Chapter 1

Standards-Based Assessment—
Nurturing Learning



What's in This Chapter?

Think back to the tests you took in school. What were they like? You probably remember some tests as interesting and meaningful experiences, while others you would just as soon forget. The negative ones probably elicited feelings like anxiety, fearfulness, and/or anger. You might even have been nauseated or sleepless. Why was that? What was it about many of the tests we took in school that caused such a reaction? For many of us, our anxiety stemmed from things like being unsure of what would be required; being afraid of poor performance; being afraid to look uninformed; facing the consequences with our parents; having to do something we thought was meaningless; or having the test seem to be so important.

Now think back to the positive tests. What made them so? Most people who recall positive assessment experiences say things such as: "The test was a learning experience," "It was a meaningful challenge that brought a true sense of accomplishment," "It let me know what I knew," or "It was a real life application of skills."

What should assessments be like today? How can we all craft assessments to be more positive and useful experiences for both teachers and their students? What are the changes that are going on in assessment right now and what might we, as teachers, find useful? These are the topics addressed in this chapter.

This chapter can be thought of as the "big picture" chapter—it covers why careful attention to student assessment is crucial and how assessment activities fit into and support other current changes in education. It can also be thought of as the "awareness" chapter—it offers an introduction to basic assessment concepts, explores users' current attitudes toward assessment, and assists users to build a vision of what they want assessment to do for them.

We begin with a look at current thinking about "performance-based" (also called "standards-based") instruction and the role of ongoing assessment of student skills and knowledge to inform practice. Then, we take a quick survey of what it means to assess well. Along the way we visit the reasons that changes in assessment are taking place. The activities at the end of this chapter are designed to explore participants' current familiarity with and level of understanding about assessment, stimulate dialogue about assessment issues, and increase educators' expertise on the meaning and importance of high quality assessment.

Chapter Goals

1. Establish background knowledge about assessment

2. Visit the notion of standards-based education and the role of assessment in the standards process

3. Increase awareness of the principles of good assessment

4. Lay the groundwork for good assessment as a tool for educational improvement

5. Agree on a common language of assessment terms

Chapter Content

A. Readings

B. Activities