PART 1: Performance – Based Assessment (PBA) Defined
Here are two similar--yet different--definitions of performance-based assessment.
1. PBA “requires students to demonstrate that they have mastered specific skills and competencies by performing or producing something."
2. According to Stanford’s School Redesign Network, “Performance-based assessment requires students to use high-level thinking to perform, create, or produce something with transferable, real-world application.”
There's an important distinction between these two definitions of PBA: the first makes no mention of high-level thinking and transferable real-wold application, while the second does. To put this within a framework familiar to many of us, let's consider Webb's Depth of Knowledge, which provides a model for analyzing "the cognitive expectation demands by standards, curricular activities and assessment tasks” according to four levels: Level 1: Recall and Reproduction, Level 2: Skills and Concepts, Level 3: Short-term Strategic Thinking, Level 4: Extended Thinking (Webb, 1997).
One of the critiques of our public school system is its heavy emphasis on teaching to and assessing Levels 1 and 2, designed to determine students’ capacity to recall information / demonstrate a skill in a predictable format. These types of assessment are the norm in our public schools, for many reasons, including this: they're simpler to teach to and assess. Unfortunately, when these assessments are the prevailing experience in schools, short-term learning becomes the habit of students, who associate school with learning information and skills that one uses in, and leaves in, school.
While these lower-level, recall assessments can be an important formative part of an assessment system, they are insufficient for schools expecting their learners to demonstrate in-depth understanding of academic disciplines in ways that promote transfer—the capacity to use / synthesize / adapt a set of cross-disciplinary skills to learn, collaborate, communicate, and solve real-world, complex problems.
Implications for Today's Practice
As you practice designing a PBA today, we want you to make explicit which of Webb's Depth of Knowledge your PBA is assessing. As you consider this, it might be good to brush up on what it means to teach for transfer (Webb's Level 4). Here's a super helpful blog post from Grant Wiggins that describes more about the why, what, and how of teaching for transfer (Webb's Level 4).
PART 2: Resources to Support Your Assessment Design
1. Here are a couple great resources. One's a handy one pager (we gave you a hard copy of this today), and the other is a more thorough guide to using Webb's Depth of Knowledge.
Here are two similar--yet different--definitions of performance-based assessment.
1. PBA “requires students to demonstrate that they have mastered specific skills and competencies by performing or producing something."
2. According to Stanford’s School Redesign Network, “Performance-based assessment requires students to use high-level thinking to perform, create, or produce something with transferable, real-world application.”
There's an important distinction between these two definitions of PBA: the first makes no mention of high-level thinking and transferable real-wold application, while the second does. To put this within a framework familiar to many of us, let's consider Webb's Depth of Knowledge, which provides a model for analyzing "the cognitive expectation demands by standards, curricular activities and assessment tasks” according to four levels: Level 1: Recall and Reproduction, Level 2: Skills and Concepts, Level 3: Short-term Strategic Thinking, Level 4: Extended Thinking (Webb, 1997).
One of the critiques of our public school system is its heavy emphasis on teaching to and assessing Levels 1 and 2, designed to determine students’ capacity to recall information / demonstrate a skill in a predictable format. These types of assessment are the norm in our public schools, for many reasons, including this: they're simpler to teach to and assess. Unfortunately, when these assessments are the prevailing experience in schools, short-term learning becomes the habit of students, who associate school with learning information and skills that one uses in, and leaves in, school.
While these lower-level, recall assessments can be an important formative part of an assessment system, they are insufficient for schools expecting their learners to demonstrate in-depth understanding of academic disciplines in ways that promote transfer—the capacity to use / synthesize / adapt a set of cross-disciplinary skills to learn, collaborate, communicate, and solve real-world, complex problems.
Implications for Today's Practice
As you practice designing a PBA today, we want you to make explicit which of Webb's Depth of Knowledge your PBA is assessing. As you consider this, it might be good to brush up on what it means to teach for transfer (Webb's Level 4). Here's a super helpful blog post from Grant Wiggins that describes more about the why, what, and how of teaching for transfer (Webb's Level 4).
PART 2: Resources to Support Your Assessment Design
1. Here are a couple great resources. One's a handy one pager (we gave you a hard copy of this today), and the other is a more thorough guide to using Webb's Depth of Knowledge.
webb_depth_of_knowledge_one_pager.pdf | |
File Size: | 34 kb |
File Type: |
webbs_dok_guide.pdf | |
File Size: | 520 kb |
File Type: |
2. Here's simple and handy approach to Designing Performance-Based Assessments that assess transfer (Webb's Level 4). Wiggins and McTighe offer this acronym (GRASPS) to help us design a performance-based assessments:
Goal: Real-world goals.
Role: Real-world role.
Audience: Real-world audience.
Scenario: Real-world scenario.
Product: Real-world product / performance.
Standards:
Here is a link to an interactive GRASP resource loaded with interactive examples and resources
Here's a link to a document that includes a handy work-sheet to help design a performance-based assessment.
3. A great article with lots of examples: Taking Teaching to (Performance) Task.
4. Here's a compelling blog post by Grant Wiggins that makes a strong case for learning through performance:
Goal: Real-world goals.
Role: Real-world role.
Audience: Real-world audience.
Scenario: Real-world scenario.
Product: Real-world product / performance.
Standards:
Here is a link to an interactive GRASP resource loaded with interactive examples and resources
Here's a link to a document that includes a handy work-sheet to help design a performance-based assessment.
3. A great article with lots of examples: Taking Teaching to (Performance) Task.
4. Here's a compelling blog post by Grant Wiggins that makes a strong case for learning through performance:
everything_you_know_about_curriculum_may_be_wrong.pdf | |
File Size: | 131 kb |
File Type: |
For Further Reading on Performance-Based Assessments:
resource_1.pdf | |
File Size: | 147 kb |
File Type: |
resource_2.pdf | |
File Size: | 7009 kb |
File Type: |
resource_3.pdf | |
File Size: | 39 kb |
File Type: |
resource_4.pdf | |
File Size: | 146 kb |
File Type: |
resource_5.pdf | |
File Size: | 656 kb |
File Type: |
Smarter Balance Assessment Consortium
Sample Items and Performance Tasks
A look at how Smarter Balance is approaching the design of performance tasks.
http://www.smarterbalanced.org/sample-items-and-performance-tasks/
Classroom Assessment
Performance Assessment (embedded video: Urban Academy)
http://fcit.usf.edu/assessment/performance/assessa.html
AOE Webinar
PLT Grades 6-12 Incorporating Performance Assessment into a Standards Based Curriculum:
https://tadnet.adobeconnect.com/_a984157034/p2ts2r9volj/?launcher=false&fcsContent=true&pbMode=normal
Moving to the Common Core
Performance Tasks Resource for Math teachers.
http://www.movingtocommoncore.com/performance-tasks---mathematics.html
PBS NEWSHOUR: Work Keys
Certification test focuses on reading students for work, not college.
Interesting story/video about a test made by ACT that is designed to assess work readiness through a series of tiered performance tasks.
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/education-jan-june14-skillsgap-01-22/
And here is an on-demand prompt, along with a graphic organizer, created by Erica LeClair:
the_selfie_phenomenon_d4.docDownload File
selfie_odwp_graphic_organizer.docxDownload File
A link to High Tech High's Project Based Assessments. If you click on "search" and enter - Project Based Assessments - you will get a listing of all of projects, video and publications. Explore!
The Buck Institute for Education focuses on Project Based Learning. Here is a link to their website which has lots of resources and examples
Sample Items and Performance Tasks
A look at how Smarter Balance is approaching the design of performance tasks.
http://www.smarterbalanced.org/sample-items-and-performance-tasks/
Classroom Assessment
Performance Assessment (embedded video: Urban Academy)
http://fcit.usf.edu/assessment/performance/assessa.html
AOE Webinar
PLT Grades 6-12 Incorporating Performance Assessment into a Standards Based Curriculum:
https://tadnet.adobeconnect.com/_a984157034/p2ts2r9volj/?launcher=false&fcsContent=true&pbMode=normal
Moving to the Common Core
Performance Tasks Resource for Math teachers.
http://www.movingtocommoncore.com/performance-tasks---mathematics.html
PBS NEWSHOUR: Work Keys
Certification test focuses on reading students for work, not college.
Interesting story/video about a test made by ACT that is designed to assess work readiness through a series of tiered performance tasks.
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/education-jan-june14-skillsgap-01-22/
And here is an on-demand prompt, along with a graphic organizer, created by Erica LeClair:
the_selfie_phenomenon_d4.docDownload File
selfie_odwp_graphic_organizer.docxDownload File
A link to High Tech High's Project Based Assessments. If you click on "search" and enter - Project Based Assessments - you will get a listing of all of projects, video and publications. Explore!
The Buck Institute for Education focuses on Project Based Learning. Here is a link to their website which has lots of resources and examples
designing_pba_slides_nov_21_2014_pdf.pdf | |
File Size: | 4024 kb |
File Type: |