Envision Schools

Envision Schools uses performance assessment as a key tool for supporting student learning. In this graduate follow-up study, Envision Schools puts its model of “Rigor, Relevance, Relationships, and Results” to the test, examining the results of a longitudinal tracking study to measure the...

This brief outlines how the Envision Schools Charter Management Organization and the Stanford University School Redesign Network have collaborated to design a set of performance-based assessments for high school students that are both rigorous and credible, and are designed to build students’...

The Performance Assessment Planning Template can assist you in planning a performance task that meets specific standards and learning targets, includes an opportunity for students to create a product of performance, and assess this task using a rubric. 

Students conduct research about the World War II, use the research to answer a research question with a strong argument, and then explain their findings in a 5-paragraph Historical Research/Inquiry essay.

Students then apply their understanding of the events in WWII and the Holocaust and...

This common analytic rubric assess students' ability to effectively communicate knowledge and thinking through writing by organizing and structuring ideas and using discipline appropriate language and conventions.

This common analytic rubric evaluates students' ability to reason, problem-solve, develop sound arguments or decisions, and create new ideas by using appropriate sources and applying the knowledge and skills of a discipline.

For this task, students will work in collaborative lab groups to observe pillbugs in their natural environment before developing an experimental question. Students will conduct reliable research to then create a model of their experiment and a scientific sketch of the pillbug. Once students have...

In this task, students assume the role of a student preparing an application to the CIA Undergraduate Internship Program. In the application, they are asked to answer the following scenario in a 2-3 page paper: "A terrorist organization has taken control of the Bay Area power grid. They are...

In this task students write a literary analysis on Kindred around the theme of mental slavery.

Note: This task is not accompanied by a rubric. We suggest teachers/schools select an appropriate rubric from this resource bank or your school/district materials.

In this task, students will play the role of an efficiency expert for Fozzils, a company that specializes in making lightweight and compact foldable dishes, bowls, cups, and spoons for camping and backpacking.

Students will do an inquiry to figure out the best design for the rectangular...

In this task, students assume the role of a representative of a country responsible for drafting a proposal to bring to the global nuclear power summit. Students will research the current context in their country and decide whether their country will support or oppose a proposal to bring nuclear...

In this task students are asked to think critically about the text Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck and to write a textual analysis essay.

The prompts for the essay are based on the essential questions: 1) What is my responsibility to other people? and 2) What does it mean to be...

Students will create a math model to predict the path of a projectile. They will be required to complete and submit a formal paper of their problem solving process and solution for their scenario.