Assessment That

Supports Equity
Strategies to encourage progress
instead of measuring what’s
already known
By Ann Jaquith

I
n education, assessments are often used to did not require writing or extended
evaluate what students have learned—to problem-solving.
sort, rank, or judge students based upon an The damage was especially evident in
evaluation of performance. Standardized schools serving large populations of his-
state tests and those administered by the College torically marginalized and disadvantaged
Board are examples of assessments of learning. children, where students spent more time
In the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) era preparing for multiple-choice tests. In
and its aftermath, however, educators called Next Generation Assessment, Moving Beyond
attention to the damage done by the nation’s the Bubble Test, Linda Darling-Hammond
persistent focus on assessments of learning. One describes how NCLB narrowed the cur-
concern is that repeated poor performance riculum by using tests for consequential
eroded students’ belief in their own capabili- decision-making, which “can drive curricu-
ties to learn. Another is that such high-stakes lum and instruction in ways that mimic both
assessments reduced opportunities to learn. the content and the form of the test.”
The high-stakes nature of the tests, along with Darling-Hammond argues that being able to
the strict timelines to test every student, every answer multiple-choice questions does not mean
year, meant schools spent an inordinate amount students have the ability to answer the same
of time preparing for tests that consisted of questions in open-ended form. She offers evi-
multiple-choice or short-answer questions that dence that “a focus on multiple-choice testing
were less expensive to score, and consequently, gives false assurances about what students know

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 Assessment
& Feedback

and are able to do, not only on other tests, but common. They are classroom-based. They are
more importantly, in the real world.” used during instruction. They involve students
Schools that performed less well on these in the assessment process, and in so doing, help
high-stakes accountability tests tended to give students take charge of their own learning.
students a steadier diet of instruction that Two common practices used in assessment for
mimicked the multiple-choice tests. As a result, learning are student self-assessment and student
students in lower-performing schools often peer feedback routines. By providing students
had fewer opportunities to write, conduct with specific information about their learning
research, make oral arguments, or reason with and a clear description of the desired learning
evidence than students in higher-performing goal, students are better able to know what they
schools—and, consequently, were less prepared need to do. This can help students experience
for situations prevalent in daily life that require greater success.
complex reasoning, weighing alternatives, and Receiving information that helps one learn
thinking deeply. can contribute to a positive self-image and
Concerned educators and citizens have confidence as a student, particularly for those
demanded for decades that more attention be accustomed to experiencing repeated failure
paid to another type of assessment—assess- in classrooms. When effectively used, assess-
ments for learning. Unlike standardized tests, ments for learning can be an important lever for
this form of assessment promotes learning, reducing persistent gaps in achievement.
rather than evaluating it. What is assessment for
learning, and how does it differ from the more Providing Useful Feedback
typical assessments of learning? Knowing specifically what to do to improve
hinges on the quality of the feedback received.
The Features of “For” The best assessments for learning generate
Assessments for learning can take many forms, specific feedback about the learner, how the
but they tend to have important features in learner approaches a particular task, and steps

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 the learner can take to increase the quality of Never assume that all adults in a
READ MORE his or her performance. In primary classrooms, school believe every student can
For examples of how running records are an example of a commonly
schools and districts used assessment. perform to a high level. We are
can support assessment
for learning, visit the “When taking a running record, the teacher often unaware of our own personal
following resources: listens to a student read a text and documents biases and their insidious effects.
on a recording sheet what the student does,”
• SCOPE: edpolicy. says the 2017 article “How Will I Know What My
stanford.edu/library/
publications/1601
Students Need? Preparing Pre-Service Teachers design of the assessment and to the interrela-
• WestEd’s Formative to Use Running Records to Make Instructional tionships among assessment, content, and the
Assessment Insights: Decisions” by Erin Gillett and Susan Pierson individual student.
fa-insights.wested.org Ellingson. “Standard conventions are used to In order to help each student take responsi-
• Assessment as Learning:
indicate oral reading behaviors. Words read bility for his or her learning, the relationship
Using Classroom
Assessment to Maximize correctly are marked with a check, and other between teacher and student might need to
Student Learning by oral reading behaviors, such as substitutions, change. Teachers must understand (and look
Lorna Earl
insertions, omissions, self-corrections, and repe- out for) how students come to understand and
• The Assessment for
Learning Project: www.
titions have their own specific conventions.” make sense of content, which will vary from stu-
nextgenlearning.org/ In other words, specific information is revealed dent to student.
grants/assessment- and gathered about what the reader does when Teachers must be sensitive to how students
for-learning-project
reading: what he or she does accurately, the types of different backgrounds, communities, and
of errors he or she makes, and the frequency of experiences respond to these opportunities.
each error type. Implicit is the importance of the Teachers—especially those of a different race and
teacher in gathering accurate and complete infor- socioeconomic background from that of their
mation; how skillfully the teacher administers students—will need to remain alert to their own
the assessment matters to the quality of feedback biases if assessments for learning are to provide
given to the reader, which will then influence the equitable opportunities for students to learn.
reader’s opportunity to learn. Teachers will need to talk with students
The specificity and quality of the feedback frequently about their performance and their
is critical for supporting learning. “When interests. Teachers will need to listen closely
anyone is trying to learn, feedback about the to what students say and provide ample oppor-
effort has three elements: recognition of the tunities for them to set their own learning
desired goal, evidence about present position, goals and consider what helps them learn best.
and some understanding of a way to close the Teachers will also need to work with students
gap between the two,” according to Inside the to co-develop strategies that help students use
Black Box: Raising Standards Through Classroom assessment information to aid their learning.
Assessment by researchers Paul Black and
Dylan Wiliam. “If a teacher does not know Execution of the Assessment
how to take a running record accurately, then The manner in which an assessment actually
using the assessment can do little to promote gets used ultimately determines whether or
a student’s learning.” not it contributes to learning. Only if specific
information is used by the teacher to guide
Knowledge of Subject and Learner instruction does the assessment actually pro-
Effectively using assessments for learning is mote learning. For instance, a teacher might
a demanding and complex undertaking. It take a running record for evaluative purposes,
requires deep knowledge of the subject mat- determining a student’s reading level in order
ter and of the learner, paying attention to the to place him or her in a reading group. The

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teacher’s underlying purpose for using the (e.g., two-week intervals), and have teachers
assessment determines its use. describe how they used these assessments.
The specific information such assessments 3. Create conditions to support the effective,
provide can help the learner discover what to knowledgeable use of assessments for learn-
do (or do differently) to improve his or her ing as a lever for equity. Teachers should be
performance. Such knowledge can be powerful: expected to learn from their practice and
Having this information and acting upon it can teach for equity, and be supported in that
help a learner gain confidence, and the knowl- goal. Here’s how:
edge a teacher gains can indicate instructional
adjustments that might help individual students ■ Establish structures (e.g., regular times and
experience more success. spaces) in which teachers look at artifacts of
Assessments for learning must be anchored in instructional practice (e.g., samples of student
the belief that all students can learn to become work, videotaped segments of instruction,
levers for equity. The personal beliefs of teacher examples of assessments for learning they use)
and student influence how much a student does, together for evidence of student learning.
in fact, learn. Never assume that all adults in a ■ Develop professional routines for sharing
school believe every student can perform to a high assessment practices (e.g., communicat-
level. We are often unaware of our own personal ing clear learning goals and indicators
biases and their insidious effects. In addition, of successful performance to students
research shows that in order to effectively teach or sharing ways to offer feedback) to
students of a different racial, ethnic, and/or socio- dismantle the culture of teaching as a pri-
economic background, the teacher must possess vate practice and replace it with a culture
cultural knowledge about those students. of teaching as collaborative inquiry.
“Culturally responsive teaching is defined as ■ Examine institutional (school, grade-level,
using the cultural characteristics, experiences, and and classroom) structures and belief sys-
perspectives of ethnically diverse students as con- tems to see whether they advantage certain
duits for teaching them more effectively,” explains groups of students and disadvantage oth-
Geneva Gay in the book Culturally Responsive ers. Look at groups of students who aren’t
Teaching: Theory, Research, and Practice. “It is based succeeding and ways those students might
on the assumption that when academic knowledge experience systemic disadvantages that pre-
and skills are situated within the lived experiences vent or hinder them from having the same
and frames of reference of students, they are more opportunities to learn and succeed as other
personally meaningful, have higher interest appeal, students. Determine what steps can be
and are learned more easily and thoroughly.” Our taken—and by whom—to break down sys-
beliefs and knowledge of other cultures matter if tems of advantage and disadvantage, and
assessment for learning is going to realize its poten- take action to change biased institutional
tial to encourage equity. practices, procedures, and policies. READ MORE
For more information on
what principals can do to
Cultivate a Culture Assessments that promote learning can radi-
develop conditions that
Principals can (and do) influence teachers’ cally improve learning experiences for students promote professional
beliefs and practices. They have an important in our nation’s schools—and especially for learning, check out the
author’s 2017 book, How
role in promoting the widespread and effective marginalized students who often experience
to Create the Conditions
use of assessment for learning as a lever for the greatest failures. However, this requires for Learning: Continuous
equity in schools. Here are three actions princi- principals and teachers alike to shift from Improvement in Classrooms,
Schools, and Districts,
pals can take: an evaluative to a learning mindset wherever
and article, “Mapping the
assessment is concerned. Conditions for Collaborative
1. Educate teachers about the two types of Principals must support opportunities for Learning in School
Communities of Practice,”
assessment, their different purposes, and teachers to learn how to use assessments for
at edpolicy.stanford.edu/
their features. learning effectively and create cultures of mean- library/publications/1392.
2. Communicate the importance of using ingful, equitable learning in their schools. For
assessments to promote learning, and many schools and districts, such actions will
ensure that the types of assessment used represent a bold and revolutionary change.
in classrooms are balanced. One way is
to conduct classroom inventories of the Ann Jaquith is associate director of the Stanford
assessments used over short periods of time Center for Opportunity Policy in Education (SCOPE).

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