Performance Assessments Resources
Performance Task Banks
The websites listed below include banks of performance assessment tasks. Other than the MCIEA Task Bank, these sites have no affiliation with ECP, but can serve as models and resources for those interested in implementing performance assessments in their classrooms.
Task Development Resources
MCIEA Performance Assessment Template
A template used to design and codify a performance assessment task, including the standards and skills to be assessed, student output and teacher process notes, and suggestions for possible accommodations.
MCIEA Performance Assessment Rubric
A one-point rubric template that emphasizes the standards being assessed and provides space for individualized student feedback.
MCIEA Performance Assessment Review Checklist
Using the six elements of quality for performance assessments, this review checklist can be used in developing, editing, and reviewing performance assessment tasks.
This Edmentum Blog post, by Brita Hammar, offers an overview of Norman Webb’s Depth of Knowledge (DOK) framework, a model for considering the rigor of a performance assessment.
Portfolios of Performance Pilot Planning Sheet
Teachers and administrators can map the standards that will be assessed throughout the year, along with the accompanying performance assessment tasks. This planning sheet could be used alongside the “What Does a Performance Assessment System Look Like?” handout.
Design Elements for Antiracist Performance Tasks
This brief introduces educators to four design elements for developing more equitable performance assessments. An example performance assessment accompanies the description of each element.
ECP Research
What Does a Performance Assessment System Look Like?
An overview of the necessary components of a school-wide performance assessment system, as well as the process to create one.
This resource offers a practical definition of performance assessments and discusses the benefits and challenges of using them in the classroom and at the state-level.
Portfolios of Performance: A Promising Model for More Meaningful and Equitable Assessment
This document details the components of the Portfolios of Performance model, a new system of assessment being piloted in MCIEA districts.
Performance Assessment Systems: Examples from Four States
This report describes performance assessment systems from four states: Massachusetts, Colorado, New York, and Michigan, and includes information on how the systems are connected to curriculum and instruction, what professional development is offered for teachers, and any available data on the technical quality and impact of the systems.
It’s Time for a New Accountability System in Massachusetts
This report looks at the impact of the 1993 passing of the Massachusetts Education Reform Act and implementation of the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System (MCAS). Data from the National Assessment for Educational Progress (NAEP), as well as enrollment, graduation, and college-going rates, are presented to show whether the MCAS assessment and accountability system has made progress toward closing opportunity and achievement gaps by race, income, language, and disability.
National Research
The resources below include published articles that provide important background and research on the use and impacts of authentic, equitable, and performance-based classroom assessment.