1. Understanding Performance
Assessment

2. Introductions
• Joe Rivers – Middle School Social Studies
Teacher, Brattleboro
• Alysia Backman – High School Literacy Coach,
South Burlington High School
• Christina Suarez – High School Social Studies
Teacher, Lake Region High School
• Maggie Eaton – Consultant, Vermont Reads
Institute at UVM
• Kris Breen -

3. Norms
• Make connections, make comments
• Ask clarifying questions, ask big picture
questions
• Understand that we won’t have time to
answer every question – we will provide
feedback and resources as we progress and
after the webinar

4. Goals
• Examine elements of performance assessment
• Explore a framework for developing ELA
performance assessments

5. College and career readiness – from
Introduction to ELA & Literacy CCSS
• Students demonstrate independence.
• They build strong content knowledge.
• They respond to the varying demands of
audience, task, purpose, and discipline.
• They comprehend as well as critique.
• They value evidence.
• They use technology and digital media strategically
and capably.
• They come to understand other perspectives and
cultures.

6. Shifts of the Common Core:
English Language Arts
1. Regular practice with complex text and
academic language across content areas
2. Using evidence from literary and
informational text to support claims and
conclusions during reading, writing, and
discussion, across content areas
3. Building content knowledge from
informational text during
reading, writing, and discussion, across
content areas

7. PERFORMANCE ASSESSMENTS FOR
ENGLISH LANGUAGE ARTS

8. For discussion:
What is your understanding of what a
performance assessment is?
If an example comes to mind, please share.

9. “
Education is not a preparation for life;
education is life itself.” (Dewey, 1937)
What is performance assessment?
• Students complete a process or produce a
product in a context that closely resembles
real-life situations (AERA et al., 1999, cited in
Reynolds, Livingston, & Willson, 2009)

10. Performance Assessment
It is an empty exercise to assess student
learning without
providing a means to adjust
teaching in response to
deficiencies revealed through
the information gleaned
from that assessment. “Chun, 2010”

11. Using performance assessment to
design curriculum and instruction
• What should students know and be able to do? –
standards
• What will demonstrate student learning? performance assessments
• What sequence of lessons will provide observable
evidence of student learning? - curriculum

12. Elements of performance assessment
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Real-world scenario and authentic
Student-centered
Determine proficiencies
Complex process
Multiple possibilities for critical thinking
Higher-order thinking (Bloom’s and DOK levels)
Integrates teaching, learning, and assessment
Transparent evaluation criteria

13. Traditional vs. Performance
Assessment
Traditional:
• Teacher-centered
• Summative
• Closed-answer (multiple
choice, short
answer, memorization, defi
nitions)
• Content driven
• Seldom transferable
• Subjective evaluation
Performance:
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•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Learner-centered
Formative & summative
Open-answer
Content & skills driven
Collaborative
Multiple possibilities
Real-world basis
Critical thinking & problem
solving
• Transferable skills
• Transparent evaluation

14. For discussion:
Go back to your understanding of performance
assessment. How do the elements of
performance assessment match your original
understanding? How are they different?

15. FRAMEWORK FOR DEVELOPING
PERFORMANCE ASSESSMENTS

16. Components of a Performance
Assessment
Sources/content
Readings
Video clips
Audio clips
Graphs, charts,
other visuals
Structured internet
search
Primary sources
Data
Information Processing
Analyze questions
Respond to
questions
• Organize
information
• Discuss/dialogue
content
• Interpret results
• Synthesize data
• Determine next
steps
• Deconstruct theory
or bias
Product/Performance
Essay, report, story,
script, proposal
Speech/presentation
with/without
graphics
Multi-modal
representation
with/without
technology

17. Framework for Developing Performance Assessments
Standards
State the CCSS and other content skills/standards that will be
measured in by this task.
Big Ideas/Enduring
Understanding
Describe the Big Ideas/overall concepts students should take
away from this process.
Essential Questions
What are the essential questions students will answer in order
to develop these essential understandings?
Culminating Product
Describe the final task and the format it will take (e.g., you will
present an argument for…by organizing a debate…).
Content/Sources
Cite the sources (including text, audio, visual etc. ) students
will access to complete the task.
Formative Steps
Clearly explain how the students will interact with the sources
to complete the tasks that lead to the culminating
product/performance. Include any guided questions, scaffolds
or steps in this process.
Evaluation
Include a detailed method of evaluation (e.g., rubric, checklist,
etc.) that clearly communicates what students need to do to
demonstrate proficiency.

18. Formative information processing
Formative Steps
Clearly explain how the students will interact
with the sources to complete the tasks that lead
to the culminating product/performance.
Include any guided questions, scaffolds or steps
in this process.

19. For discussion:
How do you see integrating performance
assessment into your content area/curriculum?

20. References
Reynolds, C.R., Livingston, R.B., & Willson, V. (2009). Measurement and assessment in
education 2nd. Edition. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson.
Chun, M. (2010). Taking teaching to (performance) task: Linking pedagogical and
assessment practices. Change, Spring p-22-29. (www.changemag.org)
Dewey, J. (1937). Experience in Education.
Mueller, J. (2013). Authentic Assessment Toolbox. Naperville, IL: North Central College.
New York City Department of Education:
http://schools.nyc.gov/Academics/CommonCoreLibrary/TasksUnitsStudentWork/defa
ult.htm