ASSESSMENT STANDARDS

CHECKING THE ALIGNMENT OF EXTERNAL ASSESSMENTS WITH VALUED OUTCOMES

External assessments support important mathematics and science learning by reflecting desired learning outcomes and are consistent with internal practices.

External assessments contribute to a quality assessment process and enrich the understanding of student learning when they are consistent with the curriculum goals, instructional practices, and assessment design used in the school setting.

External assessments are valid and contribute to quality assessment processes when they:

• are aligned with the school curriculum,
• are consistent with classroom instructional and assessment practices,
• add to the knowledge gained through classroom assessment.

External assessments are developed outside the classroom, such as district, state, and commercial assessments. Often, the purpose of these assessments is to help decision makers outside the classroom get clearer pictures of student learning across a grade level, a school, or many schools. Judgments based on external assessments are valuable resources when looking at school improvement and program effectiveness, but often they do not accurately reflect individual student achievement.

External assessments contribute to a quality assessment system when their goals, objectives, and desired mathematical/scientific outcomes match those of the school and classroom. The usefulness of such assessments is increased when classroom work, teacher judgments, and student reflections are valued as part of the external assessment process.

Thoughtful decisions to use an external assessment are based on the:

• usefulness of the information gained from the external assessment to enhance learning and teaching,
• alignment of the external assessment with curriculum and instruction,
• ability of the asssessment to provide important evidence that cannot be gathered in other ways.