Learning About Assessment: An Evaluation of a Ten-State Effort to Build Assessment Capacity in High Schools

In 2006, the State of Delaware and the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO) partnered with the Consortium for Policy Research in Education (CPRE) to conduct an evaluation of a ten-state initiative that sought to enhance assessment practices at the high school level. This effort aimed to help states, districts, and schools build familiarity with instruction that uses assessment as part of the learning process, a practice known as assessment for learning.

This report focuses primarily on the third goal of this project, the creation and function of teacher learning teams focused on assessment for learning. The materials used to assist in achieving this goal were designed by the Assessment Training Institute, a division of the Educational Testing Service (ETS). Leaders at the state, district, and school levels relied heavily on one particular ETS text, Classroom Assessment for Student Learning, for guidance about implementing assessment for learning in classroom settings. Other support included interactive Internet meetings, consultations with the ETS developers, a Web-based discussion board, and two national meetings.

The CPRE evaluation relied on (1) observation of trainings and meetings, (2) interviews with leadership in all 10 participating states, (3) interviews with teachers and school leaders in five high schools in two states, and (4) surveys of teaching staff in those schools. Seventy interviews were conducted with 43 teachers and leaders at the five schools in the spring and fall of 2007 and again in the spring of 2008. In total, 100 interviews were conducted with 65 individuals. CPRE research staff also observed the two state team training sessions as well as trainings for school staff in both states.

Author: Elliot Weinbaum

Research Sponsor: This research was funded through a subcontract with the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO), under a U.S. Department of Education grant to the Delaware Department of Education.

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