Relation to the Standards
Self Assessment Instructor Score Match
| ATTRIBUTE | 4 |
3 |
2 |
1 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alignment with and Support of State Standards | The alignment with Standards is clear and explicit throughout the learning experience. The learning opportunities and assessments are directly related and clearly supportive of students’ attainment of the Standards. |
The alignment with Standards is clear and explicit but is not embedded in the learning opportunities for students. The learning opportunities and assessments are directly related to the Standards. | The alignment with Standards is not explicit but can be inferred. The learning opportunities and assessments are partially related to the Standards. |
The alignment with Standards is contrived or difficult to determine. The learning opportunities and assessments appear to be unrelated to the Standards. |
| Explicit Standards and Scoring Criteria | The Standards of performance for the assessment tasks are clear to everyone. They were jointly identified and articulated by teacher and students in rubrics that effectively distinguish between levels of performance and guide students in evaluating their work and setting goals for improvement. They are supported with exemplars and anchors that show students what various levels of performance look like. |
The Standards of performance for the assessment tasks are clear to everyone. The teacher identified and articulated them in rubrics. The descriptions effectively distinguish between levels of performance and guide students in evaluating their work and setting goals for improvement. There are exemplars that show students what quality work looks like. |
The Standards of performance for the assessment have been partially identified for the students. The descriptions identify criteria, but do not distinguish between levels of performance. There are exemplars that show students what quality work looks like. |
The students do not know what the performance standards are and do not have models that serve to show what quality work looks like. |
| Essential Questions | Essential questions are compelling and provide the central focus that drives students’ inquiry of the theme, problem, issue, etc., throughout the learning experience. They are clearly related and supportive of the State Standards. |
Essential questions are significant, open-ended and linked to the theme, issue, etc., as well as the Standards, but they are not consistently addressed throughout the learning experience. |
Essential questions are clear and open-ended but not significant. Their linkage to the theme, issue, etc., as well as to the Standards is not explicit but it can be inferred. |
Essential questions are unclear or poorly stated. They are divorced from theme, issue, problem, or question, and unrelated to the State Standards. |
Intellectual Challenge
| ATTRIBUTE | 4 |
3 |
2 |
1 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rationale | The rationale is eloquent and substantive. It addresses the specific knowledge, skills and dispositions students will acquire in ways that students would perceive as meaningful. |
The rationale is clear and relevant in terms of justifying content and skills. | The rationale is developed and clear but superficial. | The rationale for the unit is not sufficiently developed. It is also unclear or trivial. |
| Learning Experience Description and Focus | Describes and justifies the theme, concept, problem or issue in ways that show how each of the learning experience components are supported and driven by the central theme, issue, etc. The description of the unit includes extensive information about grade level, subject, time and resource demands imposed by the learning experience. It is clear, concise, yet focused and thorough. | Provides clear information about grade level, subject, and demands of the learning experience. Clearly states, describes and justifies the theme, concept, issue or problem but does not provide a full or coherent picture of how the unit components address the central theme, issue, etc. The description of the learning experience is focused and developed. | Identifies grade level, subject, and demands of the learning experience. States the title and briefly describes the theme, concept, issue or problem. The description and focus on the learning experience are stated but not fully developed. |
Provides limited information on the grade level and subject and makes only a general reference to the theme, concept, issue or problem addressed by the learning experience. The description is incomplete and lacks focus. |
| Developmental Appropriateness |
The learning experience is developmentally appropriate and effectively builds upon prior knowledge and skills. |
The learning experience is developmentally appropriate. |
Either the focus of the learning experience or the materials and activities used are not developmentally appropriate. | The developmental appropriateness of the issue or the material is questionable. |
| Integrative Across Content Areas |
The activity requires students to build upon prior knowledge and apply knowledge and skills from two or more related content areas. |
The activity requires students to build upon prior knowledge and apply knowledge and skills from two or more related content areas. The activity is somewhat contrived. |
The activity requires students to build upon prior knowledge within a content area and to apply one or more skills. |
The activity measures students’ ability to use a specific skill in a specific content area. |
Intellectual Challenge (Continued)
| ATTRIBUTE | 4 |
3 |
2 |
1 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Authentic Inquiry | The learning experience demands students to search for in-depth understanding by utilizing resources available from the community at business, cultural institutions, and government agencies. | The learning experience demands students to search for in-depth understanding by utilizing available resources in the community. |
The learning experience demands some investigation and research on the part of the student, mostly of a fact-finding nature. |
The learning experience demands no investigation or research on the part of the student. |
| Levels of Thinking |
The learning experience integrates the use of basic and higher levels of thinking through learning experiences that naturally call for a combination of skills and forms of knowledge. |
The learning experience addresses all levels of thinking in a sequential fashion, moving from basic to higher order thinking. |
The learning experience focuses primarily on recall, comprehension and factual knowledge acquisition, although it includes one or more questions or activities that require higher order thinking. |
The learning experience focuses exclusively on recall, comprehension and basic application of knowledge and skills. |
| Involvement of Metacognition/ Reflections |
The learning experience includes measures that guide student reflection on both products and processes that may take the form of specific questions, checklist, or rubrics. |
The learning experience includes measures that guide student reflection on the final product that may take the form of specific questions, checklists, or rubrics. |
The learning experience includes measures that ask students to reflect, but questions, checklists, or rubrics are only peripherally related to the learning experience. |
The teacher is the only person who reflects on the products and process of the learning experience. |
Assessment
| ATTRIBUTE | 4 |
3 |
2 |
1 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Meaning to Students | The assessment allows students to clearly see the test/task as worthy of their time and effort and is sensitive to their individual and cultural needs. |
Students can infer the meaningfulness of the assessment. The assessment attends to diversity in general terms. |
The assessment is peripheral to students’ lives and does not make reference to the diversity of students’ needs and cultures. |
The assessment is unrelated to most students’ lives, interests, needs and cultural backgrounds. |
| Elaborate Communication |
The assessment requires an elaborate response of both knowledge/skills gained and process. This communication is provided through written, artistic, oral performances, exhibitions, and/or opportunities for student to teach. |
The assessment requires students to communicate knowledge/skills acquired through written, artistic, and or oral performances. |
The assessment requires some verbal/written communication on the part of the student. This communication is limited to short test answers or question-based oral responses. |
The assessment requires minimal response from students limited to answers to multiple choice, true false questions, or yes/no responses. |
| Timing and Flexibility of Assessment |
The learning experience is formally assessed from beginning to end in ways that measure and support student learning as well as inform teaching. It allows for a wide range of teacher-and student-negotiated student choice of what to learn, and where appropriate, how to demonstrate such learning. The time allotted for students to learn and demonstrate learning is individualized and linked to the different learning and assessment demands. |
The learning experience includes discrete diagnostic, formative and summative assessments. It provides students with a wide range of teacher predetermined choices for students in terms of what to learn or how to demonstrate their learning. The time allotted for students to learn and demonstrate learning is fixed. |
The learning experience includes diagnostic as well as summative (end-of-unit) assessments. The diagnostic assessment is not used as a supplement or support for the summative evaluation. The learning experience provides for teacher pre-determined and limited student choice in terms of what to learn and how to show learning within fixed time constraints. |
Formal assessment is limited to end-of-unit is fixed activities. The learning experience is fixed. There is no choice of what or how to learn. |
Assessment (Continued)
| ATTRIBUTE | 4 |
3 |
2 |
1 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Curriculum-Embeddedness | The assessment is derived from authentic curriculum-embedded learning opportunities that measure and support learning. It is so interwoven with the curriculum that the assessment itself becomes a valuable learning experience for everyone involved. |
The assessment is linked to the curriculum in ways that support and measure student learning. It is possible for everyone to tell where the curriculum ends and the assessment begins. | The assessment is appended to the curriculum. Only some aspects of the curriculum are measured. |
The assessment is unrelated to the curriculum. It does not measure student learning from the curriculum taught. |
| Contextualized, Complete, and Reality-Based |
The assessment is derived from plausible or real situations that require students to engage with entire problems/ situation faced by people and professionals such as writers, scientists, museum curators, historian, and technicians. |
The assessment is derived from a plausible situation that could be real with minor changes. It requires students to engage with complex problems/ situations although not necessarily from beginning to end. |
The assessment is derived from one or more plausible elements of a situation that resemble some aspects of reality and require students to engage with only part of a problem/situation. |
The assessment is derived from a situation that is contrived and has little connection with reality outside of school. It requires students to solve a part of a problem which is unconnected to a whole. |
| Integration of Subjects/Content areas | The assessment requires students to build upon prior knowledge and apply knowledge and skills from two or more naturally-related content areas in ways that enhance each area. | The assessment requires students to build upon prior knowledge and apply knowledge and skills from two or more content areas that are not ordinarily connected in real life, but that support the assessment activity. |
The assessment asks students to build upon prior knowledge using two or more content areas that are not intrinsically related to the assessment’s original purpose. |
The assessment measures students’ ability to use a specific skill in a specific content area. |
| Ongoing Feedback and Revision | The assessment includes measures that provide elaborate and specific feedback throughout the process from both the teacher and peers. It includes measures that encourage students to revise in order to produce quality work and or reach desired standards. | The assessment includes measures that provide specific feedback throughout from the teacher. It includes measures that encourage students to revise. | The assessment includes measures that provide specific feedback from the teacher after the assignment is completed. Revision is allowed but not encouraged. |
Feedback on student performance is very general or ambiguous and given after the assessment is completed. |
Engagement
| ATTRIBUTE | 4 |
3 |
2 |
1 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Real Audience and Purpose |
The learning experience requires students to work for a real audience and purpose so that they can experience the benefits and consequences of their work. | The learning experience has a real purpose and could have real consequences for students, but needs a real audience from outside of the classroom so that students can experience the benefits and consequences of their work. |
The purpose of the learning experience is vague or only school related. There are no real consequences beyond the classroom. The audience consists of teachers and / or peers. | The teacher is the only audience and the purpose of the learning experience is to measure / test. The consequences are grades. |
Involvement of Individual and Group |
Students work both individually and in collaborative groups to design, implement and evaluate work products and performances. |
Students interact with peers to share ideas and give feedback during all phases of the project. |
Students interact with peers to evaluate their products. |
Students work individually, without interaction with peers at any point during the assessment. |
| Authenticity and Congruence of the Curriculum and Assessments. | The learning experience requires that students to engage in real life problems and demonstrate such learning to audiences that could benefit from such learning. The assessment is derived from curriculum-embedded learning opportunities that measure and support student learning. The curriculum and assessment activities are so intertwined that it is difficult to differentiate the curriculum from the assessment. | The learning experience includes learning opportunities that involve students in plausible or realistic problems/tasks but the assessments do not fully address such learning. The assessment is linked to the curriculum in ways that support and measure student learning. It is possible for everyone to tell where the curriculum ends and the assessment begins. |
The learning experience includes learning opportunities that involve students in plausible or realistic problems/tasks but the assessments do not address such learning. The assessment is appended to the curriculum. Only some aspects of the curriculum are measured. |
The learning opportunities and assessments are contrived and divorced from real-life problems and audiences. The assessments are unrelated to the curriculum learning experience and do measure student learning from the curriculum taught. |
Engagement (Continued)
| ATTRIBUTE | 4 |
3 |
2 |
1 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Forms and quality of Integration |
The learning experience requires students to use and integrate knowledge and skills among a variety of naturally related areas in ways that enhance each content area. It explicitly draws upon students’ interests’ backgrounds, cultures and experiences as a foundation for its study. |
The learning experience requires students to use knowledge and skills in ways that integrate or connect naturally related subject areas. It allows students to derive personal meaning from the material presented. |
The learning experience requires students to use knowledge and skills from two different content areas that are not naturally related to one another. It forces contrived connections between students’ own experiences and the material presented. | The learning experience requires students to acquire knowledge and skills within a single content area. It is presented in ways that prevent students from making meaningful connections between their experiences and the material. |
Adaptability
| ATTRIBUTE | 4 |
3 |
2 |
1 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flexibility in Content, the Use of Learning Strategies, and the Demonstration of Student Achievement |
The learning experience allows student choice of content or strategies for producing the work and/ or demonstrating achievement. Time allotment is also flexible to allow for individual differences. |
The learning experience allows students choice of content or some choice of strategies for producing the work and/ or demonstrating achievement. Time allotment is flexible to allow for individual differences. |
The learning experience allows students limited choice of content. It could be improved by providing students fuller choice of topic, or by allowing students choice of strategies for producing work and/or demonstrating achievement. Time allotment is fixed. |
All students must work with the same material using the same strategies in a fixed time period. |
| Flexibility in Time | Time allotment is flexible to allow for differences among the products/performances selected and to accommodate for individual differences. |
Time allotment is somewhat elastic for different students but it is not tied to the actual assessment demands. |
Time allotment may be flexible in terms of content or strategies but it is fixed with regard to the deadline for the product. | Time is fixed in terms of content, strategies, and deadlines for developing a product. |
| Learning Styles/Multiple Intelligences and Types of Learning Environments | The learning opportunities and assessments allow for students to draw upon their preferred learning style/intelligence. The unit maximizes upon the use of individual, cooperative, and competitive learning. There are individual and group accountability and interdependence. | The learning experience includes learning opportunities and assessments that support several learning styles/intelligence. The unit calls for students to learn individually and in groups, although the learning from each of these forms is not maximized or linked in ways that fully support learning. | The learning experience includes learning opportunities that provide for a limited range of learning styles, intelligence, although the assessment supports a single style of learning. The unit addresses two or more forms of learning but these are unconnected in meaningful ways. | The learning experience is geared towards a single learning style/intelligence. The unit uses cooperative, individual or competitive learning. |
Academic Rigor and Supporting Resources |
The learning experience requires students to engage in a thorough exploration of a theme, problem issue, or question, by emulating professionals in the area in question. Resources are substantive, up-to-date, and span a wide range of forms and media. They directly support the unit by fostering an exploration of multiple perspectives related to the learning experience’s focus. | The learning experience enables student to develop an understanding and use of knowledge and skills acquired related to a theme, problem issue. Resources used are substantive and varied in form and focus. They are directly related to the learning experience’s focus. | The learning experience enables students to develop a basic understanding of a concept, problem and/or skills. Resources used are limited in scope and depth although they are relevant to the learning experience. There is an over-reliance on the same kind of resource. | The learning experience lacks rigor. It aims at enabling students to recall isolated, concepts, skills and/or facts. Resources used are incomplete or questionable. They are not substantive or intrinsically related to the learning experience’s focus. |
Technology Integration
| ATTRIBUTE | 4 |
3 |
2 |
1 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Involvement of Appropriate Uses of Technologies |
The learning experience provides opportunities for students to collect, analyze, and present information through a wide variety of educational technologies. |
The learning experience provides opportunities for students to collect, analyze and present information through a selected set of educational technologies. |
The learning experience provides opportunities for student to collect, analyze or present information through a limited number of educational technologies. | The learning experience is not enhanced through the use of educational technologies. |
Updated:
June 2, 2009
Template © Jeff Arnold & Jane Ross