Five Keys to Quality Assessment
Sound Assessments:
- Arise from clear and appropriate student achievement targets
What are we trying to assess?
We must clearly and completely define achievement expectations, and these must be couched in the best current understanding of the discipline. - Serve a focused purpose
Why are we assessing these targets?
Who will use the results and what will they be used for? - Rely on a proper method
How will we assess the achievement targets?
Will these methods accurately reflect the achievement targets? - Sample student achievement appropriately
How much will we collect?
Can we be confident that results really reflect what a student knows and can do? - Eliminate bias and distortion
How accurate?
Did we really assess what we thought we were assessing? Is there anything in the way an achievement target is assessed that masks the true ability of a student or group of students? (For example, too much reading on a math test.)
(Adapted from Rick Stiggins, Student Centered Classroom Assessment, 1994 and earlier work by Rick Stiggins at NWREL.)
