Perpich Arts Integration Project The Arts Integration Framework Series outlines a process for developing standards based arts integrated units of study. This Powerpoint outlines how to align assessment activities to benchmarks and learning goals.

1. Aligned Lessons Video Series:
“Assessment Activities”
O Brought to you by the
O Perpich Arts Integration Network of Teachers
O and the
O Perpich Center for Arts Education
This project is made possible by the
Minnesota State Legislature through
its Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund.

2. Assessment Activities
Assessments are activities students
accomplish to show what they know
or can do.

3.  All assessment activities begin or arise from
clear learning goals.
 The purpose of assessment activities is to
produce evidence of student learning.
 Assessments can be used for formative or
summative purposes.

4. Formative Assessment
 Is assessment for learning.
 Formative assessments provide feed back
to both the student and to the teacher
about progress toward learning goals.
 Formative assessments can support
student learning towards final course
assessment, or a summative assessment.

5.  A formative assessment should build
students’ confidence that they are on the
right track.
 In simple terms it should help a student
know, “I’m on the right track and heading
for the goal,” or “Okay, I’m off track, but
now I know what to do to fix it.”

6. Summative Assessment
 Is assessment of learning.
 It says to a student, “This is the end of the
line. We’re not going to take anymore
time (right now) for learning, so
demonstrate how successful you’ve been
at meeting the learning goal.”

7.  Summative assessments may or may not
be required in your school, but all students
benefit from formative assessments that
are skillfully designed and used.
 The difference between formative and
summative assessment is in how they are
used.

8. Designing Assessment
Activities
 Develop aligned assessment activities that measure
student achievement of classroom learning goals
by:
1.
Aligning it to the kind of learning called for in the
learning goal.
2.
Selecting an efficient and effective assessment type
(e.g., selected response, extended written
response, performance assessment, or personal
communication).
3.
Creating student friendly and fair parameters for how
students complete the assessment activity.

9. 1. Aligning it to the kind of learning called
for in the learning goal.
 This is how you can know the kind of learning described in
the learning goal.
 Rick Stiggins categorizes learning into four types:
Knowledge: e.g., explain, describe, identify, name, list, define,
label, match, choose, recall, recognize, select, understand,
know
Reasoning: e.g., analyze, discriminate, compare/contrast,
synthesize, classify, categorize, interpret, predict, generalize,
hypothesize, justify, critique, defend, evaluate, prove
Skill: e.g., assemble, operate, use, demonstrate, measure,
investigate, observe, listen, perform, conduct, read, speak,
write, collect, explore
Performance/Product: e.g., design, develop, produce, create,
make, write, speak, draw, represent, display, model, construct

10. 2. Selecting an efficient and effective
assessment type
 These are well matched assessment types for each kind
of learning:
• Selected response (ex. true/false, multiple choice):
good match for mastery of knowledge
• Extended written response (ex. at least several
sentences in length): can provide a window into the
quality of student reasoning, and writing skills
• Performance assessment (ex. complex performances
or products): students can show a particular skill, or
mastery of skill, knowledge and reasoning as they present
or perform big complex products
• Personal communication (ex. evidence by speaking or
writing): though time-consuming, can show quality of
student reasoning

11. 3. Creating student friendly and fair
parameters
for how students complete the assessment
activity.
 Select assessment activity parameters
that are:
• Reasonable for the classroom situation
• Accessible to students
• Focused on learning goals

12. What are the qualities of a well-designed
assessment activity?
 Research based best practices in assessment lead us
to ask:
• Does this assessment activity elicit rich evidence of
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•
•
•
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student learning?
Are criteria for doing good work clearly stated?
Does the criteria for good work relate to the learning
goal, or is it focused on assessment parameters?
Does the activity provide students with feedback?
Does the activity put students in charge of their own
learning, provide real world connections, and/or
relationships outside of school?
Do students act as resources for each other?

13. Evaluation
Evaluation is the judgment about the level of
success or achievement the student accomplishes
in doing the assessment activity
and, therefore, meeting the learning goals.

14. Evaluation Criteria
 With teacher colleagues, examine student
assessment products to develop aligned evaluation
criteria that defines quality of learning.
• applied to student assessment products
• clearly articulated quality indicators
• focused on concepts and learning type called for by
the learning goal
* Please see “Evaluation Criteria” in the Aligned Video
Series for more detail about this topic.

15. More Resources
Please refer to similar modules that explain
the development of:
• Professional Inquiry
• Alignment of Key Teaching and Learning
Components
• Unpacking Standards and Benchmarks
• Learning Goals
• Learning Tools and Teaching Strategies

16. Please refer to
http://www.mnartseducation.org
for more information.