A Primer on Common Core-Aligned Assessments
This primer is designed for state policymakers and advocates who are transitioning their assessment systems to gauge and support student mastery of the Common Core State Standards. Educators and other stakeholders might also use this resource to enhance their understanding of changing assessment systems and engage in conversations about how Common Core-aligned tests can best support student learning. The primer also is intended to help state leaders consider many factors in choosing the right Common Core-aligned assessments, addressing a set of key questions, including the specific differences between assessments, criteria for high quality assessments, and how both K-12 and post-secondary systems might use the assessments.
This primer provides a thorough overview of the different assessments currently available, as well as the considerations that states and districts should make as they make decisions about their current and future assessment systems. Presented in a PowerPoint, this guide is ready-made for professional learning sessions or discussions amongst educators around how to align their assessments systems to the Common Core State Standards. The authors have incorporated information from multiple sources, providing very relevant and timely information about the consortia, implementation efforts to date, and alignment to college- and career-readiness indicators. One note to be made is that as states’ implementation decisions have changed over time, the state-specific information is already out of date, but the core content is still valuable. Overall, this is a great resource and reference for initiating discussions about Common Core-based assessments.