Foundations of
Assessment Design
in-demand events
innovative publishing
inspired professional development
www.solution-tree.com
TEACH
OTHERS
DONE SOME
STUDIED IT
NOT MUCH
RATE YOUR experience in designing Assessments...
When I design buildings, I think of the
overall composition, much as the parts
of a body would fit together. On top of
that, I think about how people will
approach the building and experience
that space.
—Tadao Ando
Our Work Together...
in-demand events
innovative publishing
inspired professional development
www.solution-tree.com
Our Work Together...
in-demand events
innovative publishing
inspired professional development
www.solution-tree.com
Our Work Together...
in-demand events
innovative publishing
inspired professional development
www.solution-tree.com
in-demand events
innovative publishing
inspired professional development
www.solution-tree.com
Our Work Together...
in-demand events
innovative publishing
inspired professional development
www.solution-tree.com
Our Work Together...
A Consistent and Balanced System:
Checking our Vertical Alignment
 Collective Understanding of the Work
of Adults and the Student Work
 Collaboration: Developing
Consistency and Cohesion within the
same grade and courses
 Design that Emphasizes the Rigor
and the Relevance of the Standards

in-demand events
innovative publishing
inspired professional development
www.solution-tree.com
Design in 5
Phase 1. Choose standards & plan
engagement.
Phase 2. Sketch out learning goals
Phase 3. Create an Assessment Plan
Phase 4. Create or Revise the
Assessment
Phase 5. Determine student
investment and reporting method
Design in 5: Essential Phases to Create Engaging Assessment
Practice, N. Vagle, 2014, Solution Tree Press
HO p. 2
Design in 5
Phase 1. Choose standards & plan
engagement.
Phase 2. Sketch out learning goals
Phase 3. Create an Assessment Plan
Phase 4. Create or Revise the
Assessment
Phase 5. Determine student
investment and reporting method
HO p. 2
Design in 5: Essential Phases to Create Engaging Assessment
Practice, N.
Vagle,events
2014, Solution
Tree Press
in-demand
innovative publishing
inspired professional development
www.solution-tree.com
Phase 1. Choose Standards
and Plan Engagement.
Choose the standards to be assessed.
 Determine the big idea, relevant
connection or essential question.

Informed by curriculum maps, pacing
guides/calendars and other supplemental
documents
in-demand events
innovative publishing
inspired professional development
www.solution-tree.com
College and Career Anchor Standards for
Reading and Writing (selected)
R.2 Determine central ideas or themes of a text and analyze
their development; summarize the key supporting details and
ideas.
R.7 Integrate and evaluate content presented in diverse media
and formats, including visually and quantitatively, as well as in
words.
W.1 Write arguments to support claims in an analysis of
substantive topics or texts, using valid reasoning and relevant
and sufficient evidence.
W.8 Gather relevant information from multiple print and digital
sources, assess the credibility and accuracy of each source,
and then integrate the plagiarism. information while avoiding
in-demand events
innovative publishing
inspired professional development
www.solution-tree.com
HO p. 5
in-demand events
innovative publishing
inspired professional development
www.solution-tree.com
An Engaging Question
How has the American Dream
Changed Over Time?
Adapted from Design in 5: Essential Phases to Create Engaging
Assessment Practice, N. Vagle, 2014, Solution Tree Press
in-demand events
innovative publishing
inspired professional development
www.solution-tree.com
1. We have read I Hear American Singing by Walt
Whitman and Winter Dreams by F. Scott Fitzgerald. 2.
We have also read A survey on The American Dream
found online at
http://www.xavier.edu/americandream/programs/survey
.cfm.
3. We also read Dreaming America by Joyce Carol
Oates. View the following NBC news clip describing
and questioning the state of the American Dream:
http://www.nbcnews.com/business/state-americandream-uncertain-6C10508356.
in-demand events
innovative publishing
inspired professional development
www.solution-tree.com
Phase 1 Template
HO p. 6
Adapted from
Design in 5:
Essential Phases to
Create Engaging
Assessment
Practice, N. Vagle,
2014, Solution Tree
Press
in-demand events
innovative publishing
inspired professional development
www.solution-tree.com
Phase 2. Sketch out the
Learning Goals
Analyze (Unpack) the standards.
1. Circle Verbs
2. Underline key concepts, vocabulary
and context
How do your grade level standards
change from the previous grade and
then to the next grade?
3. Write out learning goals.
HO p. 8
4. Put learning goals in cognitive order.
in-demand events
innovative publishing
inspired professional development
www.solution-tree.com
Grade 9-10









RI.2 Determine a central idea of a text and analyze its development over the course of the text,
including how it emerges and is shaped and refined by specific details; provide an objective
summary of the text.
RI.7 Analyze various accounts of a subject told in different mediums (e.g., a person's life story in
both print and multimedia), determining which details are emphasized in each account.
W.1 Write arguments to support claims in an analysis of substantive topics or texts, using valid
reasoning and relevant and sufficient evidence.
W.1a Introduce precise claim(s), distinguish the claim(s) from alternate or opposing claims, and
create an organization that establishes clear relationships among claim(s), counterclaims,
reasons, and evidence.
W.1b Develop claim(s) and counterclaims fairly, supplying evidence for each while pointing out
the strengths and limitations of both in a manner that anticipates the audience's knowledge level
and concerns.
W.1c Use words, phrases, and clauses to link the major sections of the text, create cohesion, and
clarify the relationships between claim(s) and reasons, between reasons and evidence, and
between claim(s) and counterclaims.
W.1d Establish and maintain a formal style and objective tone while attending to the norms and
conventions of the discipline in which they are writing.
W.1e Provide a concluding statement or section that follows from and supports the argument
presented.
W.8 Gather relevant information from multiple authoritative print and digital sources, using
advanced searches effectively; assess the usefulness of each source in answering the research
question; integrate information into the text selectively to maintain the flow of ideas, avoiding
plagiarism and following a standard format for citation.
HO p. 5
in-demand events
innovative publishing
inspired professional development
www.solution-tree.com
Grade 9-10









RI.2 Determine a central idea of a text and analyze its development over the course of the text,
including how it emerges and is shaped and refined by specific details; provide an objective
summary of the text.
RI.7 Analyze various accounts of a subject told in different mediums (e.g., a person's life story in
both print and multimedia), determining which details are emphasized in each account.
W.1 Write arguments to support claims in an analysis of substantive topics or texts, using valid
reasoning and relevant and sufficient evidence.
W.1a Introduce precise claim(s), distinguish the claim(s) from alternate or opposing claims, and
create an organization that establishes clear relationships among claim(s), counterclaims,
reasons, and evidence.
W.1b Develop claim(s) and counterclaims fairly, supplying evidence for each while pointing out
the strengths and limitations of both in a manner that anticipates the audience's knowledge level
and concerns.
W.1c Use words, phrases, and clauses to link the major sections of the text, create cohesion,
and clarify the relationships between claim(s) and reasons, between reasons and evidence, and
between claim(s) and counterclaims.
W.1d Establish and maintain a formal style and objective tone while attending to the norms and
conventions of the discipline in which they are writing.
W.1e Provide a concluding statement or section that follows from and supports the argument
presented.
W.8 Gather relevant information from multiple authoritative print and digital sources, using
advanced searches effectively; assess the usefulness of each source in answering the
research question; integrate information into the text selectively to maintain the flow of ideas,
avoiding plagiarism and following a standard format for citation.
HO p. 5
in-demand events
innovative publishing
inspired professional development
www.solution-tree.com
Grade 9-10









RI.2 Determine a central idea of a text and analyze its development over the course of the text,
including how it emerges and is shaped and refined by specific details; provide an objective
summary of the text.
RI.7 Analyze various accounts of a subject told in different mediums (e.g., a person's life story in
both print and multimedia), determining which details are emphasized in each account.
W.1 Write arguments to support claims in an analysis of substantive topics or texts, using valid
reasoning and relevant and sufficient evidence.
W.1a Introduce precise claim(s), distinguish the claim(s) from alternate or opposing claims, and
create an organization that establishes clear relationships among claim(s), counterclaims,
reasons, and evidence.
W.1b Develop claim(s) and counterclaims fairly, supplying evidence for each while pointing out
the strengths and limitations of both in a manner that anticipates the audience's knowledge level
and concerns.
W.1c Use words, phrases, and clauses to link the major sections of the text, create cohesion,
and clarify the relationships between claim(s) and reasons, between reasons and evidence, and
between claim(s) and counterclaims.
W.1d Establish and maintain a formal style and objective tone while attending to the norms and
conventions of the discipline in which they are writing.
W.1e Provide a concluding statement or section that follows from and supports the argument
presented.
W.8 Gather relevant information from multiple authoritative print and digital sources, using
advanced searches effectively; assess the usefulness of each source in answering the
research question; integrate information into the text selectively to maintain the flow of ideas,
avoiding plagiarism and following a standard format for citation.
HO p. 5
in-demand events
innovative publishing
inspired professional development
www.solution-tree.com
How do your grade level
standards change from the
previous grade and then to the
next grade?
HO p. 5
in-demand events
innovative publishing
inspired professional development
www.solution-tree.com
Write TWO Learning Goals
from your analysis.
SAMPLES – Learning goals must include
a verb and then some explanation
I can determine a central idea of a text.
I can analyze the development over the
course of a text.
I can identify and explain the specific
details that support the central idea of a
text.
in-demand events
innovative publishing
inspired professional development
www.solution-tree.com
Learning Goals Ladder
HO p. 8
in-demand events
innovative publishing
inspired professional development
www.solution-tree.com
Using the Learning Goals in the envelope, put
them in cognitive order from simple to
complex.
in-demand events
innovative publishing
inspired professional development
www.solution-tree.com
th
9
–








th
10
Grade Reading Standards
I can use my argument to provide information for an
authentic situation or to contribute a solution to a local
or global problem.
I can use valid reasoning and relevant and sufficient
evidence to support a claim.
I can develop a claim and counterclaims fairly.
I can analyze multiple accounts of a subject told in
different mediums. This means I can describe the
similarities and differences in the details provided
between or among accounts.
I can provide an objective summary of the text.
I can analyze the development over the course of a text.
I can identify and explain the specific details that
support the central idea of a text.
I can determine a central idea of a text.
in-demand events
innovative publishing
inspired professional development
www.solution-tree.com
th
9
th
-10






Grade Writing Standards
I can write for an authentic audience using
information from multiple texts.
I can use a formal style of writing.
I can use an objective tone in my writing.
 I can integrate information in the text to maintain
the flow of ideas.
 I can create clarity and cohesion in my writing by
using words to link section and sentences.
I provide a concluding statement that follows
from my argument.
I gathered relevant information from multiple
authoritative print and digital sources.
I can cite my information using a standard
format.
in-demand events
innovative publishing
inspired professional development
www.solution-tree.com
Pause & Ponder
Why are phases 1 and 2 so
essential to the assessment
design process?
 Planning engagement: Why
plan engagement?
 What would be the benefit of
doing this process? When
could it be embedded in your
work?

in-demand events
innovative publishing
inspired professional development
HO p. 7
www.solution-tree.com
Phase 3. The Assessment Plan
HO p. 11
in-demand events
innovative publishing
inspired professional development
www.solution-tree.com
Matching Target to Method
•Multiple

I can develop a claim
and counterclaims
fairly.
in-demand events
innovative publishing
choice?
•Short answer?
•Essay?
•Create a game
•Present a
speech
inspired professional development
www.solution-tree.com
HO p. 12
in-demand events
innovative publishing
inspired professional development
www.solution-tree.com
Reviewing and Revising a
Current Assessment
HO p. 13-14
in-demand events
innovative publishing
inspired professional development
www.solution-tree.com
Sample Assessments for Consideration
2nd Grade Language Arts p. 16-21
 3rd Grade Language Arts p. 22-24
 5th Grade Language Arts p. 25-28
 Middle School Language Arts: 7th Grade
Gift of the Magi p. 29-33
 Middle School Math p. 34-36
 High School: Is Conspiracy Ever Justified?
P. 37-38
 Middle School: Hurricane Sandy p. 39
 High School: Stadium Mess p. 40

HO p. 13-14
in-demand events
innovative publishing
inspired professional development
www.solution-tree.com
Other Sessions to Consider to Deepen this Work…




Phases 1-3
 Analyzing Reading Standards and Assessment Plan
 Analyzing Math & Assessment Plans
Phase 3
 Choosing the Right Assessment Method
Phase 4
 Analyzing the Rigor of PARCC Items
 Rigorous Selected Response
 Rigorous Constructed Response
 Creating High Quality Rubrics
Phase 5
 Grading
 Collaboratively Scoring Student Work
in-demand events
innovative publishing
inspired professional development
www.solution-tree.com
in-demand events
innovative publishing
inspired professional development
www.solution-tree.com
Guiding Your Learning with an
Exit Ticket…
in-demand events
innovative publishing
inspired professional development
www.solution-tree.com
Nicole Vagle
nvagle@gmail.com
Thank you.
in-demand events
innovative publishing
inspired professional development
www.solution-tree.com