Assessment Purpose

  • Assessment refers to varied methods and/or tools that are used to evaluate/certify, measure, monitor, observe, and document learning progress, academic readiness, skill acquisition, or educational needs of students. Assessment plays a key role in our data-driven decision making and is an important part of the whole child data picture. Different types of assessment enable us to answer key questions around student learning, such as:

    • What do students know? What do they not yet know?

    • Where are students struggling? Why?

    • What should I teach next? What should I adjust in future lessons?

    • Which students need an intervention? 

    • Which intervention matches the need?

    • Does retained learning meet district and state expectations?

    • Does our curriculum have gaps between learning expectations and assessment?

    • What are the common types of assessment? What do they each help us understand about student learning and needs? This chart shows the types of assessments that make up a comprehensive assessment system.