Assessment

Student-led civics is process-focused rather than outcome-focused (DESE, 2021). Success is assessed by the process rather than by the final product or culminating performance alone. While many students may not achieve all the changes they intend, they still make some. They can learn important lessons from engaging in the process itself––they exercise real skills and develop competencies that they can draw on and further develop in pursuit of the same or other civic goals. 

To support this learning process, the Democratic Knowledge Project developed a performance assessment tool, known as Civic Thinking Summary (shown below), that demonstrates clear alignment across standards, key content constructs, curriculum, and assessment, while ensuring credibility and feasibility.  In this workbook, each stage wraps up with the Civic Thinking Summary specific to that stage.