It can be challenging to use assessment data to understand student learning and make decisions about instruction and system improvements. Our tailored assessment literacy workshops, and accompanying tools and materials, help educators and administrators evaluate different assessment tools for different purposes—and best use the results to improve student learning.
How We Help
WestEd helps states and districts build the assessment literacy and data use capacity of educators and leaders and helps them apply that knowledge to support ambitious and equitable learning outcomes for all students.
- We work with leaders to design and develop impactful, customized workshops for educators and leaders to learn about the purpose and appropriate use of summative, interim, diagnostic, and classroom assessments, including the formative assessment process.
- Our trainings share expertise about appropriately using summative assessment results; selecting and designing high-quality, fit-for-purpose assessment tools; and interpreting and applying the information these assessments yield.
- Participants in our assessment literacy workshops and online courses report increased confidence in their capacity to use assessment and make use of assessment data and in their educators’ ability to provide effective, differentiated standards-based instruction.
Service Delivery
- Onsite
- In Person
- Hybrid
Who Will Benefit
- State Education Agency
- Assessment vendors
- Staff developers
- Teachers
- Coaches
- Curriculum developers
- District administrators
WestEd’s knowledge and expertise in high-quality assessment design, particularly in the realm of performance assessment, is unparalleled… WestEd employs effective strategies to support educators in developing and refining performance assessments, emphasizing the importance of building strong upfront schemas, providing strategic and constructive feedback, and facilitating learning through field tests and analysis of student work.
Featured Experts
Jessica Arnold
Connecting Research With Practice
The efforts of WestEd’s assessment literacy team are informed by research from the National Research Council (1999, 2001, 2003), Linda Darling-Hammond (2010, 2012, 2013), and the U.S. Department of Education’s Institute of Education Sciences (2009).
These resources provide the research-supported foundation for our customized professional development services and training materials, which enable a deeper understanding of the characteristics of high-quality assessments used for different purposes. In addition, our services and materials help foster local initiatives to design effective assessment systems and performance measures.
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