Teacher's Guide to Classroom Assessments for the Illinois
Learning Standards
Purpose
The classroom assessments are resources to help teachers
determine local performance expectations for the Illinois
Learning Standards at each grade level. Each assessment includes
the following (see the sample annotated assessment at the
end of this section):
- Performance Standard: description of the performance
to be assessed in terms of performance descriptors and the
rubric’s criteria;
- Assessment Procedures: step-by-step directions
for administering the assessment;
- Evaluation Procedures: directions for evaluating
evidence that the student work meets the criteria stated
in the rubric;
- Rubric: criteria for evaluating student work and
determining the levels of performance; and
- Student Work: examples of student work validated
by educators representative of the learning area at the
“meets” and “exceeds” performance levels.
How Were They Developed?
The classroom assessments were developed by Illinois teachers
for Illinois teachers. Writing teams for each of the 7 learning
areas developed performance descriptors for all the Learning
Standards at 10 developmental stages, ranging from grade 1
to grade 12. Next, the teams wrote assessments based on the
descriptors for the 10 stages. Teachers from 280 school districts
from across the state field-tested the assessments and provided
student work samples. Finally, panels of field-test teachers
and other educators from the respective learning areas validated
the work samples at the “meets” and “exceeds”
performance levels. Collectively, your colleagues, the writers
and field-testers of these assessments, have devoted thousands
of hours of their time to create the classroom assessments
and we have acknowledged them on the Contributors
to the Classroom Assessments list  .
Are the Classroom Assessments State Mandates?
These assessments are intended as a resource, not a mandate,
to illustrate how student performance of each Learning Standard
can be assessed at each grade level. They are not exhaustive.
In fact, the intent is for local school districts to adapt
these assessments to their own uses and to develop others
using performance descriptors as a basis. We highly recommend
that teachers gather student work from across the district
and set their own local standard for “meets” and
“exceeds” performance levels.
What Is the Best Use of the Classroom Assessments?
Weaving classroom assessments into the normal flow of teaching/learning
and combining assessments within and across learning areas
may be the most effective and efficient way to assess and
foster student achievement of the standards. Providing students
ongoing, constructive feedback on performance in a timely
manner can ensure students acquire a positive attitude toward
continuous improvement. Setting priorities and being selective
will ensure that the assessments are tied to significant and
meaningful learning. Changing the context of the assessment
to make it more relevant to student interests and local settings
may enhance the face validity of the assessments and encourage
student engagement in them.
Why Developmental Stages?
Classroom assessments were developed for ten developmental
stages of each Learning Standard. Stages A–H correspond
to grades 1 – 8. Stages I and J correspond to early and
late high school. We used stages instead of grade levels to
accommodate the range of development that exists in every
classroom. For example, we would recommend that a third grade
teacher begin by looking at Stage C because we wrote and field
tested Stage C assessments with third graders in mind. But
we would also recommend that a third-grade teacher look at
Stages B and D.
Why Learning-Area Rubrics?
Every learning area has a learning-area or general rubric
that focuses the evaluation of all student work on the overarching,
essential elements of learning in that area. For example,
in mathematics the expectation is that all students should
develop not only mathematical knowledge but also mathematical
strategies (e.g., reasoning and problem solving) and the ability
to explain and justify their strategies. Each classroom assessment
augments the learning area rubric by providing the task specific
kind of evidence teachers should look for in the student work.
The general learning-area rubrics developed by ISBE’s
Assessment Division for English/language arts, mathematics
and social science were used in these classroom assessments.
Our writing teams for the other four learning areas developed
general learning-area rubrics and task specific rubrics expressly
for their classroom assessments.
Why Keep Continuous Improvement in Mind?
The classroom assessments have gone though many iterations,
reviews and field tests, but they are not perfect. We hope
they will be a useful resource to you, but let’s work
together to make them even better. In using these assessments
in your classroom, you may find a way to improve them. Please
let us know so that we can continuously update the classroom
assessments. Also, if one of your students produces work that
you think other teachers would like to see, send it to us.
If you do the latter, please contact us first because a parent
permission slip must accompany all student work we use. Send
your suggestions for improvement to:
Curriculum & Instruction
Illinois State Board of Education
100 North First Street
Springfield, IL 62777
(217) 557-7323
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