![[Illustration from 'Mathematical World' by Richard Phillips]](pics/pic10.jpg)
Our assessment lacks balance
Summary
The assessment tasks in our instructional materials, and on our district and state tests, reflect only a narrow band of problems that students routinely solve during classroom activities. We want to broaden assessment to provide a balance across the full range of content and processes suggested by the 
NCTM Principles and Standards.
NCTM Principles and Standards.
How can we broaden classroom-based assessment to include non-routine problems and practical uses of mathematics as well as concepts and skills?
How can we get a better balance in district tests so that they assess a broad range of mathematical performance?
Strategies
...to broaden classroom-based assessement
...to get a better balance in district tests
Use performance tasks for classroom instruction and assessment This strategy is based on providing teachers with well-developed high-quality tasks and guidance for using them in classrooms so that students and teachers learn from them, and so that assessment time serves as instructional time and assessment, curriculum, and instruction are aligned.
- Professional development for and through performance assessment This strategy focuses on equipping teachers with the strategies and skills needed for successful implementation of balanced assessment in classrooms. This includes ways of linking assessment to instruction, scoring what is valued in performance, and providing useful feedback to students.
- Develop classroom 'assessment for learning' This is an approach that develops students' self-diagnosis of their strengths and weaknesses.
...to get a better balance in district tests
- Work at policy level to broaden assessment High-stakes assessment that matches your goals will help all aspects of your program move forward. The assessment tasks will help teachers by showing clear targets they understand, act as a motivating focus for professional development, and in time justify the adoption of better-aligned curricula.
- Use performance tasks for classroom instruction and assessment This strategy is based on providing teachers with well-developed high-quality tasks and guidance for using them in classrooms so that students and teachers learn from them, and so that assessment time serves as instructional time and assessment, curriculum, and instruction are aligned.
