# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
A performance task is any learning activity or assessment that asks students to perform to demonstrate their knowledge, understanding and proficiency. Performance tasks yield a tangible product and/or performance that serve as evidence of learning. Unlike a selected-response item (e.g., multiple-choice or matching) that asks students to select from given alternatives, a performance task presents a situation that calls for learners to apply their learning in context.

Performance tasks are routinely used in certain disciplines, such as visual and performing arts, physical education, and career-technology where performance is the natural focus of instruction. However, such tasks can (and should) be used in every subject area and at all grade levels.

Characteristics of Performance Tasks

While any performance by a learner might be considered a performance task (e.g., tying a shoe or drawing a picture), it is useful to distinguish between the application of specific and discrete skills (e.g., dribbling a basketball) from genuine performance in context (e.g., playing the game of basketball in which dribbling is one of many applied skills). Thus, when I use the term performance tasks, I am referring to more complex and authentic performances.

Here are seven general characteristics of performance tasks:

Performance tasks call for the application of knowledge and skills, not just recall or recognition.

In other words, the learner must actually use their learning to perform. These tasks typically yield a tangible product (e.g., graphic display, blog post) or performance (e.g., oral presentation, debate) that serve as evidence of their understanding and proficiency.

Performance tasks are open-ended and typically do not yield a single, correct answer.

Unlike selected- or brief constructed- response items that seek a "right" answer, performance tasks are open-ended. Thus, there can be different responses to the task that still meet success criteria. These tasks are also open in terms of process; i.e., there is typically not a single way of accomplishing the task.

Performance tasks establish novel and authentic contexts for performance.

These tasks present realistic conditions and constraints for students to navigate. For example, a mathematics task would present students with a never-before-seen problem that cannot be solved by simply "plugging in" numbers into a memorized algorithm. In an authentic task, students need to consider goals, audience, obstacles, and options to achieve a successful product or performance. Authentic tasks have a side benefit - they convey purpose and relevance to students, helping learners see a reason for putting forth effort in preparing for them.

Performance tasks provide evidence of understanding via transfer.

Understanding is revealed when students can transfer their learning to new and "messy" situations. Note that not all performances require transfer. For example, playing a musical instrument by following the notes or conducting a step-by-step science lab require minimal transfer. In contrast, rich performance tasks are open-ended and call "higher-order thinking" and the thoughtful application of knowledge and skills in context, rather than a scripted or formulaic performance.

Performance tasks are multi-faceted.

Unlike traditional test "items" that typically assess a single skill or fact, performance tasks are more complex. They involve multiple steps and thus can be used to assess several standards or outcomes.

Performance tasks can integrate two or more subjects as well as 21st century skills.

In the wider world beyond the school, most issues and problems do not present themselves neatly within subject area "silos." While performance tasks can certainly be content-specific (e.g., mathematics, science, social studies), they also provide a vehicle for integrating two or more subjects and/or weaving in 21 st century skills and Habits of Mind. One natural way of integrating subjects is to include a reading, research, and/or communication component (e.g., writing, graphics, oral or technology presentation) to tasks in content areas like social studies, science, health, business, health/physical education. Such tasks encourage students to see meaningful learning as integrated, rather than something that occurs in isolated subjects and segments.

Performances on open-ended tasks are evaluated with established criteria and rubrics.

Since these tasks do not yield a single answer, student products and performances should be judged against appropriate criteria aligned to the goals being assessed. Clearly defined and aligned criteria enable defensible, judgment-based evaluation. More detailed scoring rubrics, based on criteria, are used to profile varying levels of understanding and proficiency.

Let's look at a few examples of performance tasks that reflect these characteristics:

Botanical Design (upper elementary)

Your landscape architectural firm is competing for a grant to redesign a public space in your community and to improve its appearance and utility. The goal of the grant is to create a community area where people can gather to enjoy themselves and the native plants of the region. The grant also aspires to educate people as to the types of trees, shrubs, and flowers that are native to the region.
Your team will be responsible for selecting a public place in your area that you can improve for visitors and members of the community. You will have to research the area selected, create a scale drawing of the layout of the area you plan to redesign, propose a new design to include native plants of your region, and prepare educational materials that you will incorporate into the design.

Check out the full performance task at: http://dlrn.us?bdrhs

Evaluate the Claim (upper elementary/ middle school)

The Pooper Scooper Kitty Litter Company claims that their litter is 40% more absorbent than other brands. You are a Consumer Advocates researcher who has been asked to evaluate their claim. Develop a plan for conducting the investigation. Your plan should be specific enough so that the lab investigators could follow it to evaluate the claim.

Moving to South America (middle school)

Since they know that you have just completed a unit on South America, your aunt and uncle have asked you to help them decide where they should live when your aunt starts her new job as a consultant to a computer company operating throughout the region. They can choose to live anywhere in the continent.

Your task is to research potential home locations by examining relevant geographic, climatic, political, economic, historic, and cultural considerations. Then, write a letter to your aunt and uncle with your recommendation about a place for them to move. Be sure to explain your decision with reasons and evidence from your research.
Accident Scene Investigation (high school)
You are a law enforcement officer who has been hired by the District Attorney's Office to set-up an accident scene investigation unit. Your first assignment is to work with a reporter from the local newspaper to develop a series of information pieces to inform the community about the role and benefits of applying forensic science to accident investigations.

Your team will share this information with the public through the various media resources owned and operated by the newspaper.

Check out the full performance task at: http://dlrn.us?qfl3p

In sum, performance tasks like these can be used to engage students in meaningful learning. Since rich performance tasks establish authentic contexts that reflect genuine applications of knowledge, students are often motivated and engaged by such "real world" challenges.
See original post at: http://www.performancetask.com/what-is-a-performance-task/
When used as assessments, performance tasks enable teachers to gauge student understanding and proficiency with complex processes (e.g., research, problem solving, and writing), not just measure discrete knowledge. They are well suited to integrating subject areas and linking content knowledge with the 21st Century Skills such as critical thinking, creativity, collaboration, communication, and technology use. Moreover, performance-based assessment can also elicit Habits of Mind, such as precision and perseverance.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Performance Task Blog Series # 1 - What is a performance task?

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
A performance task is any learning activity or assessment that asks students to perform to demonstrate their knowledge, understanding and proficiency. Performance tasks yield a tangible product and/or performance that serve as evidence of learning.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
If it takes a village to raise a child, how large a community does it take to transform an entire education system?

That's the question that a consortium called Deeper Learning Dozen (DLD) is attempting to answer by bringing together a dozen superintendents from districts across the United States and Canada committed to creating equitable, accessible deeper learning experiences for their students and teachers.

The DLD founded by Harvard Graduate School of Education Professor Jal Mehta and educator John Watkins, Ed.D.'97, in part based on Mehta's decade-long hunt for innovative examples of deeper learning - educational experiences where students develop mastery, identity, and creativity.

"There are a lot of teachers and some great schools doing great work around deeper learning, but very few examples at the district level," Mehta says. While they are harder to spot, there are district leaders interested in working to upend traditional learning environments, and Mehta and Watkins selected 12 to come together as a network, to share deeper learning experiences, refine new ideas, and to scale change.

"Jal and I both came in with the aspiration of fundamental district transformation and the reality that that has never worked and is incredibly difficult to do," Watkins says. "We didn't think we had the answer, but we thought the best way to tackle the problem was to get together a group of like-minded superintendents and their leadership teams and see what we could learn together."
>> Watch a video of the third Deeper Learning Dozen Community of Practice Convening held in Cowichan, British Columbia in 2019
Through initial funding from the Hewlett Foundation, and current funding from the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, the Grantmakers for Thriving Youth Policy Working Group, and the Stuart Family Foundation, the DLD originally began with a plan to work with 12 districts for three years. Now, the program is entering its fourth year with no plans to slow down. The group is also starting to share the impact its partners are having with folks beyond the dozen with the release of a new podcast.

"The way schools are organized is not aligned with the best of what we know about learning," Mehta says. "Schools were designed to sort, batch-process, and reproduce racial and socio-economic privilege. We're working with people to transform and humanize schools and the larger institutions that house them."

Three original DLD partners - the Abbotsford School District in British Columbia, Revere (Massachusetts) Public Schools, and Jeffco Public Schools in Colorado - offer prime examples of the innovative efforts of district leaders working to transform their schools. Mehta says the superintendents in each of these districts reflect "the desire and courage to do something new."

"We said, there's an approach to help you realize what you already feel inside, and they were ready for the kinds of things we were saying," Mehta says. "We didn't have all the answers, and we learned a lot from them, and they from each other."

Together, DLD partners are guided by three distinct principles: that equity (and inequity) is structural; that adult and student learning happens in symmetry; and that leadership accelerates the emergence of deeper learning. A look inside the work done by the leaders in Abbotsford, Revere, and Jeffco show how these ideas have been put into action to transform their school systems.

Abbotsford School District

About 45 minutes east of Vancouver you'll find Abbotsford, British Columbia, one of the most ethnically diverse cities in Canada. For the last decade, its schools have become known as innovators in transforming their education system, in particular by ensuring that their community diversity is reflected in student learning.

For a decade, Abbotsford Superintendent Kevin Godden has been working to completely overhaul the district's curriculum, which he described as "a mile wide and an inch thick," to give students a chance to really explore topics about which they are passionate.

"One of the knocks on the curriculum was that the learning outcomes were too many and they weren't really connected to the lives of our kids," Godden says. Teachers now have the time to dive deep into the curriculum, and students can discover areas that are topical and meaningful.

One of the significant ways the school has accomplished this is by weaving Indigenous history and culture into all subject matters. Those efforts were spurred by Canada's Truth and Reconciliation Commission, which encouraged not only incorporating Indigenous curriculum but to utilize Indigenous teaching methods and consult with Indigenous elders.

While the curriculum helps Indigenous students find greater connection and meaning in their learning, Godden says it has supported all students in finding new ways to learn. As a former teacher himself, Godden says he is thrilled with how the Indigenous curriculum has transformed schools in Abbotsford, but the change is also a stark reminder of the DLD principle that inequity is structural to all school systems.

"As a former teacher, it's with great sadness that I followed the old curriculum and taught Indigenous students and feel I did them a tremendous disservice," Godden says. "We have these structures we've built over time and because we're in it, we don't notice, and we create these inequities. Unless we can be thoughtful about it, we can't disrupt it."

Today, Abbotsford works closely with the Indigenous population of the Sumas First Nation and Matsqui First Nation, on whose land the schools are located. Teachers are trained to deliver Indigenous curriculum and, through funding by the Canadian government to support this work, the district features an Indigenous Education Department, comprised of Indigenous administrators and cultural support workers who serve as guides for teachers to add historic and local context to lessons.

"We've been on this journey, in particular in British Columbia, about what it means to make learning more meaningful and experiential, and not hold kids victim to a school system created for the 19th century," says Godden.

The DLD has been an important resource supporting Abbotsford's work to deeply engage students and teachers in disrupting past learning practices, but it has also been a tremendous experience for Godden personally. He credits the DLD with helping him bring the love he had for teaching into his role as a district leader.

"I count myself a pretty capable teacher, but I also lamented the joy I lost when I stopped teaching kids," Godden says. "Thinking like a teacher is what the DLD brought back to me, and to bring that same joy to my interaction with my principals and my board."

Revere Public Schools

Revere Public Schools in Massachusetts has enjoyed nearly a quarter century of steady leadership. Dianne Kelly is only the third superintendent of the district in that time, having started off as a high school math teacher 27 years ago. This past year she finished her sixth as superintendent.

Over that time, the district has revitalized teacher engagement, revamping everything from educator evaluations to career ladders for teachers, and their efforts to get teachers a voice at the table in decision making aligned perfectly with the DLD.

"It's created a culture of stability and a common vision," Kelly says, crediting her predecessors for helping to establish the foundation for a community that embraces teacher leadership. But under Kelly, educator empowerment has truly thrived.

For her, it was natural then that the DLD principle of adult learning and student learning being symmetrical would resonate so strongly, and she says that after all the work the district had done, joining the DLD showed her how much more they could be doing.

When students are engaged in deeper learning, their voice is at the center of their learning, giving them opportunities to direct their learning to topics that interest them, she says. Teachers had started to receive similar choice, like being able to select which professional development topics to cover over the course of the school year.

"But we hadn't explored it as deeply at the adult level," Kelly says. "We hadn't embraced fully the whole idea of deeper learning, of exploring and delving deeply into a topic."

What they came up with was a new program called Colleague 2 Colleague (C2C). Teachers who are experts in an area of focus can apply to become consulting teachers. If selected, they are relieved of their academic duties for two years and are partnered with participating teachers to focus on a particular topic.

While many schools offer programs like math and literacy coaches, C2C is unique in both its expectations for teachers and its scope. While coaches often move on to administrative positions, consulting teachers intentionally are able to return to the classroom after two years, where they can bring with them the new ideas and resources developed as consultants.

The program also covers a wider variety of fields, like a social worker who recently consulted with teachers to think about how to embed mindfulness in their lessons. "To extend to other ideas and areas is a unique piece of it, and for teachers to have the leeway to explore," Kelly says.

That freedom has been a large part of the success of the program, and Kelly credits her teachers who have gone in front of the school committee over the years to share why it's been such a rewarding experience for both themselves and their students, helping convince the district to expand the program.

Kelly says her experience in the DLD gave her important insights into how to convince folks who are often skeptical at first about deeper learning.

"It's really helpful to hear what other superintendents' experiences are and how they've overcome challenges. The larger challenge around deeper learning work is that it's nontraditional. It doesn't feel familiar to school committees and parents," she says. "It takes a level of patience to make something take hold."

Jeffco Public Schools

The Jefferson County School District in Colorado is a study in contrasts. It serves a wide geographical area, from the western edge of Denver to the rural foothills of the Rockies.

The schools that make up the district are just as varied, including neighborhood schools that uniquely reflect their communities, to charter schools focused on Montessori and Core Knowledge curriculum, to option schools focused on experiential learning and technical training.

To say it is a challenge to get all these different schools to agree on anything is an understatement according to former Jeffco Superintendent Jason Glass. So, as he thought about how to transform the instructional model of the district, he knew he wouldn't be able to simply hand down a directive.

"There is a longstanding tradition of site-based decision making in Jeffco," says Glass. "There is a huge variety of different instructional philosophies operating in the district, and the community appreciates that diversity, so we needed a way to talk about changing the experience of the students that transcended the different approaches."

What Glass landed on was the daily student task - that time when the teacher hands work over to the student, typically to solve a problem or practice a concept. It's a feature of every school day, whether in a traditional public school or a Montessori classroom, and a moment that could be changed across the district to provide students more engaging, authentic learning.

Through his Transforming the Task initiative, Glass asked teachers at every school to think about student activities, like worksheets that mostly encouraged memorization or repetitive procedures, and turn them into something more valuable.

"We talked about what was under the hood of [daily] student tasks and how we could change the work into a project-based and problem-based model, and intentionally include deeper learning skills," Glass says, including communication, entrepreneurship, innovation, and a student's own life experiences.

Glass' efforts at the district level are a prime example of the third principle of the DLD, that leadership accelerates emergence. Glass says rather than forcing change on everyone, he sought out examples where deeper learning had successfully been instituted and used those schools and leaders as examples and inspiration for others in the district.

"There was no way we could mandate things from the district level and think it would happen," says Glass, who, in a new role as commissioner of education for the Kentucky Department of Education, is continuing as the first state level member of the DLD. "The idea of emergence and solutions coming from the practitioners helped us reframe our work to support and highlight the places making breakthroughs."

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
How Deeper Learning Can Transform Schools

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
If it takes a village to raise a child, how large a community does it take to transform an entire education system? That's the question that a consortium called Deeper Learning Dozen (DLD) is attempting to answer by bringing together a dozen superintendents from districts across the United States and Canada committed to creating equitable, accessible deeper learning experiences for their students and teachers.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Assessment for Learning Ep2: Assessment of Learning vs. Assessment for Learning

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
"Support Every Child, Reach Every Student" is the goal outlined by the Ontario Ministry of Education. The goal of education is to improve student learning and prepare students for the world beyond the classroom. Learning takes many forms; however, in the classroom learning is guided by effective and well-planned assessments to guide student learning.

Assessment is much more than receiving a sticker for a job well done or a game on your report card. In fact, this type of assessment does little to motivate students intrinsically and provides no feedback for improvement. In order to improve, students require meaningful feedback on an ongoing basis in the form of next steps. On a daily basis, teachers must plan meaningful activities which provide evidence of student learning and progress and must somehow record these learning through the use of observation checklists, anecdotal notes, rubric, inventories and more.

There are three types of assessment and three overarching goals for these assessments. Teachers must integrate these types of assessment into their classrooms on a daily basis to inform instruction and guide students to reach their full potential. The three types of assessment are outlined in the "Growing Success" document on page 31.

Effective teachers use a variety of assessments on an ongoing basis.
Assessment for learning Below is a breakdown of the three types of assessment - assessment AS learning, assessment FOR learning, and assessment OF learning and various assessment tools that teachers can use to gather data for each type of assessment.

Diagnostic Assessment (ASSESSMENT FOR LEARNING)

Diagnostic assessments are carried out at the beginning of the school year or at the beginning of a unit to determine a child's strengths, needs and areas of interest. These assessments provide feedback for future learning. Diagnostic assessment tools for reading include but are not limited to... Formative Assessment (ASSESSMENT AS LEARNING)

Formative assessments are ongoing assessments that are carried out throughout a unit to assess a child's progress and to help teachers plan future lessons. Formative assessments may be conducted by the teacher, student or a peer. Formative assessment tools for reading include but are not limited to...

Think-Pair-Share
Guided reading groups
Oral Reading (with teacher or peer)
Word Sorts (word families, prefix, suffixes)
BAS, PM Benchmark or Running Records
Comprehension worksheets or activities
Student-Teacher Conferences
Reading Journal Responses
Quizzes
Exit Slips

Word Recognition Tests
BAS, PM Benchmark or Running Records
Oral Reading
Observational Notes
Word Wall Word Recognition
Sound/Letter Recognition
Reading Checklists
KWL Charts

Summative Assessment (ASSESSMENT OF LEARNING)

Summative assessments occur at the end of a unit to get a better understanding of what the child learned throughout the unit in comparison to the curriculum expectations. Summative evaluations are carried out to provide a mark for a child's report card. Summative assessment tools for reading include but are not limited to...

Reading Portfolio
BAS, PM Benchmark or Running Records
Reading Reflections
Book Reports
KWL Charts
Mind Maps
Dramatizations

The purpose of assessment is to improve student learning. Here is a diagram of how assessment has occurred in the past with ASSESSMENT OF LEARNING occurring most often. The second image is a reconfigured pyramid to show ASSESSMENT OF learning occurring the least- with ASSESSMENT AS LEARNING taking place in the classroom most often.

"Ongoing descriptive feedback linked specifically to the learning goals and success criteria is a powerful tool for improving student learning and is fundamental to building a culture of learning within the classroom " (Growing Success, 2010, p. 34). Assessments must include effective and meaningful feedback to challenge students to grow academically. To ensure student success, teachers must make success criteria known to students prior to assessments in a language the students understand.

Various assessment tools can be used for various reasons; it is the way teachers will collect, analyze and react to the data that dictates which type of assessment the teacher should carry out at a given time in the classroom.

To ensure teachers are using assessment tools (rubrics, checklists, observation checklists and more), teachers are encouraged to collaborate with one another through teacher moderation to assess and adjust assessments of reading. When teachers collaborate with one another, their teaching practices improve and so too does student learning.

When preparing a lesson for students, ask yourself:
1. What is it that I want students to learn?
2. How will I assess student learning?
3. What is the purpose of the assessment tool I am using? (AS, FOR, OF learning)
4. How will I support future learning for all students?
5. What will I do with the data I collect through the assessment?
6. How can I make my expectations and the success criteria known to students?

Now that you know more about the different types of assessment and the purposes of assessment:
1. What do you feel is the most important type of assessment and why?
2. How could you use the same assessment tool in your classroom as assessment for, assessment as and assessment of learning?
3. What is one thing that you would still like to learn more about and who could you speak to or where could you go to find out more?

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
"Support Every Child, Reach Every Student" is the goal outlined by the Ontario Ministry of Education. The goal of education is to improve student learning and prepare students for the world beyond the classroom. Learning takes many forms; however, in the classroom learning is guided by effective and well-planned assessments to guide student learning.

# data[].attributes.body
McTighe, J. (2015). "What is a performance task?"

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
A performance task is any learning activity or assessment that asks students to perform to demonstrate their knowledge, understanding and proficiency. Performance tasks yield a tangible product and/or performance that serve as evidence of learning. Unlike a selected-response item (e.g., multiple-choice or matching) that asks students to select from given alternatives, a performance task presents a situation that calls for learners to apply their learning in context.

Performance tasks are routinely used in certain disciplines, such as visual and performing arts, physical education, and career-technology where performance is the natural focus of instruction. However, such tasks can (and should) be used in every subject area and at all grade levels.

Characteristics of Performance Tasks
Here are seven general characteristics of performance tasks:
Performance tasks call for the application of knowledge and skills, not just recall or recognition.

While any performance by a learner might be considered a performance task (e.g., tying a shoe or drawing a picture), it is useful to distinguish between the application of specific and discrete skills (e.g., dribbling a basketball) from genuine performance in context (e.g., playing the game of basketball in which dribbling is one of many applied skills). Thus, when I use the term performance tasks, I am referring to more complex and authentic performances.
2. Performance tasks are open-ended and typically do not yield a single, correct answer.
In other words, the learner must actually use their learning to perform. These tasks typically yield a tangible product (e.g., graphic display, blog post) or performance (e.g., oral presentation, debate) that serve as evidence of their understanding and proficiency.
3. Performance tasks establish novel and authentic contexts for performance.
Unlike selected- or brief constructed- response items that seek a "right" answer, performance tasks are open-ended. Thus, there can be different responses to the task that still meet success criteria. These tasks are also open in terms of process; i.e., there is typically not a single way of accomplishing the task.
4. Performance tasks provide evidence of understanding via transfer.
These tasks present realistic conditions and constraints for students to navigate. For example, a mathematics task would present students with a never-before-seen problem that cannot be solved by simply "plugging in" numbers into a memorized algorithm. In an authentic task, students need to consider goals, audience, obstacles, and options to achieve a successful product or performance. Authentic tasks have a side benefit - they convey purpose and relevance to students, helping learners see a reason for putting forth effort in preparing for them.
5. Performance tasks are multi-faceted.
Understanding is revealed when students can transfer their learning to new and "messy" situations. Note that not all performances require transfer. For example, playing a musical instrument by following the notes or conducting a step-by-step science lab require minimal transfer. In contrast, rich performance tasks are open-ended and call "higher-order thinking" and the thoughtful application of knowledge and skills in context, rather than a scripted or formulaic performance.
6. Performance tasks can integrate two or more subjects as well as 21st century skills.
Unlike traditional test "items" that typically assess a single skill or fact, performance tasks are more complex. They involve multiple steps and thus can be used to assess several standards or outcomes.
7. Performances on open-ended tasks are evaluated with established criteria and rubrics.
In the wider world beyond the school, most issues and problems do not present themselves neatly within subject area "silos." While performance tasks can certainly be content-specific (e.g., mathematics, science, social studies), they also provide a vehicle for integrating two or more subjects and/or weaving in 21st century skills and Habits of Mind. One natural way of integrating subjects is to include a reading, research, and/or communication component (e.g., writing, graphics, oral or technology presentation) to tasks in content areas like social studies, science, health, business, health/physical education. Such tasks encourage students to see meaningful learning as integrated, rather than something that occurs in isolated subjects and segments.

Since these tasks do not yield a single answer, student products and performances should be judged against appropriate criteria aligned to the goals being assessed. Clearly defined and aligned criteria enable defensible, judgment-based evaluation. More detailed scoring rubrics, based on criteria, are used to profile varying levels of understanding and proficiency.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
A performance task is any learning activity or assessment that asks students to perform to demonstrate their knowledge, understanding and proficiency. Performance tasks yield a tangible product...

# data[].attributes.body
https://blog.definedlearning.com/assessing-deeper-learning

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
The profound disruptions to traditional schooling over the past two years leave educators with unique opportunities to redefine school. Though it may be tempting to try to teach faster to "catch up" on missed content, we contend that the best course of action is to slow down and go into greater depth to ensure that students learn the most important ideas and skills deeply and are able to apply them in meaningful ways.

Others have written about the instructional approaches needed to achieve deep learning (McTighe & Silver, 2020; Fullan, Quinn, & McEachen, 2019; Mehta & Fine, 2019). But it is especially important to consider assessment when thinking about deeper learning.

Deeper Learning, Unpacked

The National Research Council defines deeper learning as a "process through which an individual becomes capable of taking what was learned in one situation and applying it to a new situation". We propose that modern education should prepare students to be able to apply their learning to new situations-in other words, to transfer. Grant Wiggins, co-author of Understanding by Design, highlights that transfer exists when a student makes use of their learning in a time, place, and circumstance different from that in which the learning first occurred. But how, exactly, will we know that students have learned deeply?

This question reflects an if-then logic: If we believe that preparing students to transfer their learning is a fundamental aim of modern education, then we need to collect the necessary evidence to determine the extent to which students can demonstrate deeper learning through transfer. An unfortunate consequence of the standards-based testing movement is that many schools teach and test grade-level standards in isolation using multiple-choice or institute formalized "test prep" assessments that mimic the format of standardized accountability tests. While such assessment methods may provide measures of students' acquisition of knowledge and basic skills, they don't tell us much about deep understanding and transfer.

We contend that transfer of learning is shown best through performance assessments that require students to perform with their learning. Well-designed performance tasks can assess multiple standards and cut across subject areas, prompting complex thinking and a tangible product or performance that allows students to apply their learning. An athlete playing in a game needs to know the rules of the sport, apply the skills, and also display strategic understanding. Though a player could demonstrate knowledge of the rules on a paper and pencil test or through practice drills, the actual game requires the player to "put everything together" on the field. Similarly, effective performance assessments require knowledge, skills, and strategy, applied in context.

Consider the three examples of performance assessment tasks in Figure 1. What must a student do to successfully complete each task? How do these assessments differ from selected-response tests?

Evaluate a Claim

The Pooper Scooper Kitty Litter Company claims that their litter is 40 percent more absorbent than other brands. You are a consumer-advocates researcher who has been asked to evaluate their claim. Develop a plan for conducting the investigation. Explain how the design of your investigation will enable you to evaluate the claim.
Make Your Case
You have an idea that you believe will make your school better, and you want to convince school leaders that they should act on your idea. Identify your audience (e.g., principal, PTSA board, the student government association) and do the following:

1. Describe your idea.

2. Explain why and how it will improve the school.

3. Develop a plan for acting on your idea.

Your idea and plan can be communicated to your target audience in a letter, an e-mail, or a presentation. Be sure to choose the means of communication that is most appropriate for your audience and purpose. What's the Pattern?

Part 1 - Interpret the data on incidents of COVID-19 infections and associated mortality rates on each continent for the past three months. (Students are given data sets to analyze.) Prepare a chart, podcast, or newspaper article to help people understand any patterns you detect.

Part 2 - Select four countries and compare their governmental policies enacted to mitigate the infection's spread. Provide an explanation of the link between their policies and the data on infections and mortality rates. Prepare a newspaper article, podcast, or vodcast to present your conclusions.

These examples reveal four characteristics of performance tasks for assessing deeper learning:

1. Performance assessment tasks call for students to (1) apply their learning in some context, and (2) explain what they have done. Whether a task calls for a written response (e.g., an academic essay or blog post), a spoken response (e.g., an audio recording or a live debate), or a visual or physical communication (e.g., an infographic or an interpretive dance), students need to convey their reasoning, justify their decisions, and support their interpretations.

2. Any performance assessment of deeper learning needs to engage the student in transferring their learning to a novel situation, different from that in which it was initially learned. Benjamin Bloom and his colleagues described this application category in their Taxonomy of the Cognitive Domain in 1954:

3. An effective performance assessment task engages students in complex thinking. We recommend the use of Depth of Knowledge, a four-level framework developed by Norman Webb and his colleagues (2005) for analyzing the cognitive complexity of any task. When the goal is assessing deeper learning, the tasks need to operate at Levels 3 and 4, which require higher-order thinking such as analysis, interpretation, investigation, problem solving, argumentation, and design. Use multiple-choice and short answer test and quiz items (at Levels 1 and 2) to assess factual knowledge and discrete skills, and reserve performance tasks to assess deeper learning.

4. The best performance tasks establish a "real world" context for application when learners can effectively apply (i.e., transfer) their learning to realistic situations.

Setting Goals and Tasks

Authentic tasks reflect a worthy goal, a target audience, realistic constraints, a tangible product or performance, and success criteria. They can vary considerably in terms of their time frame, complexity, nature of the products/performances, and whether the targeted content and skills are discipline-specific or interdisciplinary. Such performance tasks can range from conventional essays to open-ended mathematics problems to scientific experiments to a research project to tackle a community-based issue. Wiggins and McTighe offer a practical framework captured in the acronym GRASPS that can be used to develop an authentic context for an assessment task (see Figure 2).

GRASPS

- A meaningful R ole for the student,

- An authentic (or simulated) A udience,

- A contextualized S ituation that involves real-world application,

- Student-generated culminating Product and/or P erformance, and

- S uccess criteria by which student products and performances will be evaluated as evidence of learning.

Figure 3 presents an example of a performance assessment task used as part of the study of a state or

province. Can you recognize the GRASPS elements contained within the task prompt?

State Tour

A group of six exchange students is visiting your school for one month as part of an international exchange program. The principal has asked your class to plan and budget a four-day tour of [ your state or province] to help the visitors understand the state's history, geography, economy, and cultural elements. You should prepare a written tour itinerary, including an explanation of why each site was selected. Include a map tracing the route for the four-day tour. Optional extension: Include a budget for the trip.

Attending to Validity and Reliability

The authentic nature of performance tasks is often motivating to students. However, when these tasks are used for assessment purposes, they are obligated to meet measurement standards of validity and reliability. Performance assessment tasks must enable educators to answer key questions:

Does a performance task provide the necessary and sufficient evidence to enable teachers (and others) to determine the degree of deep learning of a student?

Does the student's performance provide evidence that they can effectively apply their learning to new situations?

Can we trust that a student's performance is not influenced (whether positively or negatively) by raw chance, poor construction of the assessment itself, implicit biases, cheating, or inconsistency in the teacher's evaluation of students' work?

A common concern about the validity and reliability of performance assessments is that their scoring is "too subjective." While this can be a potential problem-especially with poorly designed tasks and scoring rubrics-the challenge is not insurmountable. After all, we use judgment-based evaluations routinely in state writing assessments, AP art portfolio reviews, judging in Olympic events, and when we rate a restaurant. Indeed, there are well-established practices that enable performance assessments and judgment-based evaluations to function fairly, consistently, and defensibly.

Deeper Learning for School and Life

There's a cartoon that shows a recent graduate interviewing for a job. Across the desk is a besuited business executive who has just asked a question of the owl-eyed youngster. On the executive's face is an expression of dismay. The caption-spoken by the recent graduate-reads something like this: "Can you give me four choices?" The comic is a satirical commentary on one of the unintended consequences of high-stakes standardized tests. If we feed students a steady diet of multiple-choice questions throughout their school careers, should we be surprised that they (and the graduates they become) will frame problems in terms of a set of selectable "answers"? The stone-faced expression on the prospective employer's face belies his experience in the "real world," where issues and problems are often complex and do not lend themselves to fixed-response solutions. Today's students need deeper learning to successfully navigate the opportunities and challenges they will face in the world beyond school. Achieving this goal will require shifts in curriculum, instruction, and especially, assessment practices.

As Grant Wiggins reminds us, "The point of school is not to get good at school but to effectively parlay what we learned in school in other learning and in life." Deeper learning enables transfer. Performance assessments give us the evidence that students are indeed learning deeply-and are able to apply that learning in school and life.
*Article originally published in ASCD Express
About the authors:

Jay McTighe has a wealth of experience and a rich and varied career in education. He served as director of the Maryland Assessment Consortium, a collaboration of school districts working to develop and share formative performance assessments, and helped lead standards-based reforms at the Maryland State Department of Education.

Chris Gareis is a Professor of Educational Leadership in the School of Education at the College of William & Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia. He also conducts research and development on current issues, including classroom-based assessment, teacher preparation, mentoring, teacher evaluation, teacher compensation, strategic planning, and program evaluation.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Disruptions to traditional schooling leave educators with unique opportunities to redefine school. The best course of action is to slow down and go into greater depth to ensure that students learn the most important ideas and skills deeply and are able to apply them in meaningful ways.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
In an unprecedented move, the president announced on March 20 that standardized testing requirements for states will not be enforced for the current academic year. This means teachers won't have to spend instructional time on standardized test preparation. At countless schools, test prep involves drill-and-kill exercises and students taking numerous district tests that purportedly assess their likelihood of passing the state-mandated test.

The suspension of standardized tests also means that many students will not experience test anxiety before, during, or after testing. Experts suggest that up to 20 percent of students have severe test anxiety, which typically starts in elementary school about the time children become aware of high-stakes tests and their importance to adults. On his first day of third grade, my son's teacher announced to the class that if they didn't pass a test in the spring, they wouldn't go to fourth grade with their friends. Sadly, my adult son still remembers third grade as the year he stopped loving school.

More Freedom to Assess for Transfer

With a temporary reprieve from state-mandated testing, educators have the freedom to assess students in ways that support online learning. I'm not talking about traditional paper-and-pencil tests administered via computer. Multiple-choice, true/false, matching, and many short-answer tests are almost useless outside of schoolhouse walls because students simply look up the answers and plug them in.

I am referring to performance tasks. Jay McTighe's definition of a performance task is "any learning activity or assessment that asks students to perform to demonstrate their knowledge, understanding, and proficiency." Performance tasks allow students to show what they remember and understand by applying their knowledge; well-designed tasks also require students to analyze, synthesize, and evaluate, the highest levels of Bloom's taxonomy.

Another viable option is project-based learning (PBL), where students engage in an authentic challenge and generate a product that demonstrates their learning. Projects address specific standards or objectives and involve deeper learning and 21st century skills such as critical thinking and communication. Evidence from 20 research studies indicates that PBL can promote learning in all four major subject areas.

There are also standardized measures that schools and districts use to gauge students' deeper learning. The College and Work Readiness Assessment (CWRA) for secondary students and Integrated Performance Task (IPT) for fourth and seventh graders are examples of challenging, document-based performance tasks.

The table below shows what performance tasks, PBL, the CWRA, and the IPT typically assess:

Unit Performance Task (e.g., prompted writing essay, math word problem, science experiment, letter to an elected official)

Specific content standard(s) in a subject area

Project-Based Learning/Complex Performance Task (e.g., social studies research project, architectural or book design, science fair entry)

Multiple content standards across one or more subjects, higher-level thinking skills

College and Work Readiness Assessment
Analysis & problem solving, writing effectiveness, writing mechanics

Integrated Performance Task
Critical thinking, problem solving, written communication

Now is a Good Time to Assess for Transfer

The unfortunate circumstances we now find ourselves in present us with an excellent opportunity to enhance teaching and learning by implementing more effective activities and assessments. Time needed for students to complete work in class is no longer a limitation, which gives teachers more flexibility in what they assign. Indeed, every assignment is "take-home," so performance tasks and PBL and are better options for covering content while simultaneously allowing students to practice and demonstrate higher-order thinking.

A significant advantage of performance tasks and PBL is that they have the potential to bolster student self-assessment in ways traditional schoolwork cannot. When assigning long-term projects or tasks, teachers should require students to review and revise their work periodically so the final product is as good as it can be. A teacher could evaluate and provide students with feedback on drafts or unfinished products; however, learning to self-critique and improve one's own work involves higher-order skills that will serve students well in the future.

For more information on assessing for transfer, here are links to three websites to get you started.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Assessing Deeper Learning in Remote Education through Performance Tasks and Project-Based Learning - Learning Personalized

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
In an unprecedented move, the president announced on March 20 that standardized testing requirements for states will not be enforced for the current academic year. This means teachers won't have to spend instructional time on standardized test preparation. At countless schools, test prep involves drill-and-kill exercises and students taking numerous district tests that purportedly assess their likelihood of passing the state-mandated test.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.provider_name
Eduvoice | The Voice of Education Industry

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Assessment Strategies For Effective Learning

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Assessment Strategies are part of the learning process. Faculties should include innovative ways like self assessment strategies. Learn more.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Assessment should be embedded in all aspects of a course rather than being something that just happens at the end. More than any other aspect of the curriculum, well-designed assessment is the key to engaging students in active and productive learning. When you design assessment for a course of study, you're essentially designing what and how students will learn. What you decide to assess should be closely aligned with the stated learning outcomes for the course.

Assessment as Learning - Dr Adele Flood

Dr Adele Flood from the Learning and Teaching Unit discusses assessment as learning.

If you have a well-designed set of course learning outcomes, assessment task design will be a great deal easier. It is good educational practice to communicate to students what you are trying to achieve and what they should expect to gain from your topics. This helps students, but it also helps you. Articulating your aims for teaching the course can clarify these matters in your own mind.

Brown, Race and Smith suggest:
How we assess our students has a profound effect on what they learn, and on the ways in which they learn. If our choices of assessment strategies provide systems under which students are goaded into activities that privilege short-term memory, information recall and surface learning, we should not be surprised if the outcomes are exceedingly poor in terms of learning gain.
(500 Tips on Assessment, Kogan Page, London, 1996, p7)

Assessment is always a learning opportunity for students. As a teacher, you are responsible for ensuring students can use this opportunity effectively.

Students learn more effectively when they can:

Develop their own understanding of a subject,

Apply their knowledge to real-world contexts,

Think critically and

Reflect on what they have learned.

When you design assessment appropriately, you can facilitate deeper learning experiences for your students so they learn more effectively. Carefully planned assessment can also benefit you as a teacher by reducing plagiarism and your marking and feedback load.

Further information

See Designing Assessment As Learning for help when considering and designing assessment.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Assessment should be embedded in all aspects of a course rather than being something that just happens at the end. More than any other aspect of the curriculum, well-designed assessment is the key to engaging students in active and productive learning. When you design assessment for a course of study, you're essentially designing what and how students will learn.