What Are Standards Based Assessments?

A few years ago, I was grading a test that my students had taken the previous week. I was really excited when I looked at the scores! Nineties and eighties littered my gradebook. It seemed like my students really grasped the skills within the assessment.

Because the scores were so high, I continued on with the lessons that I had planned – plowing ahead. However, it quickly became apparent that my students were still missing key skills from the previous unit. I went back to the assessments and decided to dig a little deeper.

Maybe at this point, you can see where I went wrong. When my students scored well on their tests, I took that to mean they had mastered all the skills on the test. But that wasn’t the case. In fact, many of my students were showing gaps in their knowledge, and their high test scores covered this.

Typical assessments can often mask the hidden gaps and deficiencies our students have. If we want to truly see what skills our students are mastering and where they need help, we need to use standards based assessments.

What are standards based assessments?

Standards based assessments (SBA) are a way to evaluate students’ learning based on one single standard or indicator. Below is a chart that explains some key differences between a traditional assessment and a standards based assessment.

Traditional Assessment	Standards Based Assessment
-Student aims for a high score -Lessons may or may not be adjusted based on data -Lessons are designed with standards in mind, then students are tested. -Measures what was taught	-Student aims to progress in mastery of a skill -Lessons are adjusted based on data -Lessons are designed to make sure students achieve standards, and then assessment measures achievement. – Measures what was learned

There are clearly key differences between traditional and standards based assessments. So, is one better than the other? 

Why should you use standards-based assessments?

Reason #1: SBA gives you specific indicators that need to be addressed.

As I mentioned at the beginning of the blog, a traditional assessment can often hide the areas our students are struggling with. When you use SBA, you are being intentional and direct about what you are measuring. Therefore, the data you receive provides very easily discernible information.

For instance, if you want to test your students’ knowledge of multiple meaning words, your assessment would include a variety of questions that only focus on this one skill. You may present the information in different ways, but all questions will focus on multiple meaning words. Then, you will give the students performance a rating on a predetermined scale. Scales can vary, but they likely include indicators such as progressing, proficient, or masters. 

Reason #2: Standards based assessments guide your instruction.

As teachers, we know the importance of looking at data and actually applying it to our lessons, but this is easier said than done – especially with a traditional assessment. To find your students strengths and weaknesses with a traditional assessment can be confusing and require a lot of time.

With an SBA, you quickly know which skills to focus on. Imagine giving your students an assessment on summarization. You may find the majority of the class is still struggling, so you would adjust your instruction to include a reteach and more practice. However, you may find that only certain students are still struggling, so then you can create small groups with those students.

Reason #3: SBA makes small groups and guided reading easier.

If you have ever been unsure of which students to place together in a guided reading group or teacher rotation, SBA will make this easy and clear. By looking at the data from an SBA, you have a clear picture of students who have not mastered, are progressing, or have achieved mastery. 

With this information, you can then create your small groups. With students who have not mastered, their small group will need a reteach of the concepts and lots of practice. The group of students who are progressing may need you to help clarify information and continue building their skills through practice. Lastly, your mastered group needs to be challenged! You can push their thinking and knowledge even further.

Reason #4: SBA shows student growth and builds ownership.

We have discussed how SBA makes data more clear and discernable. This clear data is also excellent for showing student growth over time. What makes SBA work so well is that students don’t take one assessment and walk away. If a student is still progressing to mastery, they will take many assessments (or the same assessment multiple times) until they meet mastery. Due to this, you can clearly track their progress and growth overtime on a single skill.

For instance, if a student takes a SBA on theme and answers 60% of the questions correctly, the teacher would likely consider them progressing. After small group time and more practice, the student would assess again. The next time, they may score a 75%. They are still progressing, but there is proof of growth. This student can celebrate their success towards mastery and also take ownership of their learning.

Reason #5: SBA supplements standards based grading.

Standards based grading (SBG) moves away from the traditional number or letter grade that gives a holistic look at a student’s performance. Instead, SBG measures the students’ success on various standards or indicators. Students are evaluated on these standards or indicators in their SBA, and then given a scale. Scales can vary widely, but often they reflect the concept of not mastered, progressing, and mastered.

SBA and SBG go excellent together because they both take a holistic approach to classroom learning. They give a very clear breakdown of the knowledge a student has gained, and the areas that need to be improved. 
Next in this series on standards based assessment, we will talk about how you can use SBA data to help you as a teacher. Click here to read the next blog post.

More Information About Standards Based Assessments

Want to know more about standards based assessments and how they can help you? Check out the rest of the posts in this series.

• What Are Standards Based Assessments?
• 5 Ways to Assess Students’ Learning
• Why You Should Track Data in Middle School ELA
• How to Use Standards Based Assessment Data