Assessments: Performance Assessment Resource Bank

New State Standards have changed the game in recent years. Teachers and schools are struggling to transition from one paradigm to another. Students are noticing the shift and have been exhibiting a wide range of emotions. Teachers are still unpacking all the standards they must meet. Not to mention some subjects do not have updated standards ready to implement.

One of the biggest concerns for teachers is the assessment their Juniors must take in the Spring and how best to prepare them for the tasks. Coming from an environment in which the test was "THE TEST," this is understandable. For those that have administered the CAASPP tests in Math or ELA, you know its a beast! For years we modeled our assessments around the standardized tests of yesterday. We need a new model for assessment. Now that things have changed, how will we assess our students in a manner that assesses their knowledge, understanding, and application of skills taught in the classroom in an authentic way that also prepares them for CAASPP?


Enter the Performance Assessment Resource Bank out of Stanford University! And its all free!

23 performance task modules when searching "Mathematics" and "11th Grade"

This is an exciting collaborative project between Stanford Center for Assessment, Learning and Equity (SCALE), Stanford Center for Opportunity Policy in Education (SCOPE), and the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO) and was just released to the public. You can browse resources by subject, course of study, type of assessment task, or grade level. The resources provided are stand alone units or can be incorporated into already existing units. Each unit focuses on developing the skills laid out by Common Core and assessed on CAASPP.

Other resources include explanations on how other school districts have implemented the resources to have students create portfolios, resources to help you build your own Performance Tasks, and something called "Learning Progressions and Frameworks" - advice from leading education policy organizations on how to create frameworks for implementation.

Take some time with this site...there's a lot to unpack and explore.  But I think it goes without saying that with CAASPP creeping up as the days get shorter, this is serendipitous timing!!