Performance Assessments & Local Alternative Assessments

Profile of a Virginia Graduate - Critical thinking, creative thinking, communication, collaboration and citizenship – the hard skills for the 21st century learners as we prepare them to be “life ready.”

Performance Assessment

Performance assessment measures subject-matter proficiency, requires students to apply the content and skills they have learned, and should present opportunities for students to demonstrate acquisition of the “Five C’s” – critical thinking, creativity, communication, collaboration and citizenship – described in the Board of Education’s Profile of a Virginia Graduate. Performance assessment can be summative or formative in nature. A summative performance assessment evaluates student learning and skill acquisition at the conclusion of a unit, course, etc. A formative performance assessment determines student mastery of content and skills during instruction. As students learn new skills and content, they should be given multiple opportunities to demonstrate mastery through the use of performance tasks. Both summative and formative performance assessments allow teachers and students alike to identify content that has been mastered, misconceptions, and gaps in learning. The evidence gained through performance assessment may be used to guide future classroom instruction.

Information about new resources related to performance assessment will be posted on this web page as it becomes available.

Local Alternative Assessments

The 2014 General Assembly eliminated Standards of Learning assessments in Grade 3 History, Grade 3 Science, Grade 5 Writing, United States History to 1865, and United States History: 1865 to the Present. Additionally, the Assembly’s action required local school divisions to continue to teach the content and to measure student achievement with local alternative assessments, including authentic or performance assessments. School divisions must certify annually that they have provided instruction and administered an alternative assessment, consistent with Board of Education guidelines, to students in grades and subject areas that no longer have a corresponding SOL test.

Current guidance for continued implementation of local alternative assessments, announced in Superintendent’s Memo #214-21-This is a PDF document., is included in Guidelines for Local Alternative Assessments: 2021-2022 and Beyond-This is a Word document.. In order to provide consistent achievement expectations for all Virginia students, school divisions are to use the common rubrics, linked below in each content-specific section, when scoring student responses to performance assessments or performance tasks included among the local alternative assessments in these courses.

Balanced Assessment Plans

As a reminder, school divisions are required to develop Balanced Assessment Plans for the content areas and courses requiring local alternative assessments. Implementation Support for Balanced Assessment Plans-This is a Word document. clarifies the requirements for these plans and also offers suggestions for consideration when developing these plans.

Content-Specific Information and Resources

English: Writing

Grade 5 Writing

Local alternative assessments, including performance assessments, are to be administered in place of the eliminated Standards of Learning test. A Balanced Assessment Plan is required. Appropriate testing conditions for the collection of Grade 5 Writing samples are determined by the local school division. School divisions are encouraged to ensure that some, if not all, Grade 5 Writing samples collected for the local alternative assessment are completed independently by the student while at school. Supports for Grade 5 Writing include:

Grade 5 Writing-This is a Word document. – rubric based on the 2017 English Standards of Learning for use during the 2019-2020 school year and beyond
Grade 5 Writing Scoring Rubric-This is a Word document. - holistic scoring rubric based on the 2017 English Standards of Learning for use when scoring local alternative assessments
Menu of Grade 5 Writing Options-This is a Word document. - sample tasks based on the 2017 English Standards of Learning for use by school divisions when creating local alternative assessments
Understand Scoring - application to use for local holistic scoring training based on the 2017 English Standards of Learning

End-of-Course Writing:

Support materials for the use of local performance assessments to verify credit in writing can be found on the English Standards of Learning web page under Local Performance Assessments to Verify Credit in Writing following the Standards of Learning Documents for English.

History and Social Science

The resources provided are for use with the 2015 History and Social Science Standards of Learning. Visit the Professional Development Resources section of the History & Social Science instruction web page for additional performance assessment resources.

Grade 3 History, U.S. History to 1865, and U.S. History: 1865 to the Present

Local alternative assessments, including performance assessments, are to be administered in place of the eliminated Standards of Learning test. A Balanced Assessment Plan is required. Appropriate testing conditions for the administration of local alternative assessments in Grade 3 History are determined by the local school division. Supports for these content courses include:

Common rubrics: The common rubrics for history and social science are not grade or course specific. School divisions have the opportunity and autonomy to select the common rubric that best suits the needs of their students when scoring local alternative assessments.
History and Social Science Scoring Supports-This is a PPT presentation. - These slides from the webinar hosted on March 31, 2021 by the Office of Student Assessment and Office of Humanities provide an overview of resources to support scoring performance assessments and performance tasks using the state common rubrics.

End-of-Course History and Social Science Courses:

The Office of Student Assessment and Office of Humanities have partnered to support school divisions interested in the opportunity to pilot state-developed performance tasks in World History and Geography to 1500 (World History I), World History and Geography: 1500 to the Present (World History II), and World Geography during the 2021-2022 school year. State-developed performance tasks in these courses will be vetted during 2021-2022 through the pilot program to ensure the tasks are appropriate for anticipated use in verifying credit beginning in the 2022-2023 year and beyond, pending future action by the Virginia Board of Education. As such, students enrolled in these courses in 2021-2022 will take the corresponding Standards of Learning tests, or other substitute tests approved for awarding verified credit, to earn the verified credit needed for graduation. School divisions with questions about this opportunity should contact student assessment staff at Student_Assessment@doe.virginia.gov or (804) 225-2102.

HSS State Developed Common Rubric-Upper Secondary (2020)-This is a Word document. - aligns with the 2015 History and Social Science Standards of Learning. The HSS State Develop Common Rubric-Upper Secondary should be used when scoring state-developed performance tasks for Virginia and United States History.
Conducting a Holistic Scoring Event - This presentation may be helpful in preparing for and conducting a local scoring event using the common rubrics for history and social science.
History and Social Science Scoring Supports-This is a PPT presentation. - These slides from the webinar hosted on March 31, 2021 by the Office of Student Assessment and Office of Humanities provide an overview of resources to support scoring performance assessments and performance tasks using the state common rubrics.

Mathematics

Performance assessment resources for mathematics are available to support teachers in implementing the 2016 Mathematics Standards of Learning. Teachers are encouraged to not only use these tasks with their students, but also to endeavor to implement them with fidelity by utilizing the detailed information provided in the task implementation templates. Please refer to the Rich Mathematical Tasks web page for more information and linked resources provided for K-8, Algebra I, Geometry, and Algebra II. In addition to the tasks themselves, resources include a blank template, the Rich Mathematical Task Rubric-This is a Word document. to use for scoring, and the Planning for Remote Implementation of Rich Mathematical Tasks-This is a Word document. guidance.

Science

The resources provided are for use with the 2018 Science Standards of Learning. Visit the Performance Assessment section of the Science Instruction web page for additional performance assessment resources. These include common rubrics for Scientific Investigation (K-2, 6-8, and 9-12) and sample performance assessments for grade 6 (Meaningful Watershed Education Experience) and Chemistry (Stoichiometry).

Grade 3 Science

Local alternative assessments, including performance assessments, are to be administered in place of the eliminated Standards of Learning test. A Balanced Assessment Plan is required. Appropriate testing conditions for the administration of local alternative assessments in Grade 3 Science are determined by the local school division. Supports for Grade 3 Science include:

Common rubrics

Sample Third Grade Performance Assessments

Resources from VDOE for Any Content Area

Assessment Inventory Tool-This is a Word document. – sample tool for use by schools and school divisions. Use of this Assessment Inventory tool is not required; however, schools and school divisions are encouraged to use an assessment review process to support the development of Balanced Assessment Plans.
Assessment Literacy Glossary-This is a Word document. – a list of terms and definitions related to Local Alternative Assessments. (updated February 2019)
Balanced Assessment Plans Desk Review-This is a PPT presentation. – presented as a webinar on May 29, 2020. This presentation includes the process for these desk reviews, the findings, examples of best practices, and expectations for Balanced Assessment Plans beginning with the 2020-2021 school year.
The Framework for Local Alternative Assessment Implementation-This is a PDF document. (PDF) – provides common language for school divisions to use in determining their progress in implementing performance assessments and in identifying next steps.
Frequently Asked Questions: Performance Assessment-This is a Word document. – provides information related to the use of performance tasks and performance assessments that are not used to verify credit (updated February 2019)
Local Alternative Assessments: Reporting to Parents and Reminders for Scoring-This is a PPT presentation. - provides expectations and examples for reporting a student's results on local alternative assessments to parents and reminders for scoring local performance assessments
Overview of Balanced Assessment Plans (Superintendent's Memo 181-19)-This is a Word document. – provides guidance and considerations to assist school divisions as they develop Balanced Assessment Plans. School divisions should also reference the Implementation Support for Balanced Assessment Plans-This is a Word document. in the Balanced Assessment Plan section above for additional clarification in 2021-2022 and beyond.
Performance Task Development Cycle (PDF) – a flow chart for the development of performance tasks
Play Video: Audio Walk-Through of the Framework for Alternative Assessment Implementation
Principles of Scoring Student Work-This is a Word document. – Principles of Scoring Student Work was authored by Stanford Center for Assessment, Learning, & Equity (SCALE). This document provides guidance for using a rubric to score performance tasks and performance assessments.
Summative Assessment vs. Formative Assessment-This is a PPT presentation. – provides information about the differences between summative and formative assessment and the instructional benefits of formative assessment.
Virginia Quality Criteria Tool for Performance Assessments -This is a Word document. – details a set of criteria for the development of performance assessments that measure the application of content knowledge and skills. (Updated June 2019)

Professional Development

Supporting Instruction and Deeper Learning through Balanced Assessment – Preliminary conference materials from sessions offered in May and June of 2019
Performance Assessment Assurances: Next Steps for Leading Deeper Learning in Virginia – Conference materials from sessions offered in May and June of 2018
Assessing For Deeper Learning: A Transformative Pathway to Prepare Virginia Students for the Future-This is a Word document. – 2016 Conference Materials

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Performance Assessments & Local Alternative Assessments

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Guidelines for Local Alternative Assessments and Balanced Assessment Plans