Think about a particularly successful or effective major,

summative, or unit-concluding assessment that you’ve created

and taught. Briefly describe the nature of the assessment.

To your mind, what are the two most important qualities or

features that made it particularly successful or effective?

1.

2.

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 Questions that reveal the difference between
thinking like an assessor and an activity designer
B
Assessor Activity designer
What would be sufficient and revealing What would be compelling and
evidence of understanding? interesting activities on this topic?

Given the goals, what performance tasks What projects might students wish to do
must anchor the unit and focus the on this topic or subject?
instructional work?

What are the different types of evidence What tests should I give, based on the
required by Stage 1 desired results? content I taught?

Did the assessments reveal and How will I give students a grade, and
distinguish those who really understood justify it? How well did the activities
versus those who only seemed to? work? How well did students do on the
test?

A continuum of types of evidence

Effective assessment = scrapbook of mementos rather than a single snapshot;
teacher-assessors gather lots of information along the way using a variety and
range of assessment methods and formats

1. Informal checks for understanding (formative)

F a. teacher questioning
b. observations during classwork or class discussions
c. think-alouds
d. warm-up or closure activities
e. making thinking visible activities

2. Quiz and test items (interim)

I a. use selected-response or short-answer formats
b. often have a single, best answer

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 3. Academic prompts (interim)
I a. open-ended questions or problems that require the student to think
critically and prepare a specific academic response, product, or
performance

4. Performance tasks (summative)

S a. are complex challenges that mirror the issues and problems faced by
adults (often called “authentic”)
b. range in length from short-term to long-term, multi-stage projects
c. yield one or more products and performances
d. involve a real or simulated setting with constraints and limits
e. ask students to transfer knowledge from one setting or context to
another
f. the task and performance standards are known in advance and
guide student work
g. require the student to address an identified audience

Designing a performance task around problems, rather than

just exercises
A problem = a demand to perform, requiring thought of the many choices and
P challenges that confront a performer in context (a cost-sensitive experiment
to make sense of a puzzling phenomenon; using the experience of the
American Framers of the Constitution to guide the creation of a new
constitution for Iraq)
An exercise = a straightforward execution of a “move” out of context (e.g., a
E science lab; practice these problems using this approach)

Framing performance tasks using GRASPS

GRASPS is a design tool whose purpose is to help teachers develop an
assessment that presents students with a problem and a real-world goal set
within a realistic context of challenges and possibilities. Answering the
GRASPS helps teachers define

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 Goal Experiment Design for Detergent Effectiveness
G
Your goal / task is
The problem or challenge is
The obstacles to overcome are
C
Your task is to design an experiment to determine which of four brands of detergent
will most effectively remove three different types of stains on cotton fabric.
Role
R You have been asked to
Your role is
You are a scientist with a consumer research group.
Audience
R
Your clients are
The target audience is
You need to convince
Your target audience is the testing department for Consumer Reports.
Situation
S The context you find yourself in is
The challenge involves dealing with
You have a two-part challenge: (1) to develop an experimental design for isolating
key variables, and (2) to clearly communicate the procedure so the staff of the
testing department can conduct the experiment to determine which cleaner is most
effective for each type of stain.
Product, Performance, and Purpose
P You will create a __________________ in order to _________________
You need to develop _______________ so that ___________________
You need to develop a written experimental procedure (following the given format)
outlining the steps in the sequence. You should include an outline or graphic to
accompany your written description.

S Standards and Criteria for Success

Your performance needs to
Your work will be judged by
Your product must meet the following standards
Your design needs to follow the criteria for good design accurately and completely;
appropriately isolate the key variables; include a clear and accurate written
description of the procedure; and enable the testing department staff to determine
which clearer is most effective for each type of stain.

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 Goal Macbeth Trailer, or Mash-up
G
Your goal / task is
The problem or challenge is
The obstacles to overcome are
D
Your task is to create a film trailer or a film “mash-up” or a Machinima that
successfully and engagingly communicates the major themes, plot points, and
characters in Macbeth in under four minutes.
Role
R You have been asked to
Your role is
You are an the head of a major Elizabethan studio’s marketing division.
Audience
R
Your clients are
The target audience is
You need to convince
Your target audience is adolescents and young adults (PG-13 to R), for whom you
will screen your work.
Situation
S
The context you find yourself in is
The challenge involves dealing with
You have a two-part challenge: (1) to appeal to the target audience using a variety
of existing and new lines taken from a selection of key scenes of the play; stage
elements; and video techniques, and (2) to relate Macbeth to other elements or
aspects of popular culture to increase engagement.
Product, Performance, and Purpose
P You will create a __________________ in order to _________________
You need to develop _______________ so that ___________________
You need to stage, shoot, edit, and screen a video; you need to write a treatment (a
brief overview explaining and defending your shooting and editing decisions); you
need to write a script that includes lines, stage elements, and video techniques; and
each member needs to write a description of their contribution.
Standards and Criteria for Success
S
Your performance needs to / Your work will be judged by
Your product must meet the following standards
Your video needs to meet the criteria detailed in Thy Task, and it must achieve an
Elizabethan-Netflix average rating of a minimum of four stars from the audience.

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 Goal School 3.0: Building a Better School in NYC
G
Your goal / task is
The problem or challenge is
The obstacles to overcome are
E
Your task is to write a research paper that attempts to persuade the mayor-elect of
New York City to adopt five major educational reforms as part of his governing
mandate.
Role
R You have been asked to
Your role is
You are a NYC high school student who has a in-the-trenches view of what public
education is like in New York City.
R Audience
Your clients are
The target audience is
You need to convince
Your target audience is a panel of education officials who are assembling policy
recommendations for NYC mayor-elect Bill de Blasio.
Situation
S
The context you find yourself in is
The challenge involves dealing with
You challenge is to appeal to the target audience using a variety of existing
arguments assembled from (1) existing research on reforms and (2) your own
research conducted within a NYC school setting; both lines of argument should
connect reforms with targeted outcomes. Your argument should take into
consideration real costs and opportunity costs.
Product, Performance, and Purpose
P You will create a __________________ in order to _________________
You need to develop _______________ so that ___________________
You need write a research paper that answers the inquiry question in order to
persuade the panel that your suggestions are the most effective and efficient. You
need to distill your paper into a 10-slide presentation.
Standards and Criteria for Success
S
Your performance needs to
Your work will be judged by
Your product must meet the following standards
Your paper and presentation must meet the criteria set forth in the rubric, and your
presentation must be polished when it is made before the panel.
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 Goal
G
Your goal / task is
The problem or challenge is
The obstacles to overcome are
F

Role
R You have been asked to
Your role is

Audience
R
Your clients are
The target audience is
You need to convince

Situation
S
The context you find yourself in is
The challenge involves dealing with

Product, Performance, and Purpose

P You will create a __________________ in order to _________________
You need to develop _______________ so that ___________________

Standards and Criteria for Success

S
Your performance needs to
Your work will be judged by
Your product must meet the following standards
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