Assessment and Accountability
Assessment As Feedback
This article makes the case for the role of clear and specific feedback as a key component of effective assessment practices. The author describes the difference between feedback and evaluation and discusses reasons why such feedback is often lacking in instruction. (New Horizons for Learning, 2004)
Author: Grant Wiggins
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Assessments Based on Modified Academic Achievement Standards: Critical Considerations and Implications for Implementation
This document presents information about assessments based on modified academic achievement standards (a.k.a., 2% assessments for students with disabilities). More specifically, the document presents key information about 2% assessments, describes critical issues and considerations related to the development and implementation of 2% assessments, and presents examples of general approaches states have taken (or are taking) in the development and implementation of the 2% assessments. This document will be updated periodically to incorporate new information and research. (Assessment and Accountability Comprehensive Center, 2007)
Attributes of Effective Formative Assessment
This publication provides a working definition of formative assessment and describes each of five attributes essential to the implementation of effective formative assessment practices. These five attributes include: learning progressions, learning goals and criteria for success, descriptive feedback, self- and peer-assessment, and collaboration. (Council of Chief State School Officers, 2008)
Author: Sarah McManus
Balancing Local Assessment with Statewide Testing: Building a Program That Meets Student Needs
This knowledge brief makes the case for thoughtful district- or school-driven assessment systems that complement, and go beyond, what statewide testing systems are able to accomplish. It describes important attributes of model local assessment programs. Finally, it presents the necessary steps for building a local assessment program that will elicit information that is of value specifically to teachers, students, and parents and that is rarely available from state assessment programs. (WestEd, 2001)
Authors: Stanley Rabinowitz and Sri Ananda
Classroom Assessment Minute-by-Minute, Day-by-Day
Assessment for learning, as opposed to assessment of learning, requires educators to make a major shift—from quality control in learning to quality assurance, from assessing at the end of teaching to assessing while learning is still taking place. Five nonnegotiable strategies, described in the article, define the territory of assessment for learning. The authors apply their experience with teachers to illustrate classroom examples of these five strategies. (Educational Leadership, 2005)
Authors: Siobhan Leahy, Christine Lyon, Marnie Thompson and Dylan Wiliam
Considerations for the Alternate Assessment based on Modified Achievement Standards (AA-MAS): Understanding the Eligible Population and Applying that Knowledge to their Instruction and Assessment
This publication is intended to provide states with resources and guidance to appropriately and fairly evaluate students with disabilities in the classroom. The report analyzes the policy implications of the 2007 No Child Left Behind authorization of an Alternate Assessment based on Modified Achievement Standards (AA-MAS), and provides information on current research and best practices in identifying and assessing students eligible to participate in an AA-MAS. The recommendations are built on the belief that all students can learn grade-level content standards if given appropriate instruction and support. (New York Comprehensive Center, 2009)
Authors: Jamal Abedi, Christopher Domaleski, Stephen Dunbar, Meagan Karvonen, Scott Marion, Jim Pellegrino, Marianne Perie, David Pugalee, Rachel Quenemoen, Robert Rickelman and Catherine Welch
Curriculum-Based Measurement in Mathematics: An Evidence-Based Formative Assessment Procedure
This report describes Mathematics Curriculum-Based Measurement (M-CBM) and includes a brief history, basic procedures, implications for practice, and further resources. It also reviews the research that supports the use of M-CBM. (Center on Instruction, 2007)
Authors: Erica S. Lembke and Pamela M. Stecker
Evidence for Education: Assessment & Accommodations
This brief explores what accommodations are appropriate for which students and how accommodations affect students’ learning and their performance on tests. Commentary from education professionals and examples from the field are included to highlight practical tools and resources designed to help educators and families determine appropriate accommodations for students with disabilities. (National Dissemination Center for Children with Disabilities, 2007)
Authors: Stephen D. Luke and Amanda Schwartz
Feedback That Fits
This article provides information about formative assessment feedback through examples tied to student work, answers to key questions that coaches and teachers have about providing feedback, and clear guidelines for effective feedback content and delivery. The student’s ability to hear, feel, and understand the feedback is emphasized. (Educational Leadership, 2007)
Author: Susan M. Brookhart
Formative Assessment: Examples of Practice
This article provides a series of short vignettes that clarify a definition of formative assessment and provide examples of various aspects of formative assessment in practice across different subject areas and grade bands. Each vignette is annotated to describe the formative assessment practices that are highlighted in the vignette. (Council of Chief State School Officers, 2008)
Author: E. Caroline Wylie
Formative Classroom Assessment and Benjamin S. Bloom: Theory, Research, and Implications
Bloom argued that to reduce variation in students' achievement and to have all students learn well, we must increase variation in instructional approaches and learning time. The key element in this effort is well-constructed, formative classroom assessments. Bloom outlined a specific strategy for using formative classroom assessments to guide teachers in differentiating their instruction and labeled it "mastery learning." This paper describes Bloom's work, presents the essential elements of mastery learning, explains common misinterpretations, and describes the results of research on its effects. (American Educational Research Association, 2005)
Author: Thomas R. Guskey
Framework for High-Quality English Language Proficiency Standards and Assessments: Brief
This brief is an introduction to a Framework for High-Quality English Language Proficiency Standards and Assessments (Framework). It presents the intended purpose, uses, and organization of the Framework, as well as key background information and assumptions. The expected release of the complete Framework document is Winter 2009, and it will be available on this website. (Assessment and Accountability Comprehensive Center, 2008)
Download references for this brief
Guidelines for Ensuring the Technical Quality of Assessments Affecting English Language Learners and Students with Disabilities: Development and Implementation of Regulations
This publication provides research-based information on key issues relevant to the technical quality of assessments for English language learners (ELLs) and students with disabilities (SWDs). These guidelines reflect both syntheses of research and best/promising practices and include recommendations of resources for additional information on the technical quality of assessments for ELLs and SWDs. This is an evolving document, and will be updated periodically to incorporate new information and research. (Assessment and Accountability Comprehensive Center, 2007)
Inside the Black Box: Raising Standards Through Classroom Assessment
This seminal article provides evidence of the power of formative assessment practices in improving student achievement. Based on an extensive survey of the research literature, there is evidence that improving formative assessment raises standards and also that there is evidence to improve formative assessment. (Phi Delta Kappan, 1998)
Authors: Paul Black and Dylan Wiliam
Learning Progressions: Supporting Instruction and Formative Assessment
This article describes the nature and importance of clearly articulated “learning progressions” as a core element of effective formative assessment practices. The article defines learning progressions, and discusses their foundational role in formative assessment practices. It then provides several examples of learning progressions and discusses key principles in constructing a learning progression. (Council of Chief State School Officers, 2008)
Author: Margaret Heritage
The Nature and Impact of Teachers’ Formative Assessment Practices
Theory and research suggest the critical role that formative assessment can play in student learning. Drawing data from 13 middle school science teachers from a diverse range of schools, this study examined three questions: 1) What was the quality of implementation of a formative assessment science unit in middle school classrooms? 2) What was the quality of teacher feedback provided to students? 3) To what degree did teachers make instructional changes based on the formative assessment results? The research team found the quality of implementation of the formative assessments varied considerably among teachers, that the use of effective feedback to students was surprisingly rare, and that little use was made of the assessment results to modify instruction. Important implications are discussed for the effective use of formative assessments. (National Center for Research on Evaluation, Standards, and Student Testing, 2006)
Authors: Joan L. Herman, Ellen Osmundson, Carlos Ayala, Stephen Schneider, and Mike Timms
New York Formative Assessment Technical Assistance Study
The NY Formative Assessment Technical Assistance Study is a pilot study that is a collaborative effort among the Assessment and Accountability Comprehensive Center (AACC), the New York Comprehensive Center (NYCC), the New York State Education Department (NYSED), and Syracuse City School District (SCSD). The project’s goals are to (1) develop capacity within the comprehensive center system in providing technical assistance, (2) provide guidance and technical assistance to help regional, state, and district leaders make informed decisions about effective data use, (3) to train staff at different levels (region, state, district) to assume leadership roles in the area of formative assessment, and (4) to build capacity at the state and district levels to ensure sustainability of the initiative. Selected materials from the study will be displayed and updated as the study progresses. (Assessment and Accountability Comprehensive Center, to date)
Systems for State Science Assessment
This volume is intended as a guide for states "in making decisions about assessment to meet NCLB requirements and in planning more broadly for assessment as a tool for supporting student learning." (p 2) Completed by the Committee on Test Design for K-12 Science Achievement of the National Academies, it addresses the critical questions states must consider in the design of effective systems for measuring student attainment in science. (National Research Council, 2006)
Toolkit on Teaching and Assessing Students with Disabilities
This toolkit holds information that states will find useful in supporting academic success for students with disabilities, including research briefs and resources on improving instruction, assessment, and accountability; large-scale assessments; technical assistance products; and resources on assessment, instructional practices, behavior, and accommodations. (U.S. Department of Education, 2006)
Working Inside the Black Box: Assessment for Learning in the Classroom
In their widely read article "Inside the Black Box," Black and Wiliam demonstrated that improving formative assessment raises student achievement. Now they and their colleagues report on a follow-up project that has helped teachers change their practice and students change their behavior so that everyone shares responsibility for the students' learning. (Phi Delta Kappan, 2004)
Authors: Paul Black, Christine Harrison, Clare Lee, Bethan Marshall, and Dylan Wiliam