Stanford Center for Assessment, Learning, and Equity (SCALE)

This curriculum unit was developed from the Learning Through Performance in Middle School Math and Science Project. The goal of the project was to develop, pilot, and research the efficacy of a 6th grade math course and science course that are designed to align with 6th grade Common Core...

The purpose of this tool is twofold: (1) to more deeply understand the SCALE Quality Criteria for Performance Assessments by interacting with an actual performance assessment, and (2) to analyze a performance assessment.

This task asks students to decide which decorations and snacks to buy for the class party.

Students will apply knowledge of probability and problem solving to examine urban myths related to sports cars and the color of the car.

For this task, students will choose two colleges in different locations to analyze. Students will create and use trend lines and r2 values to analyze tuition and enrollment data from each college. They will use data from the past 5 years to fit functions to this data and make predictions for the...

Students will apply knowledge of parabolic curves to a real life situation to recommend the height of a main cable that will reduce the cost to build a suspension bridge.  There are two options.  This can be done as an “on demand” task by using questions 1-6 or can be a more complex task by...

Students will use inequalities and equations to choose the best bus company for a field trip.

In the Science, Technology and Society Position Paper tasks students will explore issues related to the impact of science and technology on society and the environment. Students will search the internet for relevant and credible scientific data. Based on the data they collect, they will make...

Students will create a fun safe playground based on safety guidelines that will demonstrate problem solving, communication and reasoning, and content skills related to volume, and area.

This task was originally written as a Grade 7 Science, Technology and Society (STS) performance assessment. The STS Expository Essay task was developed to address current science education standards that encourage teachers to teach students how to use the Internet to locate reliable information...

This template for a performance assessment leads the user through the process of creating a complete curriculum-embedded performance task.

This visual provides an overview of the performance task design process.

This paper argues that halting testing won't fix flawed assessment and accountability systems.  Instead, the authors advocate improving the system of assessments to improve what is taught in school.  After outlining performance assessments, the paper outlines political and policy recommenations...

Students will write an essay that uses evidence from primary sources and their own background knowledge to make an argument and answer the following prompt:

The Gulf of Tonkin Incident was the reason the U.S. fought the War in Vietnam. Do you agree with this explanation of the cause...

During this classroom performance assessment, students will have an opportunity to think carefully about the idea of a “hero’s journey.” They will be asked to think and write about the possibility and the nature of heroism in the contemporary world as they focus on a selection of short fiction...

In this task, students will play the role of a team hired to work for a non-profit environmental company, Invasion Free, to investigate an invasive species introduced locally. Students will learn about different types of invasive species and the distribution of these species in their local...

This paper offers a retrospective research study of performance assessment initiatives beginning in the 1990s up to today.  The study addresses three specific questions: 

• What were the conditions that helped sustain some of the programs? 

• What were the challenges that led to...

The purpose of this paper is to present findings regarding the reliability and validity of the performance based assessments used in the state pilot, including the results of three sets of studies: 1) Generalizability studies; 2) Regression analyses to ascertain the relationships between...

With the goal of re-envisioning the state’s assessment and accountability system to support improvements in the rigor and quality of curriculum and instruction, to help students prepare for college, and to signal college readiness and careers, Ohio developed an assessment and standardized ...

This resource outlines the critical abilities from the Common Core Standards and Next Generation Science Standards.  The list describes the following categories: Research; Analysis of Information; Experimentation and Evaluation; Communication in Many Forms; Use of Technology; Interpersonal...