Table Of Content10 PRINCIPLES FOR BUILDING
A HIGH-QUALITY SYSTEM
OF ASSESSMENTS
IN JOINING TOGETHER,
we underscore our belief that if states and districts implement the
enclosed ten principles for building and evolving a high-quality system
of assessments, they will be taking impactful and much needed steps
to bridge from current over-burdensome and incomplete assessment
practices and policies to a system that puts each and every student’s
learning at the center. Together, these principles lay out a vision for
systems focused on continuous improvement and the full array of
knowledge, skills, and behaviors needed for each student to succeed
beyond high school, in the workplace, and throughout life. While
individually our organizations and efforts may emphasize different
principles, collectively we share the goal of advancing equity in college,
career, and civic readiness. As such, we stand ready to support states,
districts, schools, and their communities in working toward building and
evolving systems that embrace all ten principles to foster high-quality
systems of assessments for all students.
2Revolutions Great Schools Partnership
Achieve iNACOL
Alliance for Excellent Education Jobs for the Future
Heidi Andrade, EdD, Associate KnowledgeWorks
Professor, Educational Psychology
and Methodology, University at Learning Forward
Albany School of Education
Learning Policy Institute
Center for Collaborative Education
MHA Labs
Center for Curriculum Redesign
National Association of State Boards
David T. Conley, PhD, Professor and of Education
Director, Center for Educational
Policy Research, University of Oregon, National Center for Learning
President, EdImagine Disabilities
EducationCounsel Stanford Center for Assessment,
Learning and Equity at the Stanford
Envision Learning Partners University Graduate School of
Education
To add your organization’s name to the 10 Principles signatories, please contact
Maureen O’Connell at [email protected].
10
PRINCIPLES
for Building a High-Quality System of Assessments
ONE TWO THREE
Capture the array of Balance assessment Advance equity and
knowledge, skills, and of learning with be inclusive of and
behaviors needed for assessment for and accessible to all
college and career as learning through a students
readiness comprehensive set of
(i.e., deeper learning) tasks and measures
FOUR FIVE SIX
Build educator and Align assessments to Convey clear, coherent,
school capacity for support learning and and continuous data on
designing and using avoid duplication of student learning
assessments testing
SEVEN EIGHT NINE
Include meaningful, Encourage cycles of Employ high standards
ongoing input and review, calibration, of coherence, validity,
collaboration from and continuous reliability, and fairness
local communities and improvement
diverse stakeholders of assessments
in the development individually and as a
TEN
and continuous collective system
improvement of the Protect data privacy
system
INTRODUCTION
No single assessment or piece of student In order to support states, districts,
work can provide educators, students, and communities in this, the signing
parents, and the public with information organizations and individuals offer the
about what students know and can following 10 principles as guidance and
do. High-quality, comprehensive, and common language for advancing a high-
timely information on student progress quality system of assessments. While the
is critical to ensuring that schools can primary audience for these principles
prepare each and every student for is state and district leaders, we hope to
success in school, college, careers, and follow this document with materials and
life. Educators, students, parents, and the tools that apply to schools, educators,
public use information from a variety of and communities. The principles draw
assessments of student learning to inform collectively on expertise developed
and empower educational decisions in over decades of studying and designing
real time and across each year. Many assessments and assessment systems, and
states and districts are working toward efforts to advance the full array of college-
developing and implementing high-quality and career-ready knowledge, skills, and
systems that align assessments with each behaviors for all students. (See references
other, and to college and career readiness, in appendix.) They also build on existing
and a comprehensive set of higher-order principles for high-quality assessments
thinking skills. While significant strides have and systems of assessments developed
been made in advancing the quality of by our organizations over the past several
individual assessments, there still remains years. What is new and groundbreaking in
much work across our country to improve this document is synthesizing this wealth
and better align systems of assessment. of wisdom into one clear, concise-yet-
States and districts have a critical moment comprehensive guide backed by well over
under ESSA and as we engage in a a dozen leading national organizations and
national dialogue on testing to accelerate experts in the field. We believe that those
and further evolve their work toward individuals and organizations leading state
comprehensive systems of assessments. and district assessment efforts should
accelerate their work toward a high-quality
system of assessments by considering
these 10 principles to guide that process.
1
MULTIPLE PURPOSES FOR ASSESSMENT
Educational assessment
has been central to the Assessments allow teachers, school leaders,
Teachers &
national conversation and other staff to understand college- and
Leaders
on education, including career-ready knowledge and skill levels at
discussions on how many the beginning of a unit or school year, along
assessments are too many, the way, and at the end of the unit or the year,
and the purpose and use of in order to make informed decisions on instruction,
learning strategies, programming, and supports in
assessments. These debates
response to assessment data for each individual
are often focused narrowly
student. College- and career-ready-aligned assessments
on statewide summative and
designed and administered by educators or with
other required assessments.
educator and student input can also increase educator
In reality, educational
and student engagement, help teachers and leaders
assessments can take many
identify inequities in opportunities and outcomes, and
forms, contain a variety of
can increase the relevance of assessments to classroom
assessment item types, and
teaching, learning, and continuous improvement.
take place at varying points
throughout the school year—
from projects and informal
problem-solving tasks in the
classroom to more formal When assessments are timely and
Students
multiple choice, extended the purpose and results are clear and
responses or portfolios of understandable, they can help students
understand how their knowledge, skills, and
work.
behaviors are developing and engage them to
Assessments serve a variety own and advance their learning. Assessments, such as
of purposes and many do performance assessments and projects, can themselves
not just measure learning be a learning opportunity, so they become assessments
outcomes and growth but for and as learning, not just assessments of learning.
are also vital to the process
of teaching and learning—
especially formative
assessments. Taken together
Clear, timely assessment data that are
in a coherent system, the Families comparable and aligned to college and career
complete continuum of readiness can provide each family with the
assessment can provide a information they need to understand and
rich tapestry of information support their students’ progress toward college
and learning for teachers and and career readiness, to support and advocate for
leaders, students, families, improvement strategies at the school and district levels,
and to select a good-fit school and district for their
policymakers, and additional
students.
stakeholders.
2
10 PRINCIPLES FOR BUILDING A HIGH-QUALITY SYSTEM OF ASSESSMENTS
MULTIPLE PURPOSES FOR ASSESSMENT
No single assessment can
Policy- Assessment data that are valid, reliable, meet all of these purposes.
makers and comparable across schools, districts, In a high-quality system
and states, and that are coherent across of assessments, a variety
assessments, can provide key information of different assessments
to policymakers on whether district-, state-, work together to provide
or nation-wide policies and programs are having an coherent feedback on student
intended impact on student progress, where inequities
learning and outcomes, and
exist, and where attention and resources may be most
each assessment should
needed. These types of data can be obtained from
be designed for its specific
performance assessments and other complex tasks
use and purpose. Together,
when these tasks and scoring processes focus on
assessments in a high-quality
clearly specified knowledge and skills, where common
system are built not just to
templates help create comparable tasks that are
measure content knowledge
carefully reviewed and field-tested, and where trained
but also to measure mastery
raters score within a process that includes consistency
checks and auditing. of the full array of knowledge,
skills, and behaviors needed
for success in K-12 and
beyond, such as the ability
to: master core academic
Additional
Public disaggregated assessment data that are content, think critically and
stake-
comparable, valid, and reliable are important
solve complex problems, work
holders
for a variety of communities, including
collaboratively, communicate
postsecondary institutions, education leaders,
effectively, learn how to
researchers, advocates, and employers, to help
learn, and develop academic
understand current education progress and inform
mindsets (collectively referred
programmatic and policy decisions—for example, to
to as “deeper learning”).1
what extent students are in fact prepared for success
in postsecondary education, whether inequities in
student opportunities and outcomes are increasing or
decreasing from year-to-year and place-to-place, and
whether additional supports and strategies are needed
in schools, districts, states, and/or nationally.
3
BUILDING & EVOLVING A
HIGH-QUALITY SYSTEM
OF ASSESSMENTS
While states and districts have tells us is needed for students to 2. Curriculum-embedded tasks
made great strides toward be college and career ready and carried out in the classroom
building high-quality systems of how they best learn information. during the school year;
assessments, in far too many A system of assessments can
3. Portfolios or collections of
places, students, educators, help states and districts improve
evidence that display a broad
parents, and the public still teaching and learning, and
set of competencies;
receive information that: does not provide clear data on student
address the broad spectrum of progress through an array of
4. A combination of assessment
knowledge, skills, and behaviors assessments from formative to
and item types, including
needed for student success; may summative. A high-quality system
curriculum-embedded tasks,
duplicate or provide conflicting of assessments can be envisioned
and portfolios and exhibitions
or incoherent results may come in two levels: 1) a variety of
leading to a student defense.
at the wrong time to inform types of tasks to demonstrate
instructional or programming understanding and apply learning What these types of assessments
changes (i.e., not timely). Issues of at the classroom or course level; have in common are their capacity
scope, quality, alignment, timing, combined with 2) a variety of to require students to construct
and efficiency have a significant assessments collected for the an answer, produce a product, or
impact on the assessments state and local level, with each perform an activity rather than
students take each year and assessment playing a different simply identify a predetermined
the quality of information that role in creating a complete picture answer. They can include, for
educators, families, students, and of the system’s ability to advance example, science experiments
the public are provided regarding its students’ college and career that students design, perform,
students’ instructional needs and readiness. analyze, and write up; computer
the performance of schools and programs that students create
All assessment systems should
systems. and test; and written or oral
be designed to evaluate a
presentations about a research
The enclosed ten principles comprehensive set of higher-
topic. Because these assessments
can offer guidance to state and order thinking skills and include
typically require students to
district leaders as they evolve the one or more of the following:
integrate knowledge, analysis,
current array of assessments
and action, they are better than
1. Performance items or tasks
into a high-quality system of
multiple-choice tests at measuring
(including as part of any
assessments. This evolution is higher-order thinking skills.2 They
traditional “sit down” tests
particularly important given the
are also better predictors of
used);
prominence of assessments as
academic and vocational success
drivers in our education system,
in tasks requiring complex
and given what research now thinking and performance.3
4
10 PRINCIPLES FOR BUILDING A HIGH-QUALITY SYSTEM OF ASSESSMENTS
An assessment system that critical in guiding the design and are duplicative, lower quality, or
includes these types of artifacts of use of assessments in the system. incoherent with the goals of the
student work throughout a year, education system; and
As states and districts design
especially when combined with
and implement their systems, we • States and districts will need
valid measures of the other skills
recognize that they will need to to create a variety of means to
and behaviors needed for college
address inherent challenges communicate in a coordinated
and career success, can provide
in developing a high-quality manner with stakeholders
a more robust and cohesive
system of assessments, about assessment.
picture of student readiness than
including:
most current assessments can
We encourage those individuals
today. Such a system should
• Different individuals and and organizations leading state
inform teaching and learning at
political entities within a system and local systems of assessment
the classroom level, and should
are typically responsible to seek out opportunities to
include comparable, valid,
for creating, administering, collectively work with peers,
reliable data that are statewide
developing, and using different technical experts, other
for accountability and more
assessments—such as at the organizations, policymakers,
systemic decisions. Such a system
state, local, or school levels— and stakeholders (including
should also help ensure that that
and mechanisms for regular educators, parents, and
assessments are aligned, are not
coordination and deliberation community members) to address
duplicative, and meet the purpose
are needed; these challenges of high-quality
for which they were designed.
assessment systems. We offer
• States and districts need
10 principles for building a high-
Creating a high-quality system
to design a system that
quality system of assessments to
of assessments requires
explicitly serves and addresses
provide guidance and a common
a mindset and process
the different information
language as communities,
shift in order to move from
needs of multiple users and
districts, and states engage in this
developing or selecting
stakeholders, which requires
process.
individual assessments to
a systems-thinking approach
designing a coherent set of
and a theory of action around
assessments that advances
serving these needs;
the full array of college- and
career-ready knowledge, skills, • States and districts may need
and behaviors. In part, the ten to innovate in order to create
principles in this document speak or find appropriate high-quality
specifically to some of the mindset assessments that are accessible
and process shifts that are to all students and are aligned
involved in building or enhancing to true college and career
a comprehensive system of readiness;
assessments – including the shift
• It is necessary to build educator
to a theory of action and checks
capacity to create, administer,
for coherence – which are still
and interpret high-quality
nascent in most systems. These
assessments to inform
principles are grounded in the
instruction;
idea that a high-quality system of
assessments is based in a theory • There must be regular
of action that aims to capture auditing of assessments at
complex knowledge and skills the district and state levels
needed for success in college and to determine alignment and
career. This theory of action is discontinue assessments that
5
10
PRINCIPLES
for Building a High-Quality System
of Assessments
ONE A high-quality system of assessments should be anchored in and assess
students’ deeper-learning knowledge, skills, and behaviors necessary for
Capture the array
college, career, and civic readiness. These include the ability to master
of knowledge, skills,
core academic content, think critically and solve complex problems, work
and behaviors
collaboratively, communicate effectively, learn how to learn, and develop
needed for college, academic mindsets. Without assessments of these applied knowledge,
career, and civic skills, and behaviors, there is a risk that they will not be valued or
readiness (i.e., explicitly taught in the classroom; and that students, educators, and
parents lack information on whether students are on track to succeed
deeper learning)
in college and careers. Academic assessments should be aligned to a
state’s rigorous standards for college and career readiness and should
also go beyond mathematics and English/language arts to measure other
important knowledge, skills, and behaviors needed for success in college,
careers, and life. A high-quality system of assessments should prioritize
performance assessments and projects to capture deeper-learning
outcomes in a robust way.
TWO A high-quality system of assessments places a focus on incorporating
a wide variety of assessments from the state and local levels to inform
Balance assessment
educational decisions, ideally with each assessment contributing a
of learning with
specific purpose and use within the coherent whole. This comprehensive
assessment for and
array of measures not only informs accountability, but importantly
as learning through a allows educators and students to inform their future instructional,
comprehensive set of learning, and studying strategies (assessment for learning) and to learn
tasks and measures from the process of their assessment experiences (assessment as
learning). For example, a capstone project or assessments like those in
the International Baccalaureate program are examples of summative
assessments that are also performance-based and designed to advance
teaching and student learning while providing information to students,
educators, and the public. The system should elevate a focus on helping
educators use data from across all of these assessments to inform
teaching, student learning strategies, and continuous improvement in a
timely manner, while ensuring the set of assessments also informs public
accountability and systemic improvement.
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10 PRINCIPLES FOR BUILDING A HIGH-QUALITY SYSTEM OF ASSESSMENTS
