We are Barbara B. Howard from Appalachian State University and Don Klinger of Queens University, Kingston, Ontario. We are professors and work with the Joint Committee on Standards for Educational Evaluation. We would like to report on the Classroom Assessment Standards that were developed by the Joint Committee. The Joint Committee uses a systematic process to develop well vetted standards in a variety of areas of evaluation. A variety of organizations and individuals interested in evaluation and assessment are part of the Joint Committee. The classroom assessment standards were based on research and reviews by those who conduct research in classroom assessment. The standards are a product of a comprehensive effort to reach consensus on what constitutes sound principles that guide the fair assessment of students and foster learning of PK–12.
The Classroom Assessment Standards statements are organized into three broad domains:
- Foundations: six standards that encompass the basis for developing and implementing sound and fair classroom assessment practices focused on the students.
- Use: five standards that align with the assessment process and follow a logical progression from the selection and development of classroom assessments to the communication of assessment results.
- Quality: six standards that will help yield results that are accurate and reliable, are free of bias, and include all students.
Teachers can use classroom assessment results with increased confidence when their classroom assessment practices meet these 17 standards. The focus of the standards at the classroom level stems from the belief that strong and continuous learning requires consistent daily attention to gather, analyze, and effectively use accurate assessment information to guide instruction leading to student learning. The primary intended users are the PK-12 classroom teachers. These standards are not intended to be used for standardized testing or any other state or local tests that do not fall directly under the control of the classroom teacher.
Rad Resource: The final draft of these standards may be found here and may be downloaded and used by classroom teachers, staff developers, administrators, or any other educator working directly with classroom assessment. The final version will be published later in 2013. Until the release of the final version, we welcome any comments or suggestions.
The American Evaluation Association is celebrating Consortium for Research on Educational Assessment and Teaching (CREATE) week. The contributions all this week to aea365 come from members of CREATE. Do you have questions, concerns, kudos, or content to extend this aea365 contribution? Please add them in the comments section for this post on the aea365 webpage so that we may enrich our community of practice. Would you like to submit an aea365 Tip? Please send a note of interest to aea365@eval.org. aea365 is sponsored by the American Evaluation Association and provides a Tip-a-Day by and for evaluators.