1. Designing
Assessments &
Rubrics Aligned to
Our Units of Study

2. Learning Outcomes
Connections to previous PD
Criteria for quality common assessments &
effective scoring guides
Collaborative planning session to:
Create a quality common assessment (with a
scoring guide) to accurately infer student needs
& curricular next steps
Plan appropriately matched learning tasks that
will lead up to the developed assessment

3. Code of Cooperation
Suspend certainty
What happens in Vegas...
Listen as an ally
Speak from awareness
Celebrate diversity
Mind the schedule
_________________________

4. Connections to Prior
Work
• Unwrapping the
Standards
• Designing
Curricular Units
• Levels of Bloom’s
• Artisan Teacher

5. http://www.hulu.com/watch/292079

6. Two Major Types of
Assessments
Selected Response Constructed Response
Note: Performance-based assessments can be used to enable students to physically
demonstrate their understanding.

7. Assessment Type
Activity
In your groups, create a visual representation of the
pros and cons of the type of assessment titled on your
chart paper. When your group is finished post the
chart paper on an accessible wall.
When all groups are finished, we will conduct a
gallery walk. Discuss with your group any
interesting findings or the similarities/differences
between the group work.
Share out with the whole group.

8. Selected-Response Item
Guidelines
Align with ‘unwrapped’ standards
Higher-order objectives
Application of knowledge vs. recall
Include new material - a true test of transfer
Be brief and clear
Use language that asks for the ‘best’ answer as opposed to the ‘correct’
answer
Use distractors which are all plausible

9. Constructed-Response Item
Guidelines
Items are open-ended
Require students to create a response
Students demonstrate an integrated understanding
Items match the level of rigor
Scoring guide required
Note: Constructed-response items provide for more valid inferences concerning
student level of mastery.

10. A Bucket of Trouble
An East Indian folk tale tells of two frogs on a farm that had the
misfortune of jumping into a pail of fresh milk left by a careless
son of the farmer. The frogs were unable to jump out of the pail and
had no recourse but to paddle continuously around in the milk in
order to stay afloat. The larger of the two finally gave up and sank
beneath the white waves, while the other frog kept on, determined to
keep on paddling as long as he had breath in his little body. At last,
thoroughly exhausted and unable to swim another stroke, he began
to sink to his demise, only to find himself resting upon something
solid beneath him. With one final exertion, he jumped from the large
pad of butter that he had churched by his incessant paddling out of
the milk pail to freedom.

11. Creating Questions
Use the Revised Bloom’s Taxonomy question stems to
generate questions that could be used on a common
assessment with a focus on the following standard:
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.1.2 Retell
stories, including key details, and
demonstrate understanding of their
central message or lesson

12. Sample Selected-Response
Question:
Level 4: DRAW (inferences, conclusions, generalizations)
This tale best illustrates which one of the
following generalizations:
a. Danger can show up in the most ordinary
places.
b. Events sometimes take a surprising turn
if you refuse to quit.
c. Everyone fails some of the time.

13. Sample Constructed-Response
Question:
Level 5: SUPPORT (inferences, conclusions with text evidence)
Extended Response
Write one paragraph defending your answer
choice for the above multiple-choice question.
State your choice and three examples to
support it from the tale. Write a concluding
sentence that summarizes and supports your
answer choice.

14. Assessment Criteria
of
he level Results are analyzed to
Matc hed to t
rigor guide instruction
Objec
tive sc
Blended assessments const oring gui
ructed d
provide more -respo es for
nse
comprehensive
data

15. Steps to Designing a Unit
Assessment
Determine the Reference the specific Reference Bloom’s For selected-response
assessment format to ‘unwrapped’ priority upon Taxonomy and begin questions, make all of the
achieve the purpose which to base the assessment writing items distractors plausible
Develop learning
experiences which are
Limit the total number of Create a scoring guide
Be sure to include correct congruent to the
questions so that student for constructed-response
standard terminology priority standard and
work can be scored quickly items
lead up to the unit
e.g., identify, not label; Grades K-1, five or six assessment
rotation, not turn Grades 2-3, eight to ten
Grades 4-5, ten to twelve

16. Key Elements of Scoring
Specific, measurable,
observable, student-friendly
language
Samples matched to criteria
Scoring guides help
ALL students
Criteria provided before task
succeed!
Student access during task
Criteria used to evaluate
student work after task

17. Steps to Designing a Scoring
Guide
Create criteria by
Determine performance Begin with criteria for the Write the elements as
referring to details of the
levels (4-5) “goal” level verb phrases
assessment task
e.g. “identifies the
attributes of one main
character in the story”
T
Obje he result
Apply the same criteria ctive :
Create the criteria for the Create the criteria for the quic rubr
for the final or “not yet” k&a ics f
top level progressing level c or
level scori curate
ng!
e.g. “identifies the e.g. Include only one e.g. Include only one
attributes of two main criterion that reads, criterion that reads,
characters in the story, “meets ______ of the Goal “meets fewer than ______ of
noting similarities & criteria” (quantity based the Goal criteria”; and
differences between on the number of criteria “task to be repeated after
them” for the goal level reteaching”

18. Sample Constructed-Response
Question:
Level 5: SUPPORT (inferences, conclusions with text evidence)
Extended Response
Write one paragraph defending your answer
choice for the above multiple-choice question.
State your choice and three examples to
support it from the tale. Write a concluding
sentence that summarizes or supports your
answer choice.

19. A Bucket of Trouble
Sample Scoring Guide:
Advanced: Meets all “Goal” criteria plus
Includes more than one reason for why the selected choice is better than other two
choices
Includes real-life connections or experiences in support of selected choice
Goal
States answer choice
Supports answer choice with reason why selected choice is better than other two
choices
Writes one paragraphs
Writes concluding sentence that summarizes or supports answer choice
Progressing
Meets 2-3 of the Goal criteria
Beginning
Meets fewer than 2 of the Goal criteria

20. A Bucket of Trouble
Sample Scoring Guide:
Progressing Beginning
Criteria Advanced (4) Proficient (3)
(2) (1)
Drawing Selects the correct
Conclusions answer
Provides more than 3
Supporting examples to support Provides 3 examples Provides 2 examples Provides 1-2 examples
answer choice; from the text to from the text to that may not support
Evidence Includes real-life support answer choice support answer choice evidence from the text
connections to text
Writes 1 or more Writes 1 paragraph Writes less than a Writes less than a
Concluding paragraphs with a with a concluding paragraph that includes paragraph that does not
concluding sentence sentence to a concluding sentence to include a concluding
Summarization to summarize/support summarize/support summarize/support sentence to summarize/
answer choice answer choice answer choice support answer choice

21. Developing Learning
Criteria for developing learning
experiences to lead up to the common
assessment:
Engaging
Congruent
Increasing in thinking, skill, and
rigor

22. Learning Task
Read Goldilocks
At your tables use Bloom’s Revised to
create learning tasks (activities &
products) for 4 of the 6 levels on the
provided chart paper
Discuss whole group

24. Reflective Planning
Create a common assessment based on an upcoming
unit of study (use the ‘unwrapping’ organizer to
guide questions)
Develop a scoring guide for constructed-response
questions (rubistar/4teachers.org)
Plan 3-4 engaging learning experiences which are
congruent with the created assessment and steadily
increase in thinking, skill, and rigor

25. Tying It All Together
Artisan Connections
Share Out
Revised +/∆
What’s Next

26. What’s Next?
Gwen will plan to meet with each grade level
during the month of March to discuss your
progress and gain insight into the process. It is
expected that each grade level will have taught
the designed learning experiences,
administered the common assessment, utilized
the developed rubrics to score the assessment,
and collaboratively analyzed the data to
inform instructional next steps.