Resources for Assessment: Research, Rubrics, Planning
Tools, Sample Outcomes

The EASL Institute has been fortunate to collaborate with outstanding educators who have developed exemplars for outcomes and rubrics, and for training and professional development.  Please click here to see our acknowledgments to those who have made such valuable contributions. The Institute is grateful to able make these resources available to teachers, school leaders, researchers, and others interested in equity and assessment in education..

Introductory materials:

• Quick Intro to EASE:  This document can be used as a short introduction to EASE for teachers and others interested in assessment
• Formative Assessment: articles on assessing for teaching and learning:
  • Margaret Heritage's article from the Phi Delta Kappan: "Formative Assessment: What Teachers Need to Know"
  • W. James Popham on "The Formative Assessment Flap"
  • LEARN NC: A site with several brief and practical documents on doing formative assessment:
    "Listening while you work: Using Informal Assessments to Inform Your Instruction" by Kristi Johnson Smith
    "Making Connections between Concepts," also by Kristi Johnson Smith, with ideas about rethinking assignments and perhaps moving away from some homework to classroom activities which provide an opportunity to assess the points where students are struggling.

Tools for Teachers and school leaders:

• Sample Outcomes
• Sample Rubrics
• Planning tools
• Guide for converting percentages of proficiency and high performance to final (letter) grades

Research and Policy:

• Camille Farrington and Margaret Small co-authored a paper titled Removing Structural Barriers to Academic Success for the American Educational Research Assn.  This paper was subsequently revised somewhat and published as A New Model of Student Assessment by the American Youth Policy Forum.
• At the Coalition of Essential Schools Fall Forum 2008, Camille Farrington presented a summary of research on the effectiveness of the EASL model of assessment.  This was essentially a chapter in the dissertation on assessment and student achievement for which she received her PhD from the University of Illinois, Chicago in 2009.