Many students, parents, teachers, and school leaders feel like they’re drowning in assessments. With recent news of the testing cap from the Department of Education and the overhaul of NCLB, there’s been a lot of talk around addressing over-testing. As leaders reevaluate their assessments, we believe their approach should be grounded in the mindset: As few as possible. As formative as possible.
“As few as possible. As formative as possible. ”
“Summative assessments have a place in the school year,” says ANet’s Vice President of Assessment Alyse Pecoraro, “but teachers and leaders need high quality, formative assessments that accurately reflect the knowledge and skills that students need for success—not only in their current classrooms, but ultimately in college and careers.”
“A great assessment is aligned to what a student is learning and provides timely, actionable feedback to students, parents, teachers, and leaders.”
Our colleagues at Education First (Ed First) have assembled a toolkit to help systems update and streamline their assessment strategy. ANet worked with Ed First to create a Teacher Engagement Toolkit to help leaders include teachers in the process of making decisions around assessment strategy. That way, teachers deepen their understanding of the purpose, quality, and best use of assessments and ensure that the tests their students take truly impact teaching and learning in their classroom.
Want more detailed guidance on assessment strategy?
Read our new white paper, Teaching Comes First: How School District Leaders Can Support Teachers, Save Time, and Serve Students with a New Vision for Assessments.