled, or from minority or low-income backgrounds.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
The Construct of Adaptive Behavior -Article

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Chapter 10- Intelligence and adaptive Behavior

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
PLAAFP and Goals Templates With Examples (1)

# data[].attributes.headline
Cognitive Functioning and Psychological Processing 

# data[].attributes.subject
Cognitive Functioning and Psychological Processing 

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Patterns of Strengths and Weaknesses (1)

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
How to Administer an Informal Reading Inventory

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Diagnostic assessments are pretests. They usually serve as a barometer for how much pre-loaded information a student has about a topic. The word diagnosis is defined as an analysis of the nature or condition of a situation, which is exactly how teachers tend to use them.

Diagnostic tests help to tell the teacher (and the student) how much they know and don't know about an upcoming topic. This helps to inform the teacher's lesson planning, learning objectives, and identify areas that may need more or less time spent on.

Components of a Diagnostic Assessment

Happen at the beginning of a unit, lesson, quarter, or period of time.

Goal of understanding student's current position to inform effective instruction

Identify strengths and areas of improvement for the student

Low-stakes assessments (Usually do not count as a grade)

Difference Between Diagnostic and Formative Assessments

Though both diagnostic assessments and formative assessments aim to inform teachers to instruct more effectively, they emphasize different aspects. Formative assessments are taken during a unit to assess how students are learning the material that the teacher has been teaching ( click here to learn more). Diagnostic assessments come before this, analyzing what students have learned in the past, many times from different teachers or classes. Both are very helpful for the teacher, and the results are used to identify areas that need more attention in future instruction.

Diagnostic Assessments Examples

At the beginning of a unit on Ancient Greece, a teacher may give a pre-test to determine if the class knows the basic geography, history or culture. The class' responses will determine where the teacher begins and how much time is dedicated to certain topics. The teacher may learn from this diagnostic assessment that many students already have knowledge on cultural aspects of Greece, but know little about its history. From this, they may adjust the lesson plan to spend a bit more time on the history and origins of Ancient Greece and slightly less on culture.

Keep In Mind

Another valuable use of a diagnostic pre-test is to give the students an idea of what they will have learned by end of the learning period. When combined with a post test, their score on a pre-test will show students just how much knowledge they have gained. This can be a powerful practice for building esteem in students. In fact, some teachers even use the same pre-test and post-test to make this difference more evident. This strategy provides great data on how students have progressed is a sure-tell way to measure and analyze growth over the year.

The grading scale for a diagnostic assessment is usually not based on the number of correct answers and holds little weight for a student's final grade. You might consider this type of test to be a low-stakes assessment for students.

Diagnostic Assessment Tools

Teachers use Edulastic to find or develop diagnostic assessments in a number of creative ways. Some teachers set up diagnostics in the form of introductory activities, classic multiple-choice assessments, or tech-enhanced "quizzes". The automated grading feature of Edulastic makes it easy to instantly know how much information the class as a whole already knows.

Love using @Edulastic to help prepare for online assessments during a review lesson! pic.twitter.com/hhu8s0HqJM

- Mrs Bell (@MrsBellWHS) December 7, 2017

Diagnostic assessments happen at the start to gauge pre-knowledge.

Access Free Diagnostic Assessments

Start off the year strong and know where student are at when they begin the school year. Access FREE grade level SmartStart diagnostic assessments for grades 3-12 ELA and Math. Click here to learn more or use the button below to log in and explore these diagnostic assessments and more in the Edulastic Test Library.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
A diagnostic assessment is a pre-test or barometer for how much information a student already knows about a topic. Read on to learn more.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Today's blog is the first in a series of three blogs about benchmark testing. Many of us are familiar with benchmark tests. They are often given at the start of the year-which is why now is a good time to have this discussion. If your school is like many others, benchmark tests will be administered not only in the fall but also several times throughout the year to gauge student standing relative to well-defined outcomes.

Despite their frequent use, there's a lot of confusion surrounding benchmarks. What are they? What purpose do they serve? Are there different kinds? How can they be used most effectively? These are all questions that we in Edmentum's research department field regularly-and frankly, grapple with ourselves as well. Our goal with this series is to explore some of the nuances of benchmark assessment. Let's start by reviewing the basics and clarifying key definitions.
Why administer benchmark assessments?
All educators know-it's all about student outcomes. One might say that the purpose of a benchmark is to influence well-defined outcomes-they're a form of assessment for learning in preparation for the assessment of learning that summative tests eventually measure. Notice the preposition in the phrasing; benchmark assessments are for learning, not of learning. A benchmark is given when there is still time to intervene, and it should alert the teacher as to how things are going, much like a checkup at the doctor is made to promote good health in the future. Similarly, teachers administer benchmark tests to ensure that students are on track to achieve the relevant learning outcomes, and if they are not on track, it's not too late for a teacher to adjust instruction. That's the point of benchmarks in a nutshell.

To better grasp the very basic distinction we're making between benchmarks and outcomes, think of your college classes. You had a final exam to judge whether you met the required outcomes. You usually had a midterm test to see if you were on track to pass the class. If so, the final exam was the outcome test, and the midterm was the benchmark test.
Are there different types of benchmark assessments?
Of course, K-12 education is quite different than college. The simple distinction between outcome and benchmark lacks sufficient contour. We must introduce a distinction for K-12. Benchmarks can be divided into two kinds: interim tests and formative tests. We will here follow the terminology provided by Dr. Marianne Perie, director of the Center for Assessment and Accountability Research and Design (CAARD). For more detail on evaluating benchmarks, Dr. Perie and her colleagues Scott Marion and Brian Gong published this very interesting article on " Moving Toward a Comprehensive Assessment System: A Framework for Considering Interim Assessments."

An interim assessment is administered during instruction to measure knowledge and skills to inform educator or policymaker decisions at the state, district, or classroom level. Results are reported at the aggregate level. For example, the Measures of Academic Progress (MAP) and the Renaissance Star assessments have been adopted by districts and states as interim assessments. Schools and districts report average scores across students, schools, and districts throughout the year.

The emphasis of an interim assessment tilts toward administration and accountability. Is there another kind of benchmark that is perhaps more organic than interim assessments? Something that feels more intimately related to instruction? Well, some teachers give quizzes frequently during instruction. A quiz is like an interim assessment in that it comes before the final, and it tries to positively influence the results on the final assessment. But quiz scores are not generally used beyond the classroom level. And quiz scores are typically not aggregated to the school or district level. Quizzes are examples of a different kind of assessment known as formative assessments.

A formative assessment is typically used solely by the teacher to check if instruction is having its expected result on individual students, to verify that they are on track to achieve all relevant outcomes, and to diagnose gaps in learning. Thus, formative assessment might be thought of as an essential part of an individualized learning infrastructure. That's not always the case, but thinking about it this way gives us insight into formative assessments.

One more thing needs to be said about formative assessments. Many years ago, the classroom quiz was certainly the prototype of a formative assessment. But, educational technology has matured to the point that we can now automate the preparation and administration of high-quality formative tests. These tests can be as reliable and valid as the well-known end-of-year tests or the third-party interim assessments, yet used strictly at the classroom level, and only for assisting the teacher.

So, one should keep in mind that the simplicity of an assessment is not the indicator that it is a formative assessment. What makes an assessment formative is that it pertains strictly to the individual student and lacks the administrative and accountability aspects of interim assessments.

Formative assessments span a diverse range of techniques, including exit tickets (brief, ungraded questions given at the end of class), quizzes, thought papers, oral preliminary exams in graduate school, and computer-assisted exams. These are widely different in aims, complexity, time, and implementation.
Is one type of benchmark assessment best?
These definitions would seem to suggest that interim tests are of higher quality or more reliable and valid than formative tests. But, as we've seen, it is a mistake to draw that conclusion. In fact, a formative assessment can be a better choice for some settings. Whereas interim assessments tend to be given under highly standardized conditions, formative tests-lacking the high stakes implications-can be administered across a wide variety of technology platforms and settings. Because the purpose is not to compare one child to another, but rather to support the unique needs of each child, formative testing may be the right choice for teachers, schools, districts, and states in many situations where determining student needs and tailoring instruction is the goal.

There is one caveat to be added. Keep in mind that whether a benchmark test is properly designated as interim or formative is determined primarily by use- when the test is administered, how often, under what conditions, where the scores go, and what decisions are made from the data. Indeed, many interim or summative end-of-year tests expose their retired item banks to offer prep courses and practice testing materials. One item in the same test can have different uses.

The goal of this blog was to dig into benchmark testing to clarify the terminology surrounding these tests. We tried to show two very different use cases for benchmark tests. Now that we can speak fluently about formative and interim assessments, we can look forward to the next installments of this blog series where we will look at the different ways that these tests can be administered and used. We will find that it all comes down to what the state, district, school, and teacher hope to accomplish with benchmark testing. And, hopefully, by the time we finish the series, teachers will feel more knowledgeable in making decisions about what kinds of assessments they should choose to best help their students.

Looking for additional resources to support effective assessment in your classroom? Download our Guide to Assessment for Learning!

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
The Value of Benchmarking: What's the Difference Between Interim and Formative Assessments?

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
We're kicking off a series on benchmarking assessment by defining the two primary types: interim and formative tests.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Formative Assessment_ What Do Teachers Need to Know and Do_

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.authors[].name
National Center on Universal Design for Learning

# data[].attributes.headline
Pros and Cons of Teacher-Made Assessments

# data[].attributes.subject
Pros and Cons of Teacher-Made Assessments

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
The Pro’s and Cons of Teacher-Designed Tests - The Edvocate

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Spread the loveClassroom assessments are a big responsibility on educators’ plates. There are plenty of possible formats out there: summative, formative, essay, multiple choice – the list goes on and on. Rather than settling for a form response, many teachers design their own assessments. Whether pre-made or not, when developing classroom assessment tools, teachers should take the following criteria into account:  Purpose: How will it be used?  Impact: How will it impact instruction? Will it shrink the curriculum?  Validity: Is it designed to measure what it was supposed to measure?  Fairness: Will all the students have […]

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Assessment in Education: Top 14 Examples

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Assessments are no longer simply tests that students fret about or neglect to study for. As you may well know, today's environment of heightened accountability for educators has made assessments stressful for not only students, but for teachers as well. Not to worry, though. Assessments can actually be powerful (and even fun!) tools to evaluate how well your students are mastering the material you're covering in class and how well you're doing covering said material. Just follow these 6 simple tips:

1) Begin with the end in mind.

For years, teachers have planned their lessons in a linear fashion. First, we create daily lessons aligned with objectives followed by tests to assess the objectives each lesson addresses. Logical, right? Sure, but this traditional method of teaching and assessing learning may not necessarily be the most effective way to go about things. Instead, try creating an objectives-based assessment first, and then plan activities that target the learning goals the assessment evaluates. This not only ensures that the assessment aligns to your students' learning objectives, but it also allows the assessment to help drive your instruction, meaning you'll know for sure that you've actually taught the material and skills that require mastery.

2) Communicate your purpose.

The purpose of a traditional pencil and paper test may be fairly cut and dry to your students-I answer a bunch of questions and it tells the teacher if I've learned the material-but this may not be the case for a more open-ended assessment such as a project or essay that a student may see as busy work. In order to get the outcome you want from your students, it's important to let them know why they are doing something, including what skills and knowledge you're expecting them to demonstrate mastery of. One of the best ways to do this is to create a clear rubric and give your students a copy prior to beginning work on the assignment. This way, there will be no question as to what you expect your students to demonstrate, and it may even motivate many to perform.

3) Blend assessments into your teaching.

Highly effective educators use assessments to adapt and enhance instruction. Instead of treating assessments as intimidating bookends to curriculum units, successful teachers assess learning more frequently and less formally with the intention of using the results of the assessment as an arrow toward the next steps in the learning process. Create opportunities for non-threatening, formative checkpoints in your instruction. Give deliberate and targeted mini-quizzes that allow you to assess common misconceptions and truly know in real-time where your students are tracking. Craft your quiz by following assessment-writing best practices outlined in this article.

4) Identify and avoid bias.

Since assessments are such an important tool in your teaching toolbox, it's important to ensure that they are as authentic and targeted as possible. This means making an intentional effort to check for any biases that may affect students' performance or invalidate your results. An assessment should be designed in parts that specifically test single, targeted skills, and unintended bias will quickly invalidate your efforts. Although it may seem impossible to create an assessment with zero bias, we can still do our due diligence to identify and remove bias.

The most common types of bias in assessments are those that inadvertently assume knowledge other than the specific skill being tested. This bias can be blatant such as assuming knowledge of a certain cultural group, for instance, or it could be hidden. Hidden biases are often found in the language of the assessment. Teachers must be especially careful not to create written assessments that are on a higher reading level than their students, so that a mathematics assessment, for example, doesn't unintentionally assess how well the student can read the problem as well as the specific skills.

5) Consider non-traditional assessments.

Nothing crushes classroom morale faster than announcing a pop quiz or traditional paper and pencil test. In order to incorporate some fun into your assessment repertoire and keep your students engaged in their learning, you'll need to think outside of the box. Create a game or activity based on specific learning objectives to mix things up while bringing out the very best in your students. Or consider tying in a cross-curricular semester-long project that connects the material together and forces a higher level application of skills. You can pepper in traditional mini-assessments throughout the span of the project to determine where your students are, but the journey here is much more fun.

We all know that assessments provide feedback to us teachers-they let us know which material students have mastered and which material they still need to work on. They also tell us how well we're delivering the necessary information and facilitating learning in our classrooms. Don't forget, though, that assessments can and should provide vital feedback for your students as well. After all, if we want them to be in charge of their learning (and we do!), then we must give them the necessary information to make and reach their learning goals. Reviewing the results of a quiz or test has the potential to help students realize their deficits and detect meaningful patterns in their errors. These are discoveries that are crucial to correcting misconceptions and directing future learning. When planning a review or follow-up on an assessment, keep in mind that sooner is always better. The quicker you provide learners with feedback on their performance, the more meaningful this information will be.

When crafted carefully, assessments can be incredibly powerful tools for learning. Well-planned assessments provide teachers and students with the necessary information to gauge progress and plan the next steps in the learning process. When we assess learning clearly, frequently and without bias, we get a better picture of how well we're doing with instruction and how to best serve our students in the future.

For more, see:

Melissa Maypole is an English Teacher with a Master's of Science in Education, and is a contributor at .
Stay in-the-know with all things EdTech and innovations in learning by signing up to receive the weekly Smart Update

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
6 Tips for Creating Powerful Assessments for Your Students

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Assessments are no longer simply tests that students fret about or neglect to study for. As you may well know, today's environment of heightened accountability for educators has made assessments stressful for not only students, but for teachers as well. Not to worry, though. Assessments can actually be powerful (and even fun!)

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
How to write good self-assessment questions-2 (2)

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Unlike traditional assessments, authentic assessments foster disciplinary behaviours and ways of thinking and problem solving used by professionals in the field. For example, authentic assessments in engineering would demonstrate students' increasing ability to think and problem-solve in ways that resembles how experts in the engineering field think and act.

Assignments are and can only be authentic when they meaningfully connect with students beyond the assigned grade at the end of their obligatory participation in the project (Frey, Schmitt & Allen, 2012). Finding and celebrating that value for students, past the grade appearing on their transcripts, is vital to authentic education.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Unlike traditional assessments, authentic assessments foster disciplinary behaviours and ways of thinking and problem solving used by professionals in the field. For example, authentic assessments in engineering would demonstrate students' increasing ability to think and problem-solve in ways that resembles how experts in the engineering field think and act.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Online Curricula and Solutions | Imagine Learning

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Get back-to-school product help. imagine empower potential learning Solutions that inspire boundless possibilities: every day, every student Core Curriculum Explore Core Solutions Courseware Discover Courseware Products Supplemental and Intervention Find Supplemental Solutions Instructional School Services View Virtual School Services In a year, Imagine Learning serves: 15 million students 400,000+ teachers 38,000+ U.S.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
ClassDojo helps teachers, parents, and students build amazing classroom communities.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Login or sign up for free on Socrative - your assessment partner for real-time assessments and instant insights.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
All editions

Switch from class to assignment to student in just a few clicks

Track student progress in your gradebook and export scores to your school's student information system (SIS)

Keep grading consistent and transparent with rubrics displayed alongside student work

Store frequently used phrases in a customizable comment bank

Prepare and schedule tasks, assignments, and quizzes across multiple classes

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Classroom Management Tools & Resources - Google for Education

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
All editions Switch from class to assignment to student in just a few clicks Track student progress in your gradebook and export scores to your school's student information system (SIS) Keep grading consistent and transparent with rubrics displayed alongside student work Store frequently used phrases in a customizable comment bank Prepare and schedule tasks, assignments, and quizzes across multiple classes

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Easily create beautiful interactive video lessons for your students you can integrate right into your LMS. Track students' progress with hassle-free analytics as you flip your classroom!

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
This is the place to be if you're trying to participate in a live poll