Differentiated Assessment

How can teachers effectively differentiate assessment to ensure all students have the opportunity to demonstrate their learning? 

Each and every student we come across as teachers, are going to be specific and individual in their own way. No two students are the same, nor do they learn the same way. This provides a new challenge for us as teachers, to find ways to fairly assess these students in ways that best support their exceptionalities.

Previously in this blog, we highlighted ways to assess students according to their strengths and the types of learners they are. For example, how to support and assess a visual learner, and allow them to express themselves appropriately. In this tab, we are looking more in depth at students with exceptionalities and I.E.P.'s and how to assess these students fairly and respectfully.

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• Teachers can differentiate content, process and assessment
• Differentiation should be based on student readiness, interests and learning profile (i.e. IEP).

Differentiated Assessment FOR Learning

• Creating assessments that not only reflect students’ knowledge base, but also account for their strengths/weaknesses in the assessment form itself.
• The assessment must reflect multiple learning styles and intelligences.

Differentiated Assessment AS Learning

• Allow innovation and creativity
• Engaging challenge
• Encourage problem-solving and decision-making
• Appropriate to all students and allow a range of student abilities
• Individual accountability
• Assessment criteria is shared with students at beginning
• Feedback given for student improvement (related to student learning needs)
• Students are given options

Differentiated Assessment OF Learning

• Some examples of this may be: portfolios, exhibitions, performance tasks, etc.
• These products are adjusted based on student choice and providing options based on their individual learning preference.