Assessment Supporting Deeper Learning

Assessment, Learning Design

With support from the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, CRESST has monitored Smarter Balanced and PARCC test development processes relative to deeper learning goals. We have developed a series of middle school social studies/history, science, and math units that integrate content with deeper learning goals.

The units provide college and career ready-aligned resources for teachers and schools and can serve as models in professional development programs. The social studies and science units are designed to offer content-area teachers examples of meaningful and authentic integration of Common Core literacy practices to teach and learn history or science content. The math units incorporate math content and practices essential to Algebra I success. The units in both subjects also illustrate the use of formative assessment, where each assessment opportunity measures student content understanding and competency with a specific literacy or mathematics practice.

These model units demonstrate how college and career ready-aligned content and formative assessment practices are used throughout an integrated series of lessons that “build up” to a larger summative assessment at the end of the unit.

The model units are available on the CSAI website at: https://www.csai-online.org/spotlight/model-lesson-plans-build-teacher-capacity-promoting-deeper-learning-through-formative