Assessment previews: Mapping the way to mastery
Kate Shanahan
Would you ever go on a long journey without a map (or, better yet, a smartphone)?
Teaching is like a journey, with the end goal each year being mastery of the grade-level standards. It’s easy to get off track, so teachers need tools to help guide students along the right path. Without them, planning each lesson can feel like trying to navigate by the stars.
Assessment previews are like a map that shows teachers where students need to be and what is expected of them. They can be used to backwards plan—to chart the best route to move students towards mastery.
Wait—isn’t that teaching to the test?
We’re not talking about using identical items with students and teaching them to get the right answer. Rather, teachers study the assessments and do the problems themselves so they have a clear understanding of what mastering grade-level standards looks like.
Watch the video below to hear two instructional leaders from Mary Walsh Elementary in Springfield, Massachusetts and George Washington Carver STEM Elementary in Cleveland, Ohio describe why they value assessment previews.
If assessment previews alone are the map, assessment previews combined with ANet tools and resources are the smartphone.
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