Build classroom assessments that improve instruction and learning.

Advantages of a classroom blueprint

Classroom assessment blueprints have an advantage over district blueprints. They are flexible and designed for instructional and student learning needs.

Create assessments to answer questions about instructional practice and student progress. A blueprint is the first step in creating useful student assessment data.

Purposeful data equals valuable and useful data

Classroom blueprints create assessments

• target student learning.
• inform instructional decisions.
• measure specific student learning needs.
• provide on-time performance data for the teachers and students.
• fill gaps in performance data.
• allow students to learn from their results.
  

Create valuable performance data

• What gaps in data do we have?
• What student thinking do we need to see?
• How will students show their needed thinking?
• What evidence do we want to see?
• What do we want from our performance data?
  

Blueprint basics

1. Select standards to include on an assessment
2. Decide rigor and complexity based on standards
3. Identify the items, passages, or writing you want students to complete
4. Decide on how the standards work together
5. Identify standards that will work best on a performance task or writing prompt
6. Determine the time length of the test
7. Note any content or skills that need focus
8. Decide on the number of items per standard
9. Note the content or skills the items should focus for each standard
   

Complexity and rigor benefits learning

Higher order assessments are not necessarily difficult for students. Student thinking should be key, not building a hard task. Standards determine the complexity and rigor requirements. Rigorous or easy reading requirements can devalue assessment results.

Establish the purpose and use of the assessment

What do we need to learn about our students?

How are we going to use the performance results?

Classroom assessments improve instructional decisions and learning environment for their students.

Assessments target information needs, with an agreed upon use for the performance data.

Purpose defines your assessment.

Potential purpose and use of performance data.

• Prediction
• Diagnostic
• Grades
• Placement
• Intervention
• Formative
  

Data use will guide the thinking behind your blueprint. A predictive test would mirror the style and standards of a summative assessment. Assessments used for grading reflect current classroom instructional standards and content.

Blueprint questions

What standards will tell us about our students?

• Current standards
• Standards without current performance data
• Skills or content knowledge from earlier in the learning progression

Do not include standards that have current performance data or work product to reduce assessment length. This will save time, while providing a complete picture of student achievement. Multiple sources of data create better performance data.

Do any of the standards complement each other?

Complementary standards usually come from the same domain or strand. Identifying complementary standards will reduce item count and maintain valuable performance data. This is not a high stakes assessment, limit items per standard to inform data and keep assessment succinct.

Question and define student needs

• What skills or knowledge need performance data?
• What level of difficulty and/or complexity is appropriate at this point in the school year?
• How much time are we going to give students to complete the test?
• How many items do we need for this assessment?
  

Item counts per standard do not have to be high for classroom assessments. Quality items will provide performance data to improve learning and instruction.

Are we taking this online or offline?

Online versions of an assessment allow for different item types. This can be a good or bad thing, depending on the technology and quality of your item bank. Classroom assessments analyzed as a team can be offline or online.

What types of items will we use?

• Multiple choice
• Constructed response
• Performance tasks
• Writing prompts
• Technology enhanced
  

Modifications and participation guidelines

• Will all students take the assessment?
• What modifications will we use?
• What students will need modifications?
• What techniques will support these students?
  

Most team or department classroom assessments expect all students to take the test. Without agreed guidelines, the test environment may look different from class to class. If you want quality data and decisions, create guidelines for participation and modifications.

The data will only be valuable if the assessment is helping instruction and the student.