3 Principles of Assessment

From the Growing Success document, teachers should use assessments and evaluations that:
1. Are fair, transparent, and equitable for all students.
Assessments should not be a guessing game. That is, students should not have to guess
what they are going to be evaluated on or what the learning goal/focus of the assessment
will be. Instead, classroom assessments should serve as meaningful accounts of what the
student has learned. Assessments should have clear criteria (for instance, a rubric that
was made collaboratively by the students and teacher) and should reflect the concepts or
skills that were emphasized and practiced during class time. In other words, the learning
goals or tasks of the assessment should be transparent students should not be surprised.
2. Are carefully planned to relate to curriculum expectations and learning goals
and, as much as possible, to the interests, learning styles, and preferences,
needs, and experiences of all students.
Teachers should use the backward design model when preparing their unit and lesson
plans. The first question to reflect on should be, What do I want my students to be able to
do by the end of the unit? What expectations am I planning to address? With these
questions in mind, teachers can first plan out their assessment of learning piece that
showcases student understanding of chosen curriculum expectations and then work
backwards to see how they can scaffold student learning up to that point. In this way,
teachers do not lose sight of what is important and what the curriculum focus of the unit
is. Once the unit plan outline is created, teachers can then add fun activities that enhance
understanding, taking into account the interests and needs of the students in their
classroom (e.g. ensure that, throughout the unit, there are activities that address all types
of learners as well as all types of intelligences).
3. Are ongoing, varied in nature, and administered over a period of time.
Students should not only be assessed at the end of each unit, but all throughout each unit
of study. That is, there should be diagnostic and formative assessment practices
implemented throughout the learning process. These assessment practices may include
teacher observation during class discussions/group activities, peer evaluation and selfevaluation sheets, and individual mini assignments throughout the unit. Along with these
ongoing assessments, teachers should constantly be providing clear, descriptive feedback
to students in order to help them grow towards success in the final assessment piece.