Anchoring Assessments in Instruction: Lessons From States Implementing Instructionally Relevant Assessment Design Principles in Science

Session Type: Symposium

Abstract

Statewide assessments have been misaligned to instruction since the adoption of No Child Left Behind. Educators, leaders, families, and partners continue to cite concerns that state assessments do not measure or incentivize the sophisticated disciplinary knowledge and practice that are associated with college, career, and civic readiness. State assessments drive instructional decisions in schools and districts, whether or not that is their intended purpose. This tends to narrow curricula, especially in schools that serve marginalized communities. Recognizing the power that state assessments hold, a collaborative is designing state assessments that center the instructional practices and content that support deeper learning and higher order thinking skills. This symposium will share design principles developed to support these instructionally relevant assessments.

Sub Unit

• Division H - Research, Evaluation and Assessment in Schools / Division H - Section 3: Assessment in Schools

Chair

• James W. Pellegrino, University of Illinois at Chicago

Papers

• Incentives and Trade-Offs in Designing Assessments That Prioritize Instruction - Aneesha Badrinarayan, Learning Policy Institute; Charlotte Thompson, Learning Policy Institute

• Bridging Innovative Assessment, High-Quality Instructional Materials, and Collaborative Learning - Corrine Steever, Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education

• Scaling High-Quality Learning Through a Network of Supports and Aligned Assessments - Breigh Rhodes, Northwestern University

Discussant

• Britte Haugan Cheng, Menlo Education Research