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 025-19-This is a Word document., is included in Guidelines for Local Alternative Assessments for 2018-2019 through 2019-2020-This is a Word document..

Balanced Assessment Plans

Beginning with the 2019-2020 school year, school divisions are required to develop Balanced Assessment Plans for the content areas and courses requiring local alternative assessments. Resources from the "Supporting Instruction and Deeper Learning through Balanced Assessment” events and “Balanced Assessment Plans: Questions from School Divisions” have been made available to assist school division personnel as they develop 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

Grade 8 Writing

As described in the Emergency Guidelines for the Use of Local Alternative Assessments in Lieu of the Virginia Studies, Civics and Economics, and Grade 8 Writing Standards of Learning Tests for the 2020-2021 School Year-This is a Word document., school divisions have the option to administer local alternative assessments in lieu of the Grade 8 Writing Standards of Learning (SOL) test, and they continue to have the option to administer the Grade 8 Writing SOL test. Supports for Grade 8 Writing that can be used to prepare students for local performance tasks as well as the short paper component of the SOL test are found on the English SOL Online Writing web page and include:

Grade 8 Prompts-This is a PDF document. - Writing prompts that may be administered on the Writing SOL tests based on the 2010 English Standards of Learning
Understand Scoring - application to use for local holistic scoring training based on the 2010 English Standards of Learning
Grade 8 Writing Scoring Rubrics (2010)-This is a Word document. – rubrics that must be used to score writing samples that serve as local alternative assessments in lieu of the Grade 8 Writing SOL test during 2020-2021

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.
The Emergency Guidelines for the Use of Local Performance Assessments to Verify Credits in Writing for the 2020-2021 School Year-This is a Word document. provide temporary flexibility in the conditions required when collecting one writing sample to be used for verified credit. Additionally, these guidelines describe temporary flexibility for scoring writing samples. School divisions that exercise the option to use local performance assessments to verify credit in writing are required to develop a local Verified Credit Plan that details how the school division will meet the expectations established by the applicable guidelines for that school year. Resources to support implementation of the Emergency Guidelines for the Use of Local Performance Assessments to Verify Credits in Writing for the 2020-2021 School Year are located in a special section on the English Standards of Learning web page.

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.

Virginia Studies and Civics and Economics

As described in the Emergency Guidelines for the Use of Local Alternative Assessments in Lieu of the Virginia Studies, Civics and Economics, and Grade 8 Writing Standards of Learning Tests for the 2020-2021 School Year-This is a Word document., school divisions have the option to administer local alternative assessments in lieu of the Standards of Learning (SOL) test during the 2020-2021 school year, and they continue to have the option to administer the SOL test. Supports for Virginia Studies and Civics and Economics 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.
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.

End-of-Course History and Social Science Courses:

On November 19, 2020, the Virginia Board of Education approved revisions to the Emergency Guidelines for Locally Awarded Verified Credits due to COVID-19. These Emergency Guidelines provide two options through which students enrolled in end-of-course History and Social Science courses can earn a locally-awarded verified credit in history and social science needed for graduation. Resources to support Option Two in these guidelines are located on the History & Social Science instruction web page and include the state developed common rubrics. These common rubrics must be used to score local performance assessments that will be part of a set of evidence reviewed by the local panel. Please refer to the full text of these Emergency Guidelines for a complete description of both options and the requirements associated with each option.

Pilot Program for State-Developed Performance Assessments: Beginning with the 2021-2022 school year, it is anticipated that each school division will have the opportunity to determine whether credits in Virginia and United States History will be verified through the End-of-Course Virginia and United States History SOL (2015) assessment or through the use of state-developed performance assessments combined with other locally-developed assessments, in accordance with Board guidelines. In preparation for the potential use of state-developed performance assessments to verify a credit in history and social science, the Virginia Department of Education is providing the opportunity for school divisions to pilot the use of the state-developed performance tasks for Virginia and United States History and state rubrics. Support materials and training opportunities will be provided to pilot participants during the 2020-2021 school year. Contact the Office of Student Assessment by email at Student_Assessment@doe.virginia.gov for more information.
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)
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
Performance Assessment Communication from VDOE-This is a Word document. – includes communication issued by the Virginia Department of Education related to performance assessment and local alternative assessments
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

Top of Page

Performance Assessments & Local Alternative Assessments

News & Announcements

Temporary Flexibility for the 2020-2021 School Year