Activity Directions: Study Current Assessment Practices

1. Understand the current assessment practices that are across the school or district

2. Identify needs for improvements in assessment practices

1. Determine participants and schedule the activity

2. Provide access to the tables from the  Standards alignment study

3. Determine other data that is available about current assessment practices, especially those that provide information about the student learning, instructional practices, and the curriculum. Some sources may include PLCs, teacher surveys, unit plans, and commonly developed assessments.

1. Review the results of the Standards alignment study. from the Curriculum Preparation Strategy. Look for patterns in the assessment column:

a. How well do the assessments provide evidence of mastery?

b. Is there over reliance on one method of assessment?

c. How well do the assessments support the selected instructional improvements and what changes are needed?

2. Analyze any other available data about assessment practices across the organization.

3. Assemble the data. If additional data is needed, plan for how to obtain that data. 

4. Summarize patterns in the data using the Assessment Practices Chart 

5. Make observations and conclusions based on the chart

a. What are patterns in the data?

b. What does the information does the data provide about

§ Student learning

§ Instructional practices

§ The curriculum

c. What assessment practices need improvement? These may include

§ Practices that should be more broadly implemented across the organization

§ New assessments that need to be developed

6. Summarize the findings. Add any necessary actions into the team’s working action plan.