Assessment

Overview from the Center of Assessment

COVID-19 has changed the landscape of schooling in the United States and across the world. School closures in spring 2019 did not cause achievement gaps, but achievement gaps will be exacerbated and more widespread given students’ varied remote learning experiences and access to high-quality instruction. Now more than ever, teachers need guidance about how to use, select, or design classroom assessments to gather evidence of student knowledge and understanding gaps prior to teaching, use that information to differentiate instruction, and collect formative assessment information to continue to adjust instruction and monitor student learning.

A series of learning modules that provide educational leaders and teachers with the materials, resources, and tools they need to support re-entry with students in fall 2020 and beyond were created. The learning modules can be used as stand alone professional learning or sequenced together over time.

The modules support the development of educators’ classroom-based assessment and instructional literacy in areas critical to student academic success and reducing achievement gaps. All learning modules have pre-recorded video presentations, downloadable slide decks, and supplementary tools and handouts. Practice exercises are used throughout the learning modules to help educators apply the knowledge and skills in their context.