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Assessment practices have started to change over the last several years with teachers building a larger repertoire of assessment tools and strategies. There is a greater understanding of the importance of timely assessments for learning as well as regular assessments of learning. One type of assessment that has been shown to raise students' achievement significantly is student self-assessment (Black & William, 1998; Chappuis & Stiggins, 2002; Rolheiser & Ross, 2001; White & Frederiksen, 1998).

Authentic assessment is an evaluation process that involves multiple forms of performance measurement reflecting the student's learning, achievement, motivation, and attitudes on instructionally-relevant activities. Examples of authentic assessment techniques include performance assessment, portfolios, and self-assessment.

The Authentic Assessment Toolbox is a resource to help K-12 teachers, especially new teachers, create authentic tasks, rubrics, and standards for measuring and improving student learning. What is Authentic Assessment? defines and gives examples of authentic assessment, compares it to traditional assessment, and suggests that a combination will most likely meet teacher and student needs.

Ready-made benchmark tests cannot substitute for day-to-day formative assessment conducted by assessment-literate teachers.

In its simplest terms, a performance assessment is one which requires students to demonstrate that they have mastered specific skills and competencies by performing or producing something. Advocates of performance assessment call for assessments of the following kind: designing and carrying out eperiments; writing essays which require students to rethink, to integrate, or to apply information; working with other students to accomplish tasks; demonstrating proficiency in using a piece of equipment or a technique; building models; developing, interpreting, and using maps; making collections; writing term papers, critiques, poems, or short stories; giving speeches; playing musical instruments; participating in oral examinations; developing portfolios; developing athletic skills or routines, etc.

Discover 33 digital tools that are free or inexpensive and help teachers implement formative assessment in their classrooms.

This paper provides a set of recommendations for developing classroom performance assessments and scoring rubrics. This article draws from this base to provide a set of recommendations that guide the classroom teacher through the four phases of the classroom assessment process - planning, gathering, interpreting and using (Moskal, 2000a). Each section concludes with references for further reading.

Focus on Student Learning is a series of teaching resources created to support teachers and save them time. Each booklet within the series takes one aspect of instruction and suggests multiple ways of using that instruction practice in the classroom. Book One: 50 Pre-assessment Strategies provides teachers with a wealth of strategies they can use to pre-assess the students in their classrooms.

Focus on Student Learning is a series of teaching resources created to support teachers and save them time. Each booklet within the series takes one aspect of instruction and suggests multiple ways of using that instruction practice in the classroom. Book Three: Summative Assessment - 50 Ways to Gather Evidence of Student Learning provides teachers with ideas of evidence they can collect to show the curriculum mastery levels of their students.

Focus on Student Learning is a series of teaching resources created to support teachers and save them time. Each booklet within the series takes one aspect of instruction and suggests multiple ways of using that instruction practice in the classroom. Book Two: 60 Formative Assessment Strategies provides teachers with a variety of strategies to gather information about their students during instruction.

Over the past several years, there has been tremendous interest among educators in the use of digital games as serious learning. Advocates of game-based learning for K-12 students cite the value of digital games to teach and reinforce skills that prepare students for college and career, such as collaboration, problem solving, creativity, and communication. Not as often discussed is our ability to use students' in-game actions as evidence for the assessment of skills and knowledge, including those not easily measured by traditional multiple-choice tests.

This resource provides an introduction to the Understanding by Design (UbD) Framework by Grant Wiggins and Jay McTighe.

Strategies from K-12 schools, districts, and programs that are dramatically improving the learning process.

Founded in 1943, ASCD (formerly the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development) is an educational leadership organization dedicated to advancing best practices and policies for the success of each learner.

Weekly news on American education issues. Searchable archives.