Classroom Assessment KnowledgeBase

This KnowledgeBase archive includes content and external links that were accurate and relevant as of September 30, 2019.

The Classroom Assessment KnowledgeBase is an online resource for state departments of education to use as part of their professional development efforts with districts and schools. Organized around five elements, it brings together concepts, how-to guidance, tools, and resources about classroom assessment.

Task 1: Consider Circumstances that Impact Formative Assessment

Guideline: Different circumstances may impact the development of a formative assessment. These factors include grade level, subject, students with special needs and students who have limited English language proficiency. Each factor may affect the assessment's design or selection. The teacher needs to understand these factors and the impact they may have on how the assessment is developed or used.

Checklists

Do's and Don'ts When Selecting Accommodations

This resource from Accommodations Manual: How to Select, Administer and Evaluate Use of Accommodations for Instruction and Assessment of Students with Disabilities provides a checklist on selecting accommmodations.

Tools

Planning for Classroom Assessment

This resource summarizes Chapter 4: Planning for Classroom Assessment from Assessment for the Diverse Classroom: A Handbook for Teachers from the Florida Department of Education. Though oriented toward exceptional students, the concepts addressed may be useful for teachers to apply generally.

References

Accommodations Manual

Developed by the Council of Chief State School Officers' Collaborative on Assessment and Student Standards Assessing Special Education Students, this manual offers guidance on incorporating accommodations into the assessment process. Though intended for standardized tests, some of the content is applicable to formative assessment.

Accommodations and Modifications for English Language Learners

The resource summarizes Chapter 8: Accommodations and Modifications for English Language Learners, of the Illinois State Board of Education's Serving English Language Learners with Disabilities manual.

Differentiated Instruction

This link to the National Center on Accessible Instructional Materials website offers an overview of differentiated instruction.

Ensuring Accuracy in Testing for English Language Learners

This Council of Chief State School Officers publication identifies the phases during test development and implementation when intervention for English language learners should occur. Though the guide is oriented to large-scale assessments, it is useful to the teacher who is developing or selecting formative assessments.

Integrated Vocabulary Instruction

This North Central Regional Educational Laboratory resource provides an overview of instructional concepts on vocabulary for students in grades K-5.

Overview of Assessment at the Secondary Level

Developed with funding from The Meadows Foundation and the Texas Education Agency, Effective Instruction for Middle School Students with Reading Difficulties: The Reading Teacher's Sourcebook offers middle school reading teachers an overview of research-based instructional approaches for teaching struggling readers. Chapter One: Overview of Assessment at the Secondary Level "provides an overview of the process of assessment for secondary struggling readers."

The contents of this website were developed under a grant from the U.S. Department of Education and are intended for general reference purposes only. However, those contents do not necessarily represent the policy of the U.S. Department of Education or the Center, and you should not assume endorsement by the Federal Government. Some resources on this site require Adobe Acrobat Reader. This website archive includes content and external links that were accurate and relevant as of September 30, 2019.