When planning to assess whether a student has attained a lesson objective, the teacher should first...

When planning to assess whether a student has attained a lesson objective, the teacher should first...

• A. identify the staff member who will administer the assessment
• B. determine where the assessment will occur
• C. review the relevant learning standard
• D. check for standardized tests

Answer: (C)

Assessing student learning should begin with alignment to the standard that defines what students are expected to know or be able to do. The standard provides the target outcome you’re aiming to measure, so reviewing it first ensures the lesson objective is clearly connected to an explicit expectation. This alignment is what makes the assessment valid for the objective—the tasks you design, the criteria you use to judge performance, and the level of challenge all flow from that standard. If you jump straight to logistics—where the assessment will happen, who will administer it, or whether to use a standardized test—you risk collecting evidence that doesn’t accurately reflect the intended objective or that isn’t appropriate for the specific lesson. Once you’ve confirmed the standard, you can craft tasks and rubrics that directly demonstrate the student’s attainment, and then decide on the practical details of administration.

Assessing student learning should begin with alignment to the standard that defines what students are expected to know or be able to do. The standard provides the target outcome you’re aiming to measure, so reviewing it first ensures the lesson objective is clearly connected to an explicit expectation. This alignment is what makes the assessment valid for the objective—the tasks you design, the criteria you use to judge performance, and the level of challenge all flow from that standard.

If you jump straight to logistics—where the assessment will happen, who will administer it, or whether to use a standardized test—you risk collecting evidence that doesn’t accurately reflect the intended objective or that isn’t appropriate for the specific lesson. Once you’ve confirmed the standard, you can craft tasks and rubrics that directly demonstrate the student’s attainment, and then decide on the practical details of administration.