The Standards documents are tools, not solutions.

For many, the reform of mathematics assessment has already begun.

The Assessment Standards is for use by everyone who is or should be concerned with improving mathematics assessment. We challenge you to reflect on the six Assessment Standards and consider their implications for particular educational purposes. Used in conjunction with the NCTM’s Curriculum and Evaluation Standards and Professional Teaching Standards, the Assessment Standards can be a powerful tool for examining and taking action on our educational problems. This can be done by engaging in dialogue to help construct an understanding of the standards, using the standards to identify your own assessment issues, reflecting on the role of the Assessment Standards in mathematics education reform, and acting to bring about change where it is needed.

Think of the assessment process as a problem-solving process. Developing a facility for solving mathematics problems requires experience in thinking, reasoning, planning, communicating, analyzing, and generalizing, plus developing the confidence and disposition to engage in problem solving. Similarly, the assessment process involves planning, gathering evidence, interpreting the evidence, and using the results.

For many, the reform of mathematics assessment has already begun. Teachers are using a variety of assessment methods to support their students’ mathematical growth. Schools have taken up the challenge of redefining their learning goals to bring about greater alignment with the standards for curriculum, evaluation, and teaching. Districts and states and provinces have begun to develop alternative assessment systems. These efforts are laudable, and these reformers should be encouraged to continue. For them, the Assessment Standards can serve as criteria against which to judge their assessment efforts, and for all of us they can serve as guides for implementing high-quality assessment.

Talking with colleagues can foster an understanding of the Assessment Standards and help develop a shared vision of what to assess and how to do it.

Dialogue

New ideas need to be discussed, thought about, and assimilated. Engaging in dialogue about the material presented here is an effective way to experience the power of the Assessment Standards. A dialogue might develop between you and a colleague, among members of a school committee, or between instructional leaders such as supervisors or principals. A dialogue might also occur between teacher and student or between teacher and parent. Or, a dialogue could begin among members of a district or a state or provincial committee. Whatever the form, engaging in dialogue with others about the assessment process can be a powerful way to achieve an understanding of the six standards and begin the change process. The questions at the end of each standard and the examples in this document can also be used to stimulate discussions.

Personalize the Assessment Standards.

Personalization

You and your colleagues will have your own set of assessment issues. Assimilating the ideas in this document includes applying them to your particular context. Many of us have multiple responsibilities, and thus we have multiple assessment issues to consider. Perhaps you are a classroom teacher who is concerned not only about your own classroom practice but also about school, district, or state or provincial assessment efforts. You might also be concerned about the ways in which student assessment results are used at your school and how those results are communicated to your students and their parents. Maybe you are a parent or caregiver who is concerned about how your children are assessed. If you are a school administrator, you have your own list of issues. Your understanding of the standards may be only academic, however, until it is made personal by applying them to the assessment concerns you have.

Reflection

As you reflect on the vision of alternative assessment practices suggested by this document, it is important to go beyond assessment and recognize the connections among assessment, curriculum, teaching, and learning. Use the standards to consider in an organized way the impact of assessment on all areas of school mathematics.

As you study this document, reflect on your personal experiences and practice, identify the goals you would like to reach, and become aware of the obstacles you may encounter. Don’t become so concerned by the complexity of the suggested reforms that you are unable to begin the process. As you try new procedures, remember to start small, reflect on your progress, and then continue your efforts.

Action

How can you become involved in the process of educational reform? Educational reform is a recursive process. That is, the process begins with manageable steps, the results of which feed into the next round of reform. These Assessment Standards are intended to add impetus to the many changes occurring in educational practice–changes that have been discussed and illustrated throughout this document. The many shifts in practice suggested are summarized at the end of this section. To make optimal use of this document is to establish it among your personal guidelines for educational reform.

We contend that the assessment process, in all its phases, is a shared responsibility. There must be consensus in adopting the standards, and the process of using them requires mutual agreement. In particular, issues of accountability are much more explicit and powerful in standards-oriented assessment processes than in reform efforts that are not aligned with a standards-based structure. We share responsibility for using assessment to enhance the learning of mathematics for all students.

Summarizing the Document: Shifts in Practice

The vision of these Assessment Standards can be realized in making shifts from current practice in school assessment toward the ideals portrayed in this document. Each shift represents movement along a continuum toward improved practice. Although these shifts summarize important ideas for changing assessment practices, they are not intended to be comprehensive, nor are they intended to stand-alone. They highlight important ideas explained in this document.

Final Comment

Reform is a journey, not a destination.

Mathematics assessment reform, like mathematics curriculum reform and mathematics teaching reform, is a journey, not a destination. The Standards documents provide powerful shared statements for judging our progress on this journey in the company of others. Think of these documents as maps to guide the process. Our routes may differ, but the goal is the same: to develop mathematical power in all students.

MAJOR SHIFTS IN ASSESSMENT PRACTICE

TOWARD

• Assessing students’ full mathematical power

• Comparing students’ performance with established criteria

• Giving support to teachers and credence to their informed judgment

• Making the assessment process public, participatory, and dynamic

• Giving students multiple opportunities to demonstrate their full mathematical power

• Developing a shared vision of what to assess and how to do it.

• Using assessment results to ensure that all students have the opportunity to achieve their potential

• Aligning assessment with curriculum and instruction

• Basing inferences on multiple sources of evidence

• Viewing students as active participants in the assessment process

• Regarding assessment as continual and recursive

• Holding all concerned with mathematics learning accountable for assessment results

AWAY FROM

• Assessing only students’ knowledge of specific facts and isolated skills

• Comparing students’ performance with that of other students

• Designing "teacher-proof" assessment systems

• Making the assessment process secret, exclusive, and fixed

• Restricting students to a single way of demonstrating their mathematical knowledge

• Developing assessment by oneself

• Using assessment to filter and select students out of the opportunities to learn mathematics

• Treating assessment as independent of curriculum or instruction

• Basing inferences on restricted or single sources of evidence

• Viewing students as the objects of assessment

• Regarding assessment as sporadic and conclusive

• Holding only a few accountable for assessment results